Hearing Protection
Your Ears at Work Your ears hear nearby sounds both good and bad. It doesn t matter if it s your favorite song or a jackhammer. You can t close your ears like you can shut your eyes. So it s your job to protect your hearing. Once damaged, hearing never gets better. This booklet will give you tips on how to prevent hearing loss both on and off the job. When Noise Becomes Harmful Don t believe the guy on the shop floor who shouts, It s noisy here, but you ll get used to it! That s the problem. Loud noise over time or in bursts can cause hearing loss. Even noises that don t seem too loud can harm your hearing. You may not know that your hearing is fading. You may not feel pain. But slowly, as time goes on, you ll hear less and less. Quiz answers: 1. F; 2. T; 3. d; 4. b; 5. a; 6. T; 7. b.; 8. F; 9. c; 10. c 2
Take Action Every Day Your employer and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have taken steps to preserve your hearing. Working together, they have created a hearing conservation program that teaches you when and how to wear protection. It also teaches you about the dangers of noise exposure. But it s up to you to protect yourself. By taking action every day both at work and at home you can cut your risk of hearing loss. Table of Contents How You Hear... 4 Understanding Hearing Loss... 5 Measuring Sound... 6 A Partnership Between You and Your Employer... 8 Your Hearing Test... 9 Hearing Protection Choices...10 Your Ears Are Never Home Free...12 Key Points for Sound Protection...14 Hearing Conservation Quiz...15 3
How You Hear Sound moves through the air like the ripples you see after throwing a stone into a pond. Your outer ear collects sound waves. Your middle ear transfers them to the fluid-filled inner ear. There, thousands of hair cells turn sound waves into nerve impulses. When the impulses reach your brain, you perceive sound. Hair cell damage prevents those sounds from reaching your brain. The Outer Ear Sound waves enter the ear and hit the eardrum. The Middle Ear Three tiny bones are set into motion. The Inner Ear Hair cells send nerve impulses to the brain. Normal Hair Cells Hair cells move when incoming sound vibrates the inner ear fluid. The motion is turned into impulses that let you hear the sound. Damaged Hair Cells Loud noise causes hair cells to move too much and can damage them. Flattened hair cells can t fully send nerve impulses to your brain. Once damaged, hair cells never recover. 4
Understanding Hearing Loss As you age, some hearing loss is normal. But long-term exposure to loud noise can speed up the loss. You lose more than the ability to hear how loud a sound is. You also lose the ability to hear certain types of sounds. For example, you might not be able to hear some of the high-pitched sounds of a child s voice. Normal Loss vs. Accelerated Loss High Hearing Ability AGE 1 10 20 30 40 50 60 Normal loss Accelerated loss Low Normal Loss Each of us is born with about 40,000 hair cells. They thin out naturally as we age. With the loss of hair cells comes hearing loss. This is called presbycusis. Most people don t notice normal hearing loss until their middle years. Others might not notice it until late in their lives. It s most often a slow and painless process. Accelerated Loss Exposure to loud noise may cause brief hearing loss and ringing in your ears called tinnitus. If your exposure was short, you may recover. But long-term exposure day after day can affect your hearing for life. It s like bright light: One flash of light may blur your vision for a minute. But staring into a very bright light for hours each day can harm your sight forever. Noise Hurts More Than Your Hearing Did you know that loud noises can affect your whole body? By protecting your ears from noise, you re protecting your whole body. Loud noises can: Raise blood pressure Disrupt sleep patterns Cause muscle strain Harm digestion 5
Measuring Sound Loudness is measured in decibels (db). As decibels rise, loudness quickly increases. A 10-dB rise is a 10-times leap in loudness. That means an 80-dB sound (a vacuum cleaner) is 10 times louder than a 70-dB sound (a telephone ringing) and 100 times louder than a 60-dB sound (normal conversation). Barely audible 0 9 db Weakest sounds you can hear 10 19 db Rustle of leaves Soft sounds 20 29 db Quiet bedroom at night 30 39 db Whispered conversation; milk poured on dry cereal 40 49 db Soft music; average sub urban home during day 50 59 db Large business office; light freeway traffic Daily sounds 60 69 db Normal conversation; household washing machine 70 79 db Ringing telephone; alarm clock; noisy restaurant; moderate freeway traffic; light assembly plant Note: Decibel levels are approximate. They will vary depending on equipment and environment. 6
