Why is it important to look after your hearing health in your workplace?
By Lauren McNee, Clinical Trainer, and Audiologist at Audika Hearing loss can occur for several reasons – genetics, ageing or illness to name a few. But one of the more common, but rarely talked about reasons is industrial hearing loss. Our ears are exposed to loud sounds every day, whether that be commuting to work, going to noisy venues for dinner and drinks with friends, attending concerts or even playing our music too loud in our earphones. All these sounds can damage your ears and result in noise induced hearing loss. But the risks are exacerbated for those that work in noisy industries where noise levels exceed 85 dB on a regular basis – and manufacturing is one of these industries. Some other industry examples include aviation, construction, mining, racing and music. It can be taboo, but hearing loss affects more people that you probably know – almost half of Aussies will experience hearing loss (43%), and globally it is expected to affect 1 in 4 people by 2050 (Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care). In an industry like manufacturing where you are exposed to loud sounds like glass bottling lines, cutting machinery, milling operations, and the noise produced from wheeled trolley and racks, it’s particularly important to take measures to protect your ears from damage, and quickly address any decline to avoid further hearing loss. Sadly, not enough people take this seriously. Despite the high percentage of people with hearing loss, only 1 in 5 plan on getting a hearing test this year. As a result, there are 1.3 million Australians living with a hearing condition that could have been prevented (Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care). There’s little that can be done about the nature of the work and the high noise environment, but […]
