Exposure to hazardous noise can cause workers to experience a broad range of physical and psychological symptom. These include:
- Long term hearing loss
- Increased blood pressure
- Stress and nervousness
- Depression
- Reduced concentration
- Insomnia
- Hypersensitivity to noise
- Changes to hormone and cholesterol levels
- Increased stomach acid content
- isolation and fatigue
Hazardous noise can also affect safety and productivity, by interfering with a worker’s communication and reaction time, which can lead to accidents.
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) can have a profound impact on a worker’s personal life, affecting relationships, family interactions and recreational interests.
If you want to ensure you are proactive in reducing the risk of NIHL, you can take some simple steps to ensure your hearing is protected whilst working, so you can enjoy life outside of work.
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) can happen gradually, with many workers not aware they have it, until it's too late.
The harmful effects of hazardous noise are cumulative, which means the damage causing hearing loss increases over time through a series of repeated exposures.
The first indication that a worker may be exposed to hazardous noise levels is a temporary injury known as Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS).
TTS occurs when a person is exposed to hazardous noise that affects the functioning of the inner ear, which can cause temporary hearing loss. After a period away from noise, hearing may be restored.
With each further exposure a person has to hazardous or loud noise, the hair cells (cilia) in the cochlea (inner ear) gradually lose their ability to recover, become non-responsive to sound and will eventually die – causing permanent hearing loss.
The effects of NIHL can take some years to be noticed.
At first, most people aren’t aware of any change in their hearing but, over time, it becomes more noticeable, e.g. a worker may have difficulty hearing what family and co-workers say clearly or hearing sounds that are necessary for working safely, like verbal instructions – even warning signals.
The degree of hearing damage is dependent on:
- the level/s of noise a person is exposed to,
- how often and how long they have been exposed to the noise, e.g. workers who are exposed to hazardous noise daily at work are at a far greater risk of developing NIHL, and
- their susceptibility to noise
Check out the information to find out how you can (a) protect your hearing in the workplace and (b) support your employer to take the necessary precautions to ensure hazardous noise is managed appropriately for all workers.
If you are required to wear hearing protection (PPE) in your line of work, then it is your responsibility to ensure you wear it continuously and appropriately.
Ask your employer or safety officer for guidance on the type and class of hearing protection that is right for you and your work environment.
Look out for hearing protection signage in your workplace: hearing protection should be used whenever you are in a signposted area.
Your employer will work with you to ensure your PPE is:
- Fit for purpose
- Comfortable and easy to use
- Clean and well maintained
- Enables you to still hear instructions and warning sounds
Ensure you understand how to fit your PPE correctly, check out these resources to help you understand more about fitting PPE appropriately:
how to wear hearing protection PPE - Google Search
Earmuffs vs. Earplugs | How do I find the right hearing protection? (English) (youtube.com)
To get the full protection of hearing PPE workers must ALWAYS wear their PPE whenever they are exposed to hazardous noise during their work shift.
If the hearing PPE is removed, even for a short time, the protection provided to the worker will be substantially reduced.
Audio headphones (i.e. Apple AirPods and other personal music devices) must never be used as a substitute for approved hearing PPE.
They provide no protection and add to the level of outside noise and contribute to damaging a person’s hearing.
If you are regularly required to wear hearing protection as a control measure for noise your employer must ensure you undertake a hearing test. Your employer is responsible for paying for the hearing test.
For new workers, a baseline hearing test must be completed within three months of commencing your employment. You will then need to get a follow-up monitoring hear test at least every two years during your employment.
