EAR & EYE PROTECTION
CUTTING THROUGH THE NOISE
Neal Muggleton, from acoustic experts Minuendo, considers how a smarter approach to hearing loss prevention could eradicate incidences of NIHL at work.
Another major factor is that the actual attenuation provided by hearing protectors in real-world settings varies significantly between individuals. Results in the field don’t always correlate well with the noise reduction performance suggested by the manufacturer. This can make spotting areas for improvement problematic.
“OCCUPATIONAL NOISE EXPOSURE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 16% OF ALL CASES OF DISABLING HEARING LOSS IN ADULTS.”
These variances can be further exacerbated because traditional earmuffs and earplugs are not always correctly deployed: workers commonly find them uncomfortable or restrictive to wear, particularly when attempting to communicate with colleagues. In industrial and construction settings, this can present a safety risk in itself: particularly where mobile, heavy machinery such as forklifts, lorries, passing trains, drilling rigs and dumper trucks is present.
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a global health problem. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide suffer from hearing loss due to noise exposure through work or leisure activities. Occupational noise exposure is responsible for 16% of all cases of disabling hearing loss in adults. In the UK, the HSE reported 14,000 new cases of work-related hearing loss in 2021 – and this is likely to be a conservative estimate.
Workers employed in the construction, manufacturing, mining, agriculture, utilities and transportation industries, as well as military personnel and musicians, have the highest risk occupational NIHL. Although hearing loss is serious and debilitating, most people simply don’t realise they have damaged their hearing until it is too late – and the effects are irreversible.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? The root problem is that noise exposure is highly
variable and can be difficult to predict. Transient peaks – such as walking past a noisy machine or a large vehicle passing by – may not even register as a risk. And even where the risk is recognised, exposure limits may have been exceeded before the employee is informed or has time to respond.
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For employers, this is a real headache. Traditional hearing protection cannot help them to understand what level of protection is being achieved over time. Nor can passive devices support employers in understanding whether their hearing protection measures are effective and legally robust.
For the health and safety manager, lack of reliable data and insight is compounded because hearing loss prevention is just one of their many responsibilities. Other significant daily tasks include compiling safety reports, investigating and reporting on safety incidents, devising corrective actions and updating processes and procedures. The role also demands close attention to health and safety legislation to ensure compliance with many wide-ranging regulations. In other words, the safety manager simply does not have the resources to work at an individual employee level – particularly where the workforce is highly mobile or widely dispersed.
So, the current situation on NIHL in the workplace is this: safety managers are time-poor and drowning in data, employers have no accurate record of an individual’s noise exposure over time, and employees are not being empowered to take responsibility for
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