Methods for the investigations into the functional state of the organ of hearing and equilibration in locomotive drivers for the early diagnostics of occupational sensorinerual deafness

AIM OF THE STUDY: to estimate the diagnostic value of various tests for the expert assessment of the functional state of the organ of hearing and equilibration in locomotive drivers employed by the Minsk branch of the Belorussian railway. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 224 members of the locomotive teams were examined. Healthy men (n=56) served as controls. Tonal threshold audimetry (TTA), molecular-genetic study. The study has demonstrated the advantages of performing wide-range TTA in conjunction with dynamic stabilometry. The molecular-genetic studies for the detection of potential 35delG mutations proved to be of little diagnostic value.