Industrial Noise and its Effects on Hearing

Industrial noise and its impact on hearing Audition plays many important roles in our daily lives. From the sound, we can identify and find things. In addition, speaking and listening has become a very important means of communication. The lack of hearing may have a great physical and mental influence. Hearing loss due to occupational noise is one of our biggest industrial diseases. This is a disease that has been recognized since the Industrial Revolution.

Occupational Noise Excessive noise is one of the most common occupational hazards, especially in mining, manufacturing and construction workers, especially in developing countries. Its most serious effect is a completely preventable irreversible hearing impairment. With engineering control, exposure can be minimized and noise sources can be reduced. Approximately 16% of adults with hearing loss worldwide are thought to be due to occupational noise exposure. According to the definition of hearing loss by the World Health Organization (WHO) (23), this is equivalent to 4.5 million DALY, which is suitable for hearing loss at moderate or higher levels. Mild hearing impairment is not included in this estimate

Noise is also a factor that may adversely affect the health of coal miners. Exposure to excessive noise may cause hearing loss due to noise. Hearing loss caused by occupational exposure is the occurrence of occupational hearing impairment. In order to protect the hearing of miners, the noise guidelines of the United States Mining and Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) have specified 90 dBA noise and an allowable exposure limit (PEL) of 8 hours or more. The lower limit of 85 dBA is set for workers and can be included in the MSHA action level to decide to include workers in the hearing protection program.

Noise and vibration In addition to permanent hearing loss, the main dangers exposed to noise are stress and fatigue. For most devices in the health and beauty industry, such as hair dryers and radios, the noise level causing hearing loss is usually insufficient. However, some workers and customers may feel that the noise level is annoying. If the staff used personal safety alerts in case of emergency, it must be tested by hearing experts or specialist in ear and nose and throat to determine if hearing impairment occurred. Equipment such as handheld hair dryer, body massager, electric nail file, drill bit etc may vibrate. Workers using this device are at risk of developing Raynaud's disease and / or carpal tunnel syndrome; the onset of these conditions depends on the following factors: