The U.S. workplace offers workers a threat they may not even think about: occupational hearing loss.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, roughly 30 million American workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job; a further 9 million are at risk for healing loss from solvents, metals, and other agents.

In 2007, about 23,000 cases of occupational hearing loss—great enough to cause hearing impairment—were reported.

Contractors are at real risk of occupational hearing loss, considering the noisy tools and equipment they often use, and how generally noisy the worksite is. For instance, a study found that it’s not unusual for 25-year-old carpenters to have the hearing of a 50-year-old worker without occupational hearing damage.

OSHA has set the permissible exposure limit for construction workers to 90 A-weighted decibels over an eight-hour period—but noise-induced hearing loss usually results from extended exposure to sound levels at 85 A-weighted decibels. Data from the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program shows that 58 percent of construction workers have significant abnormal hearing loss due to workplace noise exposure. Other contractors also demonstrate significant hearing loss—for instance, 80 percent of welders and 47 percent of roofers.

Yet hearing protection does not seem to get the same emphasis that eye protection does. Earplugs and other hearing protectors are not commonly seen on a construction site, for instance, although given the noise level of the worksite, they certainly should be.

Choosing the right hearing protection can be complex. For instance, if a worker with normal hearing uses a hearing protector, the PPE should block out extraneous noise but allow the worker to still hear the voices of those around him. A worker who has already experienced some hearing loss, however, might have difficulty understanding speech or hearing important signals (like the backing-up warning a worksite vehicle makes) while using hearing protection.

Hearing loss is the second most reported occupational illness in the United States, edged out only by musculoskeletal disorders. Help your workers protect their hearing: explore hearing protection options, provide the PPE necessary for your workers to use on the job, and train them in the proper use of the equipment.

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