When You Need Protection At the workplace, your employer measures noise with sound level meters and dosimeters. If the average noise exposure over an 8-hour work shift is 85 db or higher, you need protection. OSHA requires your employer to have a hearing conservation program. From 85 db to 125 db, you can lose hearing painlessly. Over 125 db, you may feel pain. As loudness and pitch rise, you may get acoustic trauma. That means a single exposure can cause permanent hearing loss. Harsh sounds 80 89 db Vacuum cleaner; shouted conversation; busy city streets; welding equipment 90 99 db Small woodworking shop; portable sander; automatic screw machine; drill press; subway train; 20-ton truck; newspaper printing press Intense sounds 100 109 db Lawn mower; outboard motor; snowmobile; bulldozer; chain saw; circular saw; weaving room; rivet ing machine; helicopter 110 139 db Motorcycle; loud music; 120-watt stereo system at high volume; car horn; thunderclap; ship engine room; punch press; sand blaster; turbine generator;.357 magnum gun Deafening sounds 140 149 db Jet engine at takeoff; high-powered shotgun blast 150+ db Intense explosion; rocket liftoff 7
A Partnership Between You and Your Employer Your employer and OSHA want your workplace to be safe. Your employer will provide the hearing conservation training you need. But it s up to you to follow it. Your Employer s Role Your employer is responsible for: Having a hearing conservation and training program. Monitoring noise in the workplace. Providing a variety of hearing protection. Reducing workplace noise through engineering controls. Listening to employee concerns about hearing hazards. Requiring employees to attend training. Retraining annually. Arranging hearing tests. Updating the program as work conditions change. Your Role You re responsible for: Wearing and caring for hearing protection correctly. Attending your hearing conservation training. Going to your hearing tests. Protecting your hearing off the job as well as on. Reporting noise hazards and concerns to your supervisor. 8
Your Hearing Test An audiometric test measures how well you hear. It s quick and painless. OSHA and your employer may require this test each year. Follow through with it. You can t fail a hearing test. The test results just help your employer know whether more hearing protection is required. Your Test Results The test result is a graph called an audiogram. It shows how well you hear. The result of your first hearing test will be your baseline. Future tests will be compared to your baseline to see whether your hearing has changed. What to Expect You may be tested in a clinic or in a mobile testing van. The test lasts only a few minutes and is easy to do. If your test shows a change from your baseline, you may be tested more often. It could mean that you and your employer need to change the type of protection you usually wear. An audiologist (hearing specialist) will give you headphones and seat you in a soundproof room. The audiologist will then play tones at many pitches and volumes. When you hear the tones, you press a button or raise your hand. 9
Hearing Protection Choices Your employer will provide choices of ear plugs or muffs to wear on the job. Each kind has a noise reduction rating, or NRR. The NRR tells you how many decibels your protection will block. Some provide more protection than others. Check the ear plugs or muffs NRR to decide which is right for you. Also choose one that s comfortable. Ear plugs and muffs can be worn at the same time to block even more noise. Disposable Ear Plugs TYPE Made of dense foam May come joined by cord to prevent loss Lightweight, comfortable Easy to fit Reusable Ear Plugs Made of flexible rubber or silicone May come joined by cord to prevent loss May be in headband form Easy to put in and take out many times a day Muffs Cushions filled with foam or liquid May come attached to hard hats Difficult to wear with glasses or over hair that covers ears 10
Is Your Protection Working? You should not hear ringing in your ears after removing ear plugs or muffs. If you do, or if your hearing is muffled, tell your supervisor. Make sure you insert and wear your ear plugs or muffs the right way. Homemade ear plugs, such as cotton balls, don t work. And it s not enough just to use the right hearing protection. If you don t wear it correctly, it won t work. Also, for hygiene purposes, never share ear plugs. Each set is for one person only. FIT Roll and compress ear plug into a point. Reach over head and pull ear up and back. Insert plug into ear and hold in place until it expands. CARE Wash hands before inserting. Discard when dirty or after one use. Discard if foam doesn t expand to fill ear canal. Reach over head and pull ear up and back. Insert plug into ear. With headbands, gently pull band apart, and release plugs into ears. Wash hands before inserting. Wash plugs in soap and water. Discard if torn or warped. Discard if headband breaks. Push hair away from ears. Place cushions over ears. Press cushions to create a seal around ears. Wear headband over top of head, not around neck. Wipe cushions clean with damp cloth and soap. Don t modify headband or cushions. Replace cushions if torn. Replace headband if bent. 11
