SPECIAL TO CEG
Hazardous noise levels are the most common safety hazard faced by workers today, and construction workers are no exception. More than 27 percent of highway construction workers are exposed to potentially damaging levels of noise on a daily basis, and the construction work environment presents unique challenges for protecting hearing.
A recent study found only 40 percent of construction workers wearing hearing protection in a noise hazardous area. This statistic is not surprising since many hearing protection specifiers lack important information about the products offered and may not consider the unique demands on hearing protection in the construction environment.
Motivation
Motivating employees to wear hearing protectors is vital to the success of any program. Remember, most people can be motivated to wear safety eyewear, hardhats or other safety gear because of the traumatic nature of these hazards. Unlike these hazards, noise-induced hearing loss is rarely the result of trauma and is generally not accompanied by pain. This loss is generally associated with years of over exposure at levels that seem only to be inconvenient and irritating as opposed to being harmful.
Testimonials are very effective employee motivators. Personal examples and demonstrations can be used for motivation as well. Many hearing protection and hearing conservation suppliers have testimonials and demonstrations available on audio tape or CD for little or no cost.
Hearing Important
Sounds
In the construction environment, it is especially important for hearing protection users to hear the sounds that allow them to work safely, while keeping out hazardous noise.
Hazards are often detected by listening, including back-up alarms, traffic noises and human voices. Worker are understandably concerned about reducing their ability to hear these noises by wearing hearing protection.
Studies show that in excessive noise environments, workers can actually hear more clearly and discriminate sounds better when wearing hearing protection. If this seems surprising, consider how sunglasses cut the incoming light energy from the sun and allow your sight to function within a more normal operating range. The sunglasses improve the ability to identify and discriminate between objects. Hearing protection provides the same advantages to our hearing senses when excessive noise is present.
Choosing Protectors
Remember, the best hearing protector is one that is used correctly when needed. Hearing protectors that are left in pockets or toolboxes are not protecting anyone.
• Comfort — Considering weight and environmental conditions, a protector should be comfortable throughout the wearing period.
If the product will be worn in a hot humid environment, earmuffs may be a poor choice since a pocket of air will become entrapped around the ear eliminating any cooling circulation of air. However, in an extremely cold environment, earmuffs may be the best choice.
• Hygiene — At many work sites, employees do not readily have the ability to clean hands before fitting the protector and may prefer using a protector that does not require rolling down or significant hands-on preparation for fitting.
• Localizing Abilities — Protectors diminish localizing abilities, which may be important on a job site. Localizing is the ability to tell the direction of the sound source.
Both plugs and muffs tend to diminish horizontal localization (left, right, front and back) equally.
Earmuffs tend to diminish vertical (up and down) localization more than earplugs.
• Overprotection — Hearing and understanding speech and warning signals should be an essential part of the protector decision.
Hearing protector selection based on highest noise reduction rating (NRR) is common.
However, on construction sites, the adverse impact of too much protection could be disastrous. Testing of any potential hearing protectors should include evaluation of the wear’s ability to hear warning signals when the protector is properly worn. The key is to avoid overprotection, which means that workers get too much protection that impedes the wearer’s ability to hear warnings and alarms.
Devices with high noise reduction ratings may not always be appropriate or needed. Again, test the device before making a final decision.
• Intermittent Noise — Hazardous noise levels are often intermittent in construction environments. Workers may frequently wish to remove their protector when hazardous noise is not present. In this type of application, hearing protectors should be easily stored on the worker or in a pocket and be quick to refit. Cords and bands on earplugs are helpful in this type of environment.
• Other Equipment — The hearing protector selected should be compatible with other equipment worn, including hardhats, eyewear, gloves and other items. Many earmuffs are available in styles that attach directly to hardhats. This ensures that the hearing protector is always available when the hardhat is worn.
• Radio Communications — In some instances workers may need to use radios to communicate. Look for earplugs and earmuffs that allow connection to a radio.
• Worker Transience — If a worker turnover is high, then device cost can become problematic. In addition, training time may be reduced. In this case, select a protector that is simple to fit and use.
Push-in style earplugs, banded earplugs and earmuffs are great choices when minimal training time is available.
• High-Visibility Protection — Some hearing protectors are available in high-visibility and glow-in-the-dark materials that complement the high-visibility apparel worn by many construction workers. A construction worker’s head is often the first part of the worker to be seen by an approaching motorist, so it makes sense to provide high visibility above the worker’s neck for added safety.
Conclusion
Take the proper steps to train and motivate workers to protect their hearing and select the right hearing protectors. At stake is nothing less than the most precious sense workers have, the sense that defines much of their relationships with other people — their hearing.
(This article appears courtesy of “Protection,” an ISEA publication.)
(Brian C. Myers is hearing protection product line director of Aearo E•A•R.)
Making Construction Workers Safer
“More than one-half million construction workers are exposed to potentially hazardous levels of noise, yet federal and state occupational safety and health programs provide little incentive to protect them against noise induced hearing loss,” wrote Alice H. Suter in a 22-page examination in the November/December 2002 issue of AIHA Journal. “The use of HPDs (hearing protection devices) by U.S. construction workers has been notoriously poor although it has improved in recent years.” (Look for the article “Construction Noise: Exposure Effects and the Potential for Remediation; A Review and Analysis.”)
Beginning Jan. 1, 2004 employers will be required to check a hearing loss column to record work-related cases meeting the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new recording criteria; the new criteria went into effect Jan. 1, 2003. Under the new criteria, employers record 10-decibel shifts from the employee’s baseline hearing test when they also result in an overall hearing level of 25 decibels.
OSHA also has clarified three matters relating to recording occupational hearing loss in conjunction with the final rule: audiometric tests for workers in shipbuilding industry; computation of a standard threshold for determining recordable hearing loss and how OSHA will treat an expected increase in the number of recorded cases resulting from new recordkeeping definitions and requirements.
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine has updated its position statement on hearing loss, to promote improved surveillance and encourage new research. The revised statement identifies characteristics of the condition and lists clinical considerations that could help physicians evaluate noise-induced hearing loss in workers.
For more information, visit www.osha.gov or Acoem.org/guidelines/article.asp?ID=53.
Today's top stories
