Hearing damage and what can be done!!!

Hearing damage caused by exposure to noise at work is permanent and incurable. Research estimates that over 2 million people in the UK are exposed to noise levels at work that may be harmful. There are many new cases of people receiving compensation for hearing damage each year, through both civil claims and the Government disability benefit scheme, with considerable costs to industry, society and, most importantly, the people who suffer the disability.

Hearing loss is usually gradual due to prolonged exposure to noise. It may only be when damage caused by noise over the years combines with normal hearing loss due to ageing that people realise how deaf they have become.

Hearing damage can also be caused immediately by sudden, extremely loud noises. Exposure to noise can also cause tinnitus, which is a sensation of noises in the ears such as ringing or buzzing. Tinnitus may occur in combination with hearing loss.

These conditions are entirely preventable if:

(a) employers take action to reduce exposure to noise and provide personal hearing protection and health surveillance to employees;

(b) manufacturers design tools and machinery to operate more quietly; and

(c) employees make use of the personal hearing protection or other control measures supplied.