How to Encourage Hearing Protection in the Workplace

One of the most common forms of hearing loss stems from prolonged exposure to loud noise in the workplace, prevalent in environments like factories or where heavy machinery is used. However, this risk extends to various professions, including musicians who are susceptible due to their exposure to loud music. Several workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels daily, posing risk to their hearing. Although noise might not initially seem harmful, it accumulates over time, leading to hearing damage. Therefore, it’s crucial for employees to be aware of measures they can take to protect their hearing while at work.

Noise Exposure and Hearing Loss

Repeated exposure to loud noises or, in some cases, exposure to a single extreme noise, can cause damage to your hearing. This is due to how your ears work. Your inner ear contains many tiny hair cells that pick-up sounds. These sounds are then sent by nerves to your brain where they are processed, allowing you to hear and understand the sound. However, loud noises can damage or even kill these hair cells.

Over time, when enough hair cells are damaged, you start to experience hearing loss. It can take a while before the hearing loss is noticeable. This is why it’s important to protect your hearing.

Wearing Appropriate Hearing Protection

Depending on the workplace, different types of hearing protection might be more effective or appropriate. For example, earmuffs provide excellent hearing protection, but they can be awkward to work with. However, you can swap and change them without any issues. Earplugs are more discreet and can also protect your ears from debris or water. They can be worn with glasses and long hair and you can still hear conversations with earplugs in while enjoying a healthy level of protection. However, because they’re worn in the ear canal, it’s best not to share earplugs.

There is another form of hearing protection that you can wear, like custom-made earplugs. Your hearing health professional, will be able to take a mold of your ear, to make sure these earplugs are the right and fit comfortably.

How Hearing Protection Works

Hearing protection works by creating a seal either in or around the ear itself. This can block up to 30 decibels of sound, depending on the specific ear protection you wear. However, if this seal is broken or the protection isn’t worn correctly, they will be less effective.

Education in the Workplace

One of the best ways to protect yourself when working in a noisy environment is by training and educating yourself on hearing protection. A hearing health professional can provide information about how your ears work and how best to protect them, as well as the degree to which noise exposure can damage your hearing. Even something that doesn’t seem too loud can cause hearing loss if they’re exposed to it all day. It’s also important to understand how to wear hearing protection.

If you want to learn more about why it is important to wear hearing protection in the workplace, talk with a hearing health professional.