You’re most likely to experience noise-induced hearing loss due to hazardous noise exposure on the job. In fact, approximately 7% of the population is at risk of occupational hearing loss. In this post, we review how loud sounds damage your ears, what professions are most at risk and what you can do to protect your hearing.
How Loud Sounds Damage Your Ears
The inner ear contains the cochlea, which is a snail-shaped organ lined with tiny hair cells called stereocilia. The stereocilia’s job is to convert incoming soundwaves into electrical energy that the brain interprets as sound.
When dangerously loud sounds pass through the ears, it can damage or destroy the stereocilia, and any damage is permanent. The result is sensorineural hearing loss.
The threshold that is considered safe for a workday is 85 dB – about the volume of passing highway traffic. Anything louder can cause damage to your ears over a period of eight hours or less. The louder the noise, the quicker it can cause damage.
What Professions Are Most at Risk?
One study called “Occupational noise exposure: A review of its effects, epidemiology, and impact with recommendations for reducing its burden” and published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America in 2019 examined which professions are most at risk of noise-induced hearing loss.
The researchers found:
- “61% percent of Mining sector workers are exposed to occupational noise, the highest of any industry, and 23% report having hearing difficulty.”
- “The Construction sector has the second-highest prevalence of noise exposure, at 51%, and 14% of all workers in this sector report hearing difficulty.”
- “47% percent of Manufacturing sector workers are exposed to occupational noise, ranking third highest, and 18% report having hearing difficulty.”
Some other professions also at risk of occupational hearing loss include:
- Airline workers
- Carpenters
- Entertainers
- Farmers
- Lumberjacks/loggers
- Military personnel
- Railway workers
- Teachers
What You Can Do to Protect Your Hearing
You can protect your hearing by wearing hearing protection. Common types of hearing protection include:
- Disposable foam earplugs that can be purchased at any drugstore.
- Earmuffs or other protective gear that can be purchased at Play It Again Sports.
- Custom earplugs that can be made from impressions of your ears and ordered by an audiologist at Torrance Audiology.
Your workplace should provide you with hearing protection or reimburse you for what you use on the job. Talk to your HR representative to learn more.
To learn more about hearing loss, hearing protection or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call Torrance Audiology today.