Monitoring Noise and Sound Levels

Excess Noise Exposure Poses Substantial Health Risk

Noise isn’t just a nuisance or an irritation at work or in the community. Exposure to excessive noise and sound levels elevate stress and pose a substantial risk to worker safety. According to the CDC, hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition in the United States, and approximately 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous levels of occupational noise.

And the risk isn’t confined to jackhammers and jet engines. Even moderate noise levels can, over extended periods of time, result in hearing loss. Excess noise can make communication difficult, resulting in increased accidents and inefficient work environments.

The OSHA Standard: 90 dBA for eight hours

The OSHA standard for permissible noise exposures is 90 dBA over the course of an eight-hour shift. Other standard bodies, such as ACGIH, have lowered the value to 85dB. Even activities such as operating a lawnmower or working amidst crowd noise can expose workers to potentially dangerous decibel levels.

Employers have multiple methods at their disposable to mitigate the risk, including engineering controls, administrative controls, and implementing a hearing protection program. But in order for the program to be effective and efficient, consistent monitoring of personal and ambient noise exposures is necessary to log data and determine appropriate corrective action.

TSI Quest™ for Worker Protection

TSI’s Quest™ brand of sound level meters and noise dosimeters provide professionals with comprehensive information on noise sources and employee noise exposure to make informed safety decisions. Lightweight and versatile, Quest products monitor noise and sound levels in a wide variety of working environments, from underground mining to construction to oil and gas to the military. 

In addition to quality instruments, Quest offers a single software solution for reporting and analysis. Our detection management software program works across various data-logging instruments to record and report a variety of sound and noise related hazards.