Noise on the job and protecting a crew's hearing

Noise becomes hazardous at 85 decibels, averaged over an eight-hour workday. About 27 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job each year. Loud noise damages and kills the hair cells in the inner ear, and the hearing loss that follows is permanent. Surgery and medicine can't correct it, and hearing aids help without bringing hearing back to normal.

Telling when it's too loud

If you have to raise your voice to talk to someone 3 feet away, the noise may be over 85 decibels. A sound level meter, or a sound level app on a phone, gives a closer reading for screening. Decibels climb fast, since a sound 10 decibels louder than another is ten times as intense. Noise-induced hearing loss dulls high-pitched sounds and makes speech harder to follow. The early signs are asking people to repeat themselves, struggling to hear over background noise and thinking people mumble. Tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing or rushing sound in the ears, is another.

Cutting the noise

Bringing the noise below 85 decibels is the best protection. Use quieter machines where you can, and set the loud ones apart from the rest of the crew. Limit how long each worker spends near the loudest work. Hearing protectors, such as earplugs or earmuffs, cover whatever noise remains. A protector only works if it fits, and ear canals differ in size and shape from one worker to the next.

Testing hearing

A worker exposed to hazardous noise should have a hearing test every year. A worker who notices a change in hearing, or who develops tinnitus, should get tested then too.

An annotated example

What to do next

Measure the loud tools on your next job, or use the 3-foot voice test. Set the loudest work apart, limit the time anyone spends next to it, and keep earplugs and earmuffs on every truck. Book a yearly hearing test for anyone who works in hazardous noise.