Occupational Therapy in ENT Diseases
摘要
Occupational therapy is a profession that aims to enable patients to participate in daily living activities. Occupational therapists achieve this goal by considering the patient’s wishes, demands, and needs, organizing the environment, or improving the patient’s skills. Occupational therapists play a role in multidisciplinary public health and occupational disease prevention. They treat occupational hearing loss, voice disorders, and upper and lower respiratory diseases in otolaryngology. Occupational hearing loss is a preventable disease that develops in workers due to noise exposure. A safe and healthy working environment should be provided to prevent hearing loss in workers. Noise exposure should be monitored regularly. Occupational voice disorders are voice changes associated with using the voice during occupational activity that reduce work performance and communication, regardless of organic pathology in the larynx. There are five types of voice therapy: hygienic, psychogenic, physiological, symptomatic, and eclectic. Occupational therapy includes changing the patient’s work environment, avoiding triggers, avoiding exposure-related activities, and wearing devices that prevent inhaling triggers. If it is not possible to change the work environment, it is recommended that the patient change jobs.