Take Steps to Prevent Occupational Hearing Loss

Each year the World Health Organization and the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) work together to raise awareness about hearing loss and how to prevent it in our communities, businesses and schools.

Hearing loss can be caused by childhood illness like infections in the womb, chronic ear infections and wax in the ears.

Most causes of hearing loss are irreversible, so prevention is a crucial measure in combating occupational hearing loss. Occupational hearing loss is frequently due to exposure to noise or head trauma. We encourage employers to be aware of exposure to less obvious causes of hearing loss such as:

• Solvents
• Asphyxiants 
• Cigarette/Tobacco smoke
• Metals and compounds (mercury, lead, organic tin compounds and manganese)
• Pesticides (Organophosphates) 
• Nitriles
• Medications (some antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs, diuretics, aspirin, ibuprofen/NSAIDs)

Employers should identify these agents and implement appropriate preventive measures to eliminate and control sources of noise and ototoxic agents to workers, including provision of Safety Data Sheets (SDS) where applicable.

Medical surveillance and testing of exposed workers, including access to a hearing conservation program, per the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Occupational Noise Exposure Standard, is also important.

Finally, employees should be encouraged to report symptoms of hearing loss such as decrease in hearing and new onset ringing/buzzing sound in the ears.

Contact us for more hearing safety information and programs.

Dr. Obi is a CAOHC-certified professional hearing conservation supervisor and oversees audiometric testing results at Froedtert Workforce Health Occupational Medicine.