Workers in the Construction Industry are surrounded by high-noise levels from heavy equipment.
Hearing Loss Facts
Research has shown that long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the amount of time it takes for noise induced hearing loss to occur.
Construction Site Hearing Loss and Health & Safety
- Workers with hearing loss can potentially miss audible warning signals.
- Hearing loss may lead to a breakdown in communication.
- Increased effort to listen by hearing impaired workers may lead to fatigue, anxiety, and stress.
- Workers may also suffer from tinnitus, causing them to hear ringing, rushing, or other noises even when there are no surrounding sounds
How to Protect Hearing and Prevent Noise Induced Hearing Loss
Noise induced hearing loss among construction site workers is preventable. Some important measures that can be taken include:
- Wearing hearing protective devices such as earplugs, earmuffs or headsets and selecting the right device for your working environment is important.
- Ensure you are wearing a hearing protective device that meets the proper SNR for the sound level measured in your work environment.
- Choose a hearing protection solution that is unobtrusive and doesn’t restrict workers, like the Pambry Electronics Listen Ear™ – Personal Noise Dose Meter, so they will always keep it on in all high noise work environments.
