Hearing loss caused by excessive exposure to noise poses a serious medical problem in itself — it is generally irreversible, research has linked it to hypertension, and it has been identified by a Lancet Commission study as a potential risk for developing dementia.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health highlights the problems it creates in the workplace, as it not only hurts people’s ability to communicate, understand others and concentrate, but it can also easily contribute to workplace accidents by reducing workers’ ability to hear warnings of dangerous conditions.
Noise-based hearing loss can come from many sources in a workplace. Heavy machinery or engine noise can cause it, as can power tools, or even crowd noise and amplified music at a sports venue or concert. NIOSH reports that about 25% of all workers in the U.S. have been exposed to hazardous noise levels.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration considers noise of 85 decibels, or 85 dBA, to be a threshold beyond which hearing may be damaged. A noisy environment where a person would have to raise their voice to be heard by someone 3 feet away is likely this loud. Other key warning signs, according to OSHA, include workers experiencing ringing in their ears, or even temporary hearing loss, when leaving work.
NIOSH offers a Sound Level Meter app to detect dangerous noise levels, available at online.
Reducing noise
The most important step in protecting employee hearing is to find ways to reduce noise, either at its source or before it reaches workers. Some of the most cost-effective ways to reduce noise through engineering controls, according to OSHA, include
- selecting low-noise tools or machinery,
- keeping machinery maintained and well-lubricated, and
- physically creating barriers between machinery and employees, such as by placing it in other rooms or beyond sound walls, or simply by placing it at a greater distance from workers.
Supervisors can also use scheduling to reduce noise exposure, such as by operating noisy machinery during times when fewer people are present.
PPE for noise
Personal protective equipment for excessive noise can take the form of earmuffs, earplugs or canal caps, which are similar to earplugs but connected by a flexible band on the back of the head. Wearing earmuffs on top of earplugs can provide the protection of both in extremely loud circumstances.
While valuable, PPE for noise reduction is not as effective as finding ways to reduce noise, especially when it is not worn correctly or consistently. In addition to finding protection that will reduce noise exposure below 85 dBA, it’s also important to find gear that is comfortable and does not get in a worker’s way, and to provide training for its use.
Find more information and resources on occupational noise exposure online as well as this resource.