E4061 Hearing Conservation: Are You Listening, Jim? Leader s Guide

E4061 Hearing Conservation: Are You Listening, Jim? Leader s Guide

ARE YOU LISTENING, JIM? This easy-to-use Leader s Guide is provided to assist in conducting a successful presentation. Featured are: INTRODUCTION : A brief description of the program and the subject that it addresses. PROGRAM OUTLINE: Summarizes the program content. If the program outline is discussed before the video is presented, the entire program will be more meaningful and successful. PREPARING FOR AND CONDUCTING THE PRESENTATION: These sections will help you set up the training environment, help you relate the program to site-specific incidents, and provide program objectives for focusing your presentation. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Questions may be copied and given to participants to stimulate discussion about the program, its safety lessons and universal theme. INTRODUCTION This program presents the story of one worker, Jim, and his struggle with his own inner voices that encourage him to take better care of his hearing. Your workers will understand that it is not just the noise at work that can cause hearing loss, but excessive sound levels off the job as well. The overall message is simple: hearing loss is permanent but preventable and everyone needs to take care of their hearing any time they are exposed to high levels of noise. Topics include how components of the ear work to interpret sound, how sound energy damages our hearing, proper use of earplugs and earmuffs, common excuses made for not wearing protection, warning signs of hearing loss and how annual hearing tests measure and record hearing loss. INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT OPENING The program opens with Jim listening to loud music when his voice of reason begins a conversation by saying, Hey Jim. The music s too loud. Jim! The music s too loud! It s hurting your hearing! His voice of reason tells him they have a problem: if Jim wants to keep enjoying music, he needs to take better care of his hearing. You shouldn t listen to your music at such a high volume, especially with ear buds, because you re damaging your ability to hear. After his irrational voice tells him his hearing is fine, his voice of reason tells Jim that he s actually lost some of his hearing already because he exposes himself to too much noise off the job and he doesn t always wear his hearing protection properly at work. Lots of work environments are noisy. Sometimes the sound level is high enough to damage hearing. Noise-induced hearing loss is permanent; what you lose, you can t get back. HOW COMPONENTS OF THE EAR WORK TO INTERPRET SOUND Sound energy travels through the air waves. When sound energy enters your ear, it moves down your ear canal and strikes your eardrum. Three small bones in the middle ear transfer the vibration of the ear drum to the membrane separating the middle ear. This membrane vibrates, causing fluid in the cochlea to move tiny, hair-like nerve cells called cilia, which pass on the sound as electrical signals to your brain. The more energy to the sound, meaning the louder it is, the more damage it can cause.

HOW SOUND ENERGY DAMAGES HEARING Sound energy is measured in decibels. The more sound energy, the higher the decibel level and the louder we hear the sound. A normal conversation is about 60 decibels, an office is about 65 to 70 decibels, noisy industrial plants are 85 to 95 decibels and a very noisy workplace will measure more than 95 decibels. All this sound energy keeps passing over the nerve cells, day after day, year after year. Eventually they wear out and they don t grow back; you ll start noticing this first when you have trouble hearing high-frequency sounds. Damage to your nerve cells can occur at a average of 85 decibels for eight hours. The danger increases the louder the decibel level and/or the longer you re exposed. While you won t miss a few damaged nerve cells or miss the next few after that, it all adds up. By the time you do notice a difference, it s too late. Too many have been damaged and you ve lost some of your hearing permanently. Quiet time off the job doesn t balance loud noise exposure at work and you may get a lot more noise exposure away from work than you think. This is all the more reason to protect your hearing when you re on the job. When you listen to a loud sound continually, after a while it doesn t seem so loud, but it is just as loud. Your hearing just can t handle it; your hearing can recover from it in the short run, but over time, it causes permanent damage. As a rule, if it s too noisy to carry on a conversation at a distance of three feet without raising your voice, you need hearing protection. PROPER USE OF EARPLUGS Your employer will provide hearing protection. You can choose from disposable earplugs, usually made of foam, or reusable earplugs that you wear over and over again. Earplugs fit into your ear canal and form a tight seal that keeps out excess sound. To put in foam earplugs, start with clean hands, then roll the plug into a tight cylinder. Roll as smooth as possible, without creases. With your other hand, you reach over your head and pull your ear up and out to open the ear canal. You insert the earplug into the ear and hold it there for around 10 seconds while it expands inside your ear. Some styles you just have to push into your ear until you get a good fit. You put reusable earplugs in the same way, except they don t expand, so you don t have to hold them in. Talking or chewing during your shift can loosen the seal of your ear plugs, so you should take them out and re-insert them every so often. Wash reusable plugs with soap and water; dry and then store them in a clean, dry place. When disposable earplugs get dirty, or if reusable earplugs start to show signs of wear or don t fit right anymore, you should replace them. If your earplugs are not fitting right, try putting them in again or find another style that fits better.

