Protecting Your Hearing on the Job: A Guide for Safety Professionals
Noise levels in the workplace can be damaging to your hearing, but with proper prevention and protection, you can keep your ears safe. As a safety professional, it’s important to understand how to protect workers from hearing loss due to excessive noise exposure. In this guide, we’ll provide an overview of the risks of hearing loss due to noise exposure, what you can do to protect your hearing, and how you can prevent hearing loss in the workplace.
Risk of Hearing Loss Due To Excessive Noise Exposure
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) occurs when sound waves damage sensitive structures in the inner ear. This damage affects our ability to hear certain frequencies and can also cause tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing sound in the ears. NIHL is caused by loud sounds that are either too loud or last too long. The louder the sound, the shorter amount of time it takes for it to cause damage.
Hearing Protection Strategies
The most effective way to protect yourself from NIHL is to avoid exposure to loud noises altogether. If that isn’t possible, it’s important to wear protective equipment such as earplugs or earmuffs when working in noisy environments. It is also important that any protective equipment is properly fitted and maintained according to manufacturer instructions. Additionally, employers should provide training on proper use and maintenance of all personal protective equipment (PPE).
Preventing Hearing Loss In The Workplace
It’s also important for employers to put measures in place that reduce workers’ exposure to loud noises on the job. This includes conducting noise assessments in order to identify areas with high levels of noise and implementing engineering controls such as barriers or enclosures around noisy machines. Employers should also implement administrative controls such as scheduling quieter tasks during peak hours and rotating employees between different jobs with different noise levels throughout their shift. Finally, employers should provide regular medical surveillance examinations so they can identify potential problems early before they become more serious issues down the road.
Protecting workers from noise-induced hearing loss is an important responsibility for safety professionals—but it doesn’t have to be complicated! Martin makes it easy with help from our Occupational Hearing Conservationist. Martin’s hearing conservation program can help protect your team from long-term risks of hearing loss due excessive noise exposure.
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