Joan McKechnie BSc Hons Audiology & Speech Pathology, offers some wise words on the HSE Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. This article shows employers what is required of them and how to reduce the liklihood of Noise induced hearing loss, with advise on noise risk assessments.
Noise at Work
An estimated 9 million people who are hard of hearing live in the UK. The vast majority have presbycusis or age-related hearing loss, but there a considerable number with noise-induced hearing loss, often abbreviated to NIHL. The main difference between the two and the subject of this article is that NIHL is preventable because it caused by exposure to a noise source.
Noise induced hearing loss
What Goes Wrong When Noise Induced Hearing Loss Happens?
On a simplified level, there are three main areas of the human hearing system. These are the outer ear that can be seen alongside the earcanal; the middle ear and finally the inner ear where sound is processed and transmitted to the auditory cortex in the brain for interpretation. Loud noise damages the hair cells in the inner ear and can cause hearing loss, ear ringing and distortion of sounds. The three factors which will determine the hearing loss are how close the person is to the noise source, how long the exposure lasted for and how loud was it.
Ear
Taking Action Against NIHL
In line with the Noise Regulations of 2005, employers have a duty to prevent or reduce risks to employees from exposure to high levels of noise at work. The way to reduce the possibility of noise induced hearing loss is by no means a simple task. It takes a combination of steps, including adhering to safety procedures and using hearing protection.
Areas with noise levels exceeding 85dB will need to be subject to noise reduction controls.
In order to identify these areas, a noise assessment is required, usually carried out by a health and safety consultant. Once an area is defined and targeted, the following can be used to reduce the noise.
1. Make hearing protection mandatory – These comprise earplugs, earmuffs and ear defenders. Each has a different upper ceiling level in terms of dB reduction and two aids can work together to enhance this upper ceiling level. Some degree of sound must be heard and employees should never be completely isolated. The most popular are earplugs which offer noise reduction of up to 20dB and earmuffs which provide higher noise reduction levels based on their standard.
2. Make hearing health professionals available to staff – employees should be given access to regular hearing tests and allow the required time off work in order to have these carried out.
3. Enable employees to report noise hazards – Noise in the work place is caused by equipment and processes that place their hearing under risk from volume or duration of exposure. A quiet area one day can turn into a noisy area the next so it is essential to allow employees to report a change in condition and for such a report to be taken seriously.
4. Offer on-going training – The use of any process or protection aid is only effective when used correctly. Where hearing protection is mandatory suitable training should be given.
Article written by Joan McKechnie BSc Hons Audiology & Speech Pathology. Joan works for Hearing Direct, which offers a range of hearing equipment for the deaf and hard of hearing from hearing aid batteries to such devices as mobile phones for hard of hearing and other accessories.
