What Can Be Done to Prevent Hearing Loss in the Workplace
Workplace Hearing Loss
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Work-related hearing loss continues to exist a disquisitional workplace safety and health issue. It is estimated that over 22 meg workers are exposed to chancy noise on the chore and an boosted nine meg are at risk for hearing loss from other agents such as solvents and metals. The National Plant for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a long history of working to prevent workplace hearing loss. While noise-induced hearing loss is 100 percentage preventable, in one case acquired, hearing loss is permanent and irreversible.
Surveillance
Surveillance of occupational hearing loss and noise exposure is vital to prevention. It tin can identify the well-nigh problematic industries, occupations, and work activities, and can exist used to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention activities. The National Academies Institute of Medicine evaluated the NIOSH Hearing Loss Research Program in 2005. While the program received high marks, the National Academies ended that it was difficult for NIOSH to plant and prioritize research goals due to the lack of surveillance data on occupational hearing loss and noise exposure for U.S. workers. Currently the U.S. does not have a national surveillance or injury reporting system for hearing loss. The Bureau of Labor Statistics annually reports recorded hearing loss* on OSHA Form 300. However, BLS data are not representative of the true magnitude of occupational hearing loss due to several barriers to the reporting system. The Michigan Sensor program is ane possible model for collecting reliable and representative information on hearing loss, only funding is lacking. As such, comprehensive data on the prevalence and economic touch on of hearing loss are not available. To address this issue, NIOSH published two articles to gauge the national burden of hearing difficulty among workers in the U.S.: "Exposure to Hazardous Workplace Noise and Use of Hearing Protection Devices Amid U.Southward. Workers—NHANES, 1999–2004"1 and "Hearing Difficulty Attributable to Employment by Manufacture and Occupation: An Assay of the National Health Interview Survey—United States, 1997 to 2003."ii The articles extrapolate data from the National Wellness and Diet Examination Survey (NHANES) of 9,275 employed workers to the entire working population. The analysis revealed:
- More than than 22 million U.South. workers were exposed to hazardous workplace noise.
- Workers in the mining industry had the highest prevalence of workplace noise exposure with almost iii out of four mining manufacture workers exposed. The mining industry has the second highest prevalence of hearing difficulty amid all industrial sectors.
- Over one tertiary of all manufacturing workers (v.7 1000000 workers total) reported exposure to loud noise.
- One in iv manufacturing workers exposed to loud noise reported non-use of hearing protection devices.
To get a improve flick of the full extent of workplace hearing loss, NIOSH has adult an ongoing surveillance programme of occupational hearing loss in collaboration with audiometric services providers. NIOSH will develop a database and protocols to manage and analyze individual level audiometric information. Data from this surveillance try will be used in several of import ways. It volition help to identify emerging hearing loss problems, including those associated with new industries, new technologies, or new pieces of equipment. The analysis of the information will also produce national reference statistics for the incidence (or prevalence) rate of occupational hearing loss beyond manufacture and occupations. By 2012, a full of xv providers volition be recruited to participate in this surveillance program. For more data about this surveillance plan or if y'all are interested in participating in the surveillance program, transport an electronic mail to dvo9@cdc.gov.
Prevention
Better surveillance can assistance NIOSH and others provide amend prevention programs. As mentioned earlier, noise-induced hearing loss is entirely preventable just once acquired, hearing loss is permanent and irreversible. Therefore, prevention measures must be taken by employers and workers to ensure the protection of workers' hearing. In that location are many solutions for eliminating noise in the workplace. Engineering science dissonance command is the best approach to eliminate the problem. If that is not possible, administrative control of exposure and hearing protection are essential elements of a hearing conservation programme. The NIOSH Dissonance and Hearing Loss Prevention Topic Page contains a Hearing Conservation Plan Evaluation Checklist, a Hearing Conservation Toolbox, and a Compendium of Hearing Protection Devices, among other useful tools.
In 2006 NIOSH partnered with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) to create the Rubber-in-Sound Honour—an award for excellence in hearing loss prevention. The objectives of this award are to recognize organizations that document measurable achievements in hearing loss prevention programs, obtain data on their real-globe successes, and widely disseminate information on how others tin apply these successful strategies.
Input
NIOSH is interested in strengthening its efforts to foreclose hearing loss in the workplace. Through this blog, NIOSH would similar to learn more about:
- Practices that take proven useful to promote the use of noise control in the workplace
- Authorities policies that can be improved to promote effective hearing conservation practices
- Tools that have been constructive in promoting the utilise of hearing protection with workers
- Successes in integrating hearing protectors into hearing conservation programs
- Mechanisms that have been effective in training and engaging workers' participation in the hearing conservation program
- Economic benefits from quieting the environment (racket control) over using hearing protection. For example, has the elimination of the hearing conservation program due to the control of noise in the workplace led to a reduction in accidents, increased cost savings from non having to purchase hearing protection and scheduling almanac audiograms, or increased worker morale?
Please provide your input in the comment department below. Thank you.
Dr. Tater is the co-leader of the Hearing Loss Prevention Team in the NIOSH Partitioning of Applied Research and Engineering and is a Captain in the Commissioned Corps of the U.South. Public Health Service.
Dr. Tak is an epidemiologist in the NIOSH Division of Surveillance, Run a risk Evaluations, and Field Studies.
*Original sentence edited to amend accuracy
References
- Tak South, Davis R, Calvert K. Exposure to Hazardous Workplace Noise and Utilize of Hearing Protection Devices among US Workers — NHANES, 19992004. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2009, Vol 52, No v, pp 358-371.
- Tak S, Calvert GM. Hearing difficulty attributable to employment by manufacture and occupation: an assay of the National Wellness Interview Survey United States, 1997-2003. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2008, Vol 50, No i, pp 46-56.
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Source: https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2009/11/24/hearing/
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