How to Get Your Employees to Wear Hearing Protection

You face the same problem with hearing protection that you do with other forms of PPE—employee resistance. You provide them with state-of-the-art PPE to protect them from hazards, you train them how to use it, and then they don’t use it.

Common objections to wearing hearing protection devices (HPDs) include:

• "I already lost some of my hearing, so why should I wear them?"
• "Won’t I get an ear infection?"
• "Hearing protectors are uncomfortable to wear."
• "I don’t need them! I am used to the noise."
• "I can’t hear my co-workers if I wear them."
• "Can I hurt my eardrums if I insert an earplug too deeply?"
• "I can always get fit with a hearing aid."
• "My machine sounds different."

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In a BLR webinar titled "Hearing Conservation: Develop a Program That Will Protect Worker’s Hearing and Reduce Your Costs," Theresa Y. Schulz, PhD, offered some possible responses to these objections:

• Even if you have lost some hearing, it is critical to prevent further hearing loss by wearing HPDs.
• The ear cannot "get accustomed to noise" Instead, this may be a sign of a mild hearing loss developing.
• If uncomfortable, find an HPD style that is more comfortable for extended wear. A properly fit HPD should feel comfortable for all-day use.
• Earplugs are designed to insert at a safe distance from the eardrum. You will not damage eardrum by hearing HPDs.
• An earplug does not cause ear infections, but it may aggravate an existing ear infection. If you suffer from a current ear infection, switch temporarily to earmuffs until the infection heals.
• Users of HPDs will hear sounds differently (co-workers’ voices, machinery, etc.). But HPDs reduce the background noise level as well as the signals you want to hear. It may require some adjustment period, but most users find they can still hear the signals they want to hear, even while wearing HPDs.
• Hearing aids are no substitute for normal hearing, and HPDs should be worn to prevent hearing loss.

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Personalize It

Another way to get employees to wear hearing protection is to personalize hearing loss for them to make it seem more real and less vague, says Schultz. In other words, show, don’t tell.

For example, you can provide workers with a copy of annual audiogram results to or use personal examples to demonstrate the consequences of hearing loss. Or you can ask questions to allow employees to make a connection with what hearing means to them such as:

• What is your favorite sound?
• What sound would you miss the most if you couldn’t hear?
• What sounds connect you to people and your environment?

You can motivate employees to wear their hearing protection, says Schultz, if you can prove to them that they are not invincible or invulnerable to noise-induced hearing loss. Getting workers to think about what their hearing means to them can help to personalize their motivation to prevent noise-induced hearing loss.

Tomorrow, more about hearing conservation, including the cost of hearing loss compensation and audiometric exams to help prevent hearing loss and its related costs.