Your Ears Are Never Home Free You may be exposed to harmful noise at work, at home, or on vacation. Your ears can t tell the difference. The tools in your garage can be as loud as those at work. Noise from a motorboat will hurt your hair cells as fast as noise from a drill press. That s why you need to protect yourself both on and off the job. Your Ears Are Always at Work You may be home, but your ears are working overtime. Many noises are as loud as those that require protection at work. Some household tools make far more noise than you may hear on the job. Your garage may contain power tools that make a harmful racket when used. The noise from a circular saw is 10 times louder than the noise caused by a 20-ton truck. 12
Your Ears Deserve a Break You might hear the loudest noises when you re out having fun. You may be playing, but your ears need a break. Ear Care Tips Got the car radio up high? You may be enjoying that loud music, but your ears aren t. Going to see your favorite band at the arena? Pack your plugs. A rock concert can hurt your hearing as much as noise from a jackhammer. Your ears can easily become injured or infected. To protect them, remember these tips: Don t put anything other than ear plugs in your ears. Don t use hydrogen peroxide-based cleansers in your ears unless prescribed by your doctor. Tell your supervisor and see a doctor if you hear ringing or have pain, hearing loss, dizziness, or frequent headaches. A regular health exam should always include a check of your ears. 13
Key Points for Sound Protection A hearing conservation program is easy to follow. It makes sense. Best of all, it will help you keep hearing the sounds you enjoy for a long time. Just remember these key points: Once you ve lost your hearing, it doesn t come back. Hearing protection is everyone s responsibility. Follow your employer s hearing protection guidelines. Hearing loss occurs naturally as you age. But you can prevent accelerated loss by wearing ear plugs or muffs the correct way. Get regular hearing tests to see if you re losing your hearing. Protect your hearing even when you re at home or on vacation. 14
Hearing Conservation Quiz Select the best response to the following statements. Answers appear on the inside front cover. 1. Your ears can protect themselves. True False 2. Loud noises can cause hearing loss. True False 3. The hair cells in your inner ear: a. grow back once damaged b. filter out loud noise c. help keep your ears clean d. send nerve impulses to your brain 7. If you hear 85-dB to 125-dB sounds for a long time each day: a. you don t need ear plugs or muffs b. you can lose your hearing slowly c. you ll probably feel sharp ear pains d. you probably won t have any hearing loss 8. Putting cotton balls in your ears is enough to protect your hearing. True False 4. Hearing loss due to exposure to loud noise: a. happens only at work b. is preventable c. usually causes sharp pain to your ears d. all of the above 5. As decibels increase, loudness: a. rises quickly b. drops quickly c. stays the same d. rises, then drops quickly 6. Loud music can hurt your hearing as much as noise from a jackhammer. True False 9. A hearing test: a. requires studying OSHA s hearing conservation rules b. tells you how to protect your ears c. may tell you if you ve lost some hearing ability d. all of the above 10. Ear plugs should: a. never be worn off the job b. always be thrown away after one use c. never be shared d. always be removed once you get used to the noise Signature Date 15
A Lifetime of Hearing Think of the sounds you enjoy. Music. Cheering crowds at a ball game. A loved one s voice. A child s laugh. A waterfall. Don t put your ability to hear those sounds at risk. If you protect your hearing, you ll enjoy these and other sounds for a long time to come. Consultant: David Henry, PE With contributions by: Guillermo Gruenwald, CIH John D. McCan, Safety Specialist Gregory J. Spirakis, MS, CCC-A Content in this publication has been customized for State Fund. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or your employer s specific health and safety instruction or policies. 2013 Krames StayWell, LLC. www.kramesstaywell.com 800-333-3032 All rights reserved. Made in the USA. 1813 17482 1306