Background: To review the available scientific literature about the effects on health by occupational exposure to noise.
Materials and methods: A systematic review of the retrieved scientific literature from the databases MEDLINE (via PubMed), ISI-Web of Knowledge (Institute for Scientific Information), Cochrane Library Plus, SCOPUS, and SciELO (collection of scientific journals) was conducted. The following terms were used as descriptors and were searched in free text: "Noise, Occupational," "Occupational Exposure," and "Occupational Disease." The following limits were considered: "Humans," "Adult (more than 18 years)," and "Comparative Studies."
Results: A total of 281 references were retrieved, and after applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, 25 articles were selected. Of these selected articles, 19 studies provided information about hearing disturbance, four on cardiovascular disorders, one regarding respiratory alteration, and one on other disorders.
Conclusions: It can be interpreted that the exposure to noise causes alterations in humans with different relevant outcomes, and therefore appropriate security measures in the work environment must be employed to minimize such an exposure and thereby to reduce the number of associated disorders.