Noise induced hearing loss; permanent, painless, preventable, and progressive

Have you ever seen the film Deepwater Horizon? It’s a true-to-life story of technical failure that led to a catastrophic explosion in 2010 that created one of the world’s worst environmental disasters and sadly resulted in the deaths of 11 crew with 17 others injured. It serves to remind you of the acute nature of workplace safety but about 20 minutes in, the lead character was on the drill deck, himself not wearing any hearing protection, talking to co-workers who clearly had their earplugs placed in their ear’s concha bowl rather than inserted deeply into their ear canal, rendering it about as useful as, well, a chocolate teapot.
OK, it’s a film and there is always some poetic license, but it serves to demonstrate how hearing protection, often a first port of call, is the least effective tool in the hierarchy of controls requiring the most supervision. It also reinforces the tendency to shout safety but whisper health, a phrase coined by the BOHS several years ago and echoed by Steve Hails a Senior Leader with Thames Tideway 1.

The shout/whisper metaphor is ironic because where noise is concerned if you have to shout to communicate face-to-face you are likely to have a ‘Houston we have a problem’ defining moment. And if you want evidence of the scale of the problem, look no further than the recent, ongoing series of targeted inspections undertaken by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE)2 who found that 1 in 4 worksites they visited were considered to be high noise above the exposure action value (80 dBA) requiring employers to inform and train their workers about noise hazards and protective measures, with 40% of those sites being above the upper exposure action value (85 dBA) the latter requiring mandatory hearing protection!

Repeated, excessive noise exposure without suitable protection can lead to noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) which according to the so-called 4Ps may be permanent, is painless, mostly preventable, and very progressive due to the chronic nature of noise exposure which means it gradually worsens with time without you noticing until it’s too late! 

But you don’t have to work in high noise sectors like oil & gas, mining, heavy industry or construction (as in Steve Hails’ case) to be subject to high noise exposure because noise is unique as a workplace hazard, being omnipresent and indeed NIHL is the world’s number one occupational hazard 3. 

Affected Sectors
The referenced article states that over 450 million people, corresponding to more than 5% of the world’s population, suffer from disabling hearing loss. For adults, the latter is defined as hearing loss exceeding 40 dB measured in the better hearing ear. According to the World Health Organization, disabling hearing loss occurs in about 30% of all people older than 65 years of age, the majority of them living in low- and middle-income countries. While hearing loss can be induced by congenital abnormalities, injuries, use of ototoxic medication, exposure to environmental or recreational noise, occupational noise exposure is the most common cause of NIHL.

The HSE’s campaign particularly targeted woodworking, food processing and agricultural premises but workers in the following diverse sectors are also likely to be affected: 

• Manufacturing & Production – Monitor noise exposure on factory floors and assembly lines.

• Warehousing & Logistics – Identify noise risks in distribution centers and fulfillment operations.

• Public Sector & Municipal Services – Support noise exposure monitoring for utility workers, transportation personnel, and emergency responders.

• Entertainment & Live Events – Ideal for monitoring noise exposure in orchestras, live parades, bars and clubs; where event staff maybe exposed to high noise levels.

How can you benefit from monitoring?

Regulation 5 of The Control of Noise at Work Regulations (2005) requires employers to assess the risks which means taking action to:

• Identify noise hazards
• Identify workers at particular risk from exposure to noise
• Estimate likely exposure to noise
• Identify measures required to eliminate or reduce risks
• Make a record of action taken and planned

It’s generally true that you can’t manage what you don’t measure and as the HSE state 4, “The Noise Regulations require you to make measurements of noise ‘if necessary’ (and that) Measurements will be necessary if you cannot find reliable noise information from other sources”. Measurements are also necessary if you want to correctly specify ‘fit for purpose’ hearing protection as per the HSE’s exposure calculators 5 and/or to move up the hierarchy of controls and use administrative methods to mitigate exposure by limiting time spent in noise, job rotations etc, having some objective measurements is invaluable.

Ask the average person in the street how noise is measured and you are likely to get “decibels” in response but more than that, it remains something of a black art. The good news is that technology has significantly contributed to de-skilling the measurement process and that is particularly true of noise dosimetry which means that:

• Managers responsible for overall workplace safety, even without a specialized background in occupational hygiene, can leverage the simplicity of modern instrumentation to perform in-house noise monitoring, shifting the cost-risk balance in favor of proactive noise management.
• Facilities Manager  As roles evolve, facilities managers are increasingly involved in workplace safety assessments. Dosimeters provides an easy-to-implement tool for monitoring noise levels across multiple sites, helping ensure compliance and workplace safety without the need for external consultants.
• Health & Safety Generalists. For generalists managing multiple safety concerns, the dosimeter simplifies noise monitoring typically with an intuitive app and easy deployment, they can track noise exposure, identify risks, allowing you to take action.

Once the preserve of specialists, new technology and connectivity means that noise measurements using a personal noise dosimeter remains accurate, offering accessible data at an affordable price point. 

Explore the TSI OmniWear Noise™ Dosimeter


References
1.    Post | LinkedIn
2.    HSE inspections target hearing protection and noise control failures | British Safety Council
3.    Pretzsch, A., Seidler, A. & Hegewald, J. Health Effects of Occupational Noise. Curr Pollution Rep 7, 344–358 (2021).
4.    Controlling noise at work: The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, Guidance on Regulations.  HSE Document L108
5.    Exposure calculators and ready-reckoners - HSE