It’s simple to lose sight of one of your most valuable abilities amid hectic work schedules – your hearing. Long-term exposure to loud noises can silently impair your hearing, regardless of your occupation—construction, manufacturing, the military, or music.
The good news, though? Most hearing loss can be avoided. You can protect your ears and have clear hearing for the rest of your life by being proactive.
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Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL): The Silent Danger
Long-term exposure to loud noises causes a progressive but permanent syndrome known as noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). In contrast to abrupt, traumatic hearing loss, NIHL develops gradually and is frequently overlooked until it is too late. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states that prolonged exposure to noise levels higher than 85 dB can harm the sensitive inner ear hair cells, resulting in irreversible hearing loss.
Professionals in high-risk occupations are especially susceptible to NIHL. Consider the screaming sirens of emergency vehicles, the thunderous noises of jackhammers on a building site, or the continuous rumble of machinery in a factory. Workers’ hearing is in danger in these settings because noise levels are significantly higher than what is considered safe.
The worst part is that NIHL affects more than simply employees in noisy sectors. Over time, even brief exposure to loud noises, such as going to a concert or operating power tools without ear protection, can harm your hearing. NIHL is a widespread problem because of the cumulative effect of frequent exposure.
The Impact of Hearing Loss on Professions: How It Can Affect You and What to Do About It
High-Risk Professions: Where Hearing Loss Is Most Common
What do you imagine the noises of a normal workday to sound like? For many, it’s the bustle of an office or the noise of a computer. However, the background sound of some occupations is anything but peaceful. It’s an overwhelming amount of sounds – loud, unrelenting, and frequently hazardous.
The stakes are higher than you might think in these high-risk occupations, where hearing loss is most prevalent.
Construction Workers
There is a lot of noise on construction sites. Noise levels can easily surpass 100 decibels (dB) in an environment where bulldozers shout, power saws squeal and jackhammers pound rhythmically. This is simply another workday for construction workers. They may not be aware, however, that their hearing is being eroded by each hammer blow, engine rev, and drill bit grind.
Construction work frequently entails long shifts near these loud sources, exacerbated by the issue. Workers who don’t wear the right protection run a serious danger of getting noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), making it difficult to hear warning signals or even conversations while at work.
Workers in Factories and Manufacturing
Factories are intentionally noisy environments with a continuous noise that can get dangerously loud produced by the grinding of machinery, the buzzing of conveyor belts, and the clashing of metal. Employees in these settings are frequently subjected to noise levels that are significantly higher than the 85 dB threshold that health professionals advise.
The risk of hearing loss is a real and present issue for factory workers, not just a theoretical one. Many manufacturing workers are surrounded by noise for the entirety of their lives, and the cumulative effect can be disastrous. Prolonged exposure to loud noises can harm the inner ear’s sensitive hair cells over time, resulting in irreversible hearing loss.
Workers in the Mining and Oil Sector
Heavy equipment and harsh conditions are hallmarks of the mining and oil sectors. These professions, which include blasting and drilling, are characterized by harsh, high-decibel noises that can seriously endanger hearing.
Employees in these sectors are more likely to suffer from NIHL since they frequently work long hours near noisy machinery. Due to the repeated nature of the activity, even brief exposures can accumulate over time and cause irreversible hearing loss.
Aviation and Airport Employees
Airport workers are accustomed to hearing the roar of jet engines, but for them, it’s more than just background noise—it’s a daily threat. Pilots, mechanics, and ground personnel are all subjected to high noise levels from ground equipment, airplane engines, and other sources. These settings can have noise levels of 115 dB or more, which is well above acceptable thresholds. Workers may eventually develop hearing loss as a result of this continuous exposure, which will make it challenging for them to enjoy daily sounds or communicate clearly.
Are There Any Regulations In Place To Protect Workers From NIHIL?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is primarily responsible for enforcing the rules in the United States that protect employees from Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL).
These rules include particular instructions for tracking, managing, and reducing noise exposure at work. Below is a more thorough analysis of the main rules:
Limits of Allowable Exposure
For occupational noise exposure, OSHA has set a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 90 dBA averaged over an 8-hour workday. Employers are required to take steps to lessen worker exposure to noise levels at or above this threshold.
The PEL is governed by 29 CFR 1910.95, which states that the allowable exposure period is cut in half for every 5 dBA increase in noise levels above 90 dBA.
For instance:
- The acceptable exposure duration for 95 dBA is four hours.
- The acceptable exposure duration for 100 dBA is two hours.
Programs for the Conservation of Hearing
OSHA mandates the establishment of a Hearing Conservation Program for employees exposed to noise levels of 85 dBA or more, known as the action level. This curriculum has several essential elements:
- Monitoring: In order to determine exposure levels, employers are required to do routine noise monitoring. To determine which workers are exposed to dangerous noise levels, this entails measuring the noise levels in the workplace.
- Audiometric Testing: Every employee exposed at or above the action level must have baseline audiometric testing from their employer. Every year, follow-up exams must be performed to track any alterations in hearing capacity.
- Hearing Protection: When noise levels are higher than the action level, employers are required to give workers free, suitable hearing protection, make sure the devices fit properly, and offer instructions on how to use and maintain them.
- Training and Education: Workers need to be made aware of how noise affects their hearing and how important it is to use hearing protection. Training programs must be put in place, updated frequently, and include subjects including the benefits and drawbacks of different types of hearing protection.
- Recordkeeping: Employers must keep thorough records of all training activities, audiometric test results, and noise exposure measurements for their staff. These documents have to be kept for as long as the worker is employed.
Suffered Hearing Loss While Working? Contact Us!
The Workers Compensation Program was established in 1911 to encourage employers to make the workplace safer by requiring safety programs and the use of safety devices. Since 1911, there have been over 2.5 million workers’ compensation claims filed. Hearing loss workers’ compensation claims now rank #3 in the number of occupational disease claims filed.
Hearing loss workers’ compensation benefits are largely undiscovered benefits covering hearing health care, which is often uninsured. Many health insurance policies and programs like Medicare do not cover hearing aid purchases but workers’ compensation can. It also pays for the disability of hearing loss just as it does for the loss of eyesight or other injuries.
Aging populations, advances in technology, and greater sensitivity to hearing loss are bringing more attention to financing hearing health care. For the most part, those who qualify for hearing loss workers’ compensation benefits are retired hearing-impaired workers who live on fixed incomes.
Always feel free to ask Johnson Law Offices about the process, the law, or an individual case. The legal, medical, and audio-metric questions that come into play in a hearing loss workers’ compensation claim can be complicated.