USING EARMUFFS PROPERLY Earmuffs are another kind of protection. They can be worn separately or can be attached to a hardhat. If you wear hearing protection the right way, you should be able to hear conversation, active equipment, warning sirens and anything else you need to hear. The sound just won t be as loud. When you put on ear muffs, move any of your hair out of the way so it s not between the earmuff and your ear. You then center them on your ears and make sure they form a tight seal. If you re wearing glasses, make sure they don t prevent a good seal between the cushion and your head. Check the out every so often to make sure they re fitting properly. Before you put them on, check the cushions for tears, cracks or any other signs that they re wearing out. If they are, get some that are in good shape. When you re done with them, wipe them with a damp cloth and put them in a clean place. If you want extra protection, you can wear earmuffs and earplugs. THERE ARE NO GOOD EXCUSES FOR NOT WEARING PROTECTION No matter what people might think, anyone who thinks you shouldn t wear hearing protection is not your friend. Some excuses for not wearing protection include it s too hot, it s too heavy, it hurts and it ll give you headaches. Sure, wearing hearing protection might be a little uncomfortable, but saving your hearing is worth a little discomfort. If your hearing protection is too uncomfortable, try a different size or a different kind. Keep in mind that hearing aids can t bring back the hearing you ve lost; they just work with the hearing you ve got left. Hearing loss happens over time and you don t notice it right away. You might not notice it for 10, 20, even 30 years, so some people stop wearing hearing protection because they think they don t need it. If you have lost some hearing, it s really important to protect what you have left. DETERMINING IF YOUR HEARING HAS BEEN DAMAGED One way you can tell if your hearing has been damaged from too much noise is to pay attention to the warning signs. You might have trouble hearing S and T sounds when people talk to you. You might have a ringing in your ears all the time or people might tell you that you talk too loud, but you don t think so. The best way to find out if you ve got any hearing loss is to get your hearing tested. Many companies test their employees hearing, usually once a year. Some of them arrange for mobile vans to come to the workplace and some even have testing facilities onsite. Some vans have sound level meters in the test booth that measure and record background noise levels during the test. When background noise exceeds a certain limit, the testing is stopped until the noise drops back down. Your hearing history is a record of your ability to hear. Your record shows how well you could hear when you started working and how well you have taken care of your hearing over time.

Each time you get tested, the results of the current test are compared with the results of your first, or baseline, test. That way, you can tell if you ve lost some hearing.

PREPARE FOR THE SAFETY MEETING Review each section of this Leader's Guide as well as the DVD or digital media. Here are a few suggestions for using the program: Make everyone aware of the importance the company places on health and safety and how each person must be an active member of the safety team. Introduce the program and then play it without interruption. Review the program content by presenting the information in the program outline. Here are some suggestions for preparing your video equipment and the room or area you use: Check the room or area for quietness, adequate ventilation and temperature, lighting and unobstructed access. Check the seating arrangement and the audiovisual equipment to ensure that all participants will be able to see and hear the program. CONDUCTING THE PRESENTATION Begin the meeting by welcoming the participants. Introduce yourself and give each person the opportunity to become acquainted if there are new people joining the training session. Explain that the primary purpose of the program is to stress the point that hearing loss is permanent but preventable and everyone needs to take care of their hearing any time they are exposed to high levels of noise. Introduce the program. Play it without interruption. Review the program content by presenting the information in the program outline. Lead discussions about specific job tasks and work areas at your organization that require hearing protection and the types of protective devices that are available and appropriate for these tasks and areas. After watching the program, the viewer will be able to explain the following: How sound energy damages our hearing; How to wear earplugs and earmuffs properly; Why there are no good excuses for not wearing hearing protection; What some of the warning signs of hearing loss are; How annual hearing tests measure and record hearing loss.

ARE YOU LISTENING, JIM? REVIEW QUIZ Name Date The following questions are provided to check how well you understand the information presented during this program. 1. What are the tiny, hair-like nerve cells that pass on electrical signals to the brain called? a. ossicles b. cilia b. stapes 2. The sound energy of a normal conversation is about decibels. a. 40 b. 60 c. 85 3. Quiet time off the job will not balance loud noise exposure at work. a. true b. false 4. As a rule, if it s too noisy to carry on a conversation at a distance of feet without raising your voice, you need hearing protection. a. 3 b. 6 c. 9 5. earplugs expand in your ear to form a fit. a. Disposable b. Reusable 6. If you wear hearing protection the right way, you won t be able to hear conversation, active equipment or warning sirens. a. true b. false 7. Hearing aids cannot bring back any hearing you have already lost. a. true b. false 8. What is the best way to find out if you ve experienced any hearing loss? a. determine if you have any of the warning signs of hearing damage b. see if you can clearly hear your television or radio at a volume other people consider normal c. have your hearing tested

ANSWERS TO THE REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. b 2. b 3. a 4. a 5. a 6. b 7. a 8. c