Hearing Safety Info

The risk of noise-induced hearing loss is often ignored until too late because:

• Hearing loss causes no pain.

• Workers may feel discomfort and pain from excessive noise,
  but not from the hearing loss.

• The loss can occur gradually, so that exposed workers don’t notice
  until significant damage has occurred.

Once damaged, hearing cannot be restored. Damaged hearing can affect job performance, health and productivity.

Job performance

Hearing impaired workers may pose a hazard to others and to themselves. They may misunderstand warnings and instructions.

Health

The non-auditory effects of noise may include:

• anxiety
• depression
• fatigue
• withdrawal from social activities
• poor digestion
• stress
• poor self-image
• higher blood pressure and heart rate (hypertension)

Personal productivity

If the job involves a lot of communication, hearing impaired workers may quit or transfer to another position rather than risk criticism or suspicion of incompetence.

Corporate productivity

Compensation premiums, surcharges and penalties can affect the workplace’s productivity and financial health.

Workplaces often contain many sources of noise. Left unchecked, these sources can cause serious harm and easily exceed legal limits.

Many options exist for controlling noise exposure. The best way to protect workers from exposure to excessive noise and ensure workplaces meet their legal obligations is to set up a hearing conservation program.

What’s a noisy environment?

If you find you have to raise your voice to talk to person next to you or have told yourself "Oh, I’ll get used to the noise", you are in a noisy environment.

It is recommended that hearing protection is used in these environments.

Hearing damage is dependent on two factors: how loud and how long.

The chart shows the effect of volume of the noise and how just by increasing the noise 3dB (decibels) will cut your exposure time in half. Also note that you don’t have to be the one making the noise and that noise created by co-workers can hurt you too!

Hearing Protection Works - PLEASE USE IT!