It’s popular to think of hearing loss as an inescapable problem associated with aging, or, more recently, as a consequence of the younger generation’s regular use of iPods. But the numbers reveal that the bigger problem may be exposure to loud noise at work.
In the US, 22 million workers are subjected to potentially unsafe noise, and an estimated 242 million dollars is expended every year on worker’s compensation claims for hearing loss, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
What’s more is that higher rates of hearing loss are found in progressively noisier professions, demonstrating that direct exposure to sounds above a certain level progressively heightens your risk for developing noise-induced hearing loss later in life.
How loud is too loud?
A study conducted by Audicus found that, of those who were not subjected to work-related noise levels above 90 decibels, only 9 percent struggled with noise-induced hearing loss at age 50. In comparison, construction workers, who are routinely subjected to sound levels as high as 120 decibels, suffered with noise-induced hearing loss at the age of 50 at a rate of 60 percent!
It appears that 85-90 decibels is the ceiling for safe sound volumes, but that’s not the entire story: the decibel scale is logarithmic, not linear. That signifies that as you raise the decibel level by 3 decibels, the sound level approximately doubles. So 160 decibels is not two times as loud as 80—it’s about 26 times louder!
Here’s how it breaks down: a decibel level of 0 is barely noticeable, normal conversation is about 60 decibels, the ceiling for safety is 85-90 decibels, and the death of hearing cells happens at 180 decibels. It’s the region between 85 and 180 that leads to noise-induced hearing loss, and as would be expected, the professions with increasingly louder decibel levels have steadily higher rates of hearing loss.
Hearing loss by occupation
As the following table reveals, as the decibel levels connected with each occupation increase, hearing loss rates increase as well:
| Occupation | Decibel level | Incidence rates of hearing loss at age 50 |
|---|---|---|
| No noise exposure | Less than 90 decibels | 9% |
| Manufacturing | 105 decibels | 30% |
| Farming | 105 decibels | 36% |
| Construction | 120 decibels | 60% |
Any profession with decibel levels above 90 places its personnel at risk for hearing loss, and this includes rock musicians (110 dB), Formula One drivers (135 dB), airport ground staff (140 dB), nightclub staff (110 dB), and shooting range marshalls (140 dB). In every instance, as the decibel level increases, the risk of noise-induced hearing loss grows.
Protecting your hearing
A recent US study on the prevalence of hearing loss in farming discovered that 92 percent of the US farmers surveyed were exposed to dangerous noise levels, but that only 44 percent reported to use hearing protection accessories on a everyday basis. Factory workers, in comparison, tend to conform to more rigid hearing protection regulations, which may explain why the incidence rate of hearing loss is slightly lower in manufacturing than it is in farming, despite being exposed to similar decibel volumes.
All of the data point to one thing: the significance of protecting your hearing. If you work in a high-risk occupation, you need to take the right preventative steps. If avoiding the noise is not an option, you need to find ways to minimize the noise levels (best accomplished with custom earplugs), in addition to making sure that you take consistent rest breaks for your ears. Limiting both the sound volume and exposure time will decrease your chances of acquiring noise-induced hearing loss.
If you would like to investigate a hearing protection plan for your particular situation or job, give us a call. As hearing specialists, we can provide custom-made solutions to best safeguard your hearing at work. We also offer custom earplugs that, in addition to protecting your hearing, are comfortable to wear and can maintain the natural quality of sound (in contrast to the muffled sound you hear with foam earplugs).