Protect workers’ hearing

 Protect workers’ hearing

Is the noise at your workplace causing you to lose your hearing? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job each year.

The permissible exposure limit set by OSHA is 90 decibels averaged over eight working hours, with a 5 dBA exchange rate. "This means that increasing the noise level by 5 dBA cuts the amount of time a person can be exposed to a certain noise level to receive the same dose in half," the agency explains.

OSHA also warns that your workplace may be too loud if you leave work with ringing or humming in your ears, have to shout to be heard by a coworker who is an arm's length away, or experience temporary hearing loss.

So, how can employers protect their employees' hearing?

Solutions

Excessive noise exposure should be controlled as an employer's first line of defense against work-related hearing loss. Engineering and administrative controls are two strategies.

Controls for engineering: This method entails modifying or replacing loud equipment, as well as making changes at the source of the noise or along its path of transmission. Because some changes can be costly, OSHA recommends the following low-cost but effective engineering controls to consider:

• Enclosing or isolating the noise source.

• When purchasing new machinery, look for low-noise options.

• Using sound walls or curtains around noisy machines; and

• keeping machines lubricated.

Administrative controls entail making changes in the workplace to reduce or eliminate a worker's exposure to noise. Employers can put administrative controls in place:

• Operating noisy machines during shifts with the fewest workers exposed.

• Reducing the amount of time, a worker spends near the noise source. "In open space, every doubling of the distance between the source of noise and the worker reduces noise by 6 dBA," according to OSHA.

• Creating or allowing access to quiet areas where employees can go to avoid potentially hazardous noise sources.