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6 CONSTRUCTION SAFETY MAGAZINE  Autumn 2009 

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Noise can slowly steal your hearing.

Loud noise may be common onconstruction sites, but that doesn’tmean it has to reach your ears. It’s100% avoidable. I workers areexposed to loud noise, they—andyour company—stand to lose.

Tat’s because loud noise isn’t just annoying. Tat ringing in

your ears at the end o the day isactually a warning sign. I you’renot protected, then slowly, bitby bit, loud noise can steal yourhearing.

A serious problem

Research shows that a signifcantpercentage o construction workershave hearing loss that has nothingto do with aging.

O all occupational diseases inconstruction, noise-inducedhearing loss has the highestnumber o permanent disability claims accepted by the WorkplaceSaety and Insurance Board(WSIB). In 2007, the WSIB wastracking 3,349 active cases o 

hearing loss, with a total cost o $7 million and a lietime cost perclaim o $28,000.

Noise exposure studies show thatmany construction workers are atrisk o hearing loss rom excessivenoise. On most constructionsites, it’s common or noise

levels to exceed 85 or even 90dB(A) somewhere on the project. Workers in those areas are at risk.

Te US National Institute orOccupational Saety and Healthpredicts that continuous exposureto such noise levels can result inup to 32% o exposed workersdeveloping signifcant hearingloss. I even 10% o Ontario’sconstruction workorce has thisdegree o exposure, then 9,000 to12,000 workers will likely develophearing loss.

 You don’t need to be exposed toloud noise all day long and every day to risk hearing loss. Exposureto very loud noise (e.g., chainsaws,quick-cut saws) or even relatively 

short periods repeatedly andregularly over time can result inpermanent hearing loss.

What noise can do

Noise-induced hearing loss is slow but irreversible. You oten don’tnotice it until ater the damage isdone. Tere is no cure.

Te act that people don’t notice

hearing loss right away is onereason why they neglect protectingthemselves. We oten ignore utureconsequences i avoiding themrequires eort in the present. Teuture, however, comes quickly.Let’s look at what could happen.

 What’s it like to lose your hearing?

• You begin fndingconversations di cult to

ollow. You may strain to hearyour kids or grandkids. Youstart thinking that people aremumbling.

• When someone sayssomething, you may catchonly part o the sentence. Yourequently ask people to repeatthemselves, and to speak up.

• You fnd it hard to ollow group discussions.

• You turn up the volume onthe V, but other people fndit too loud. When someonecalls you rom upstairs, youdon’t hear them.

• Over time, you can eelisolated and depressed.

AN INVISIBLE ENEMY

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Hearing loss, however, isn’t theonly thing. Noise causes otherserious problems.

One is tinnitus. innitus is a high-pitched ringing or hissing in yourears. Frequently, tinnitus suererssay that they have di culty sleeping and concentrating, andthat they eel depressed. For somepeople, tinnitus can be prooundly 

disabling—more so even thanhearing loss.

 Another noise-related problem isstress. Scientists have establisheda link between noise and bothphysical and psychological stress.Such stress can lead to many problems including:

➛ high blood pressure

 ➛ increased risk o heart disease

 ➛ tiredness ➛ irritability.

Noise-induced stress can evenaect a etus. Mothers’ noiseexposure has been linked tobabies’ low birth weight.

Effects on companies

It’s clear that workers suer

rom exposure to loud noise, butconstruction companies can suertoo.

First o all, in small companies, workers, supervisors, and ownersare oten in the same noisy environment. Obviously, the noisethat aects workers can also hurtsupervisors and owners.

Second, noise on a jobsite—and workers’ hearing loss—canincrease the chance o injury. I  workers can’t hear warning signalssuch as back-up alarms or shoutso danger, then they’re at risk o being injured or killed. As well, i  workers have hearing loss, they’regoing to fnd it more di cult toollow the saety talk or pre-jobinstructions rom a supervisor.

Te company risks all the moraland fnancial consequences o  workplace tragedies.

What can you do?

Hearing loss is 100% preventable.Tere is no good reason why any worker needs to suerhearing problems rom a job inconstruction. Noise, however, isunavoidable. So to prevent hearing

problems, you have to control workers’ exposure to noise. See thepullout guide on controlling noiseexposure in this issue.

It’s always best to control noiseat its source (e.g., use quietequipment) or along the pathrom the noise to the worker( upe.g., set noise barriers).

Hearing protection such asearplugs and earmus are thecontrol o last resort, but they’realso very eective i used properly.(See the pullout guide in this issueor how to ft hearing protection.)

For example, ater BritishColumbia instituted a workplacehearing conservation programin 1987, there has been a steady increase in the use o hearingprotection, with almost 90% o construction workers reporting

regular use in the year 2000. From1993 to 2002, the percentage o construction workers with hearingloss decreased in workers over age40. Te number o compensationclaims or hearing loss declined by31%.

Even though noise-inducedhearing loss is preventable,Ontario has not yet developed ahearing conservation program or

the construction industry. Nor isthere any legislation regulatingnoise exposure in construction.It may just be a matter o timebeore the Ministry o Labour will introduce a noise regulationor guideline or construction. By protecting your workers romnoise now, you will be preparedor the uture.

 Aside rom preserving workers’hearing and reducing the risk o  workplace injuries, controllingnoise exposure contributes towarda good health-and-saety culturein your company. It shows youremployees that you care abouttheir uture.

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NOISE: AN INVISIBLE ENEMY