According to NIOSH, 4 million workers go to work each day in damaging noise. Ten million people in the U.S. have a noise-related hearing loss. Twenty-two million workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise each year.
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Because of these statistics, NIOSH recommends that all worker exposures to noise should be controlled below a level equivalent to 85 decibels (dB) for 8 hours to minimize occupational noise induced hearing loss. NIOSH also recommends a 3 dB exchange rate so that every increase by 3 dB doubles the amount of the noise and halves the recommended amount of exposure time.
Hearing Conservation Programs
Over the past few decades, much has been learned about the implementation of hearing loss prevention programs. NIOSH says that the eight components of a successful hearing loss prevention program are:
- Noise exposure monitoring
- Engineering and administrative controls
- Audiometric evaluation
- Use of hearing protection devices
- Recordkeeping
- Program evaluation
- Program audit
- Employee training and motivation
Think you have no time to train? Think again. BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer helps you fulfill key OSHA-required training tasks in as little as 7 minutes. Try it at no cost and see!
Ten Ways To Recognize Hearing Loss
According to the National Institutes of Health, the following questions will help your employees determine if they need to have their hearing evaluated by a medical professional:
| Do you have a problem hearing over the telephone? | Yes | No |
| Do you have trouble following the conversation when two or more people are talking at the same time? | Yes | No |
| Do people complain that you turn the TV volume up too high? | Yes | No |
| Do you have to strain to understand conversation? | Yes | No |
| Do you have trouble hearing in a noisy background? | Yes | No |
| Do you find yourself asking people to repeat themselves? | Yes | No |
| Do many people you talk to seem to mumble (or not speak clearly)? | Yes | No |
| Do you misunderstand what others are saying and respond inappropriately? | Yes | No |
| Do you have trouble understanding the speech of women and children? | Yes | No |
| Do people get annoyed because you misunderstand what they say? | Yes | No |
Those who answer “yes” to three or more of these questions may want to see an otolaryngologist or an audiologist for a hearing evaluation.
Effective, 7-minute sessions providing comprehensive safety training at an average cost of $1 a day. Get the details.
E-Z Training at a Phenomenal Price
To help train employees in a broad range of safety and health topics, savvy safety professionals have for years relied on the BLR® 7-Minute Safety Trainer. This essential training resource allows you to provide concise, memorable training easily and effectively in just a few minutes. Materials are ready-to-use, and each session supplies a detailed trainer’s outline as well as a handout, quiz, and quiz answers to get your points across quickly—and cost-effectively.
All told, this “trainer’s bible” contains 50 prewritten meetings covering almost every aspect of safety you’d want or need to train on, in a format designed to be taught in as little as 7 minutes. Major topics include:
—Confined spaces
—Electrical safety
—Fire safety and emergency response
—HazCom
—Machine guarding and lockout/tagout
—Material handling
—PPE use and care
—Housekeeping/slips, trips, and falls
—and dozens more
Just make as many copies as you need of the included handouts and quizzes, and you’re ready to train.
Equally important is that the program ships new meetings every quarter to respond to new and changed regulations. This service is included in the program price, which averages just over $1 a working day. In fact, this is one of BLR’s most popular safety programs.
If you’d like to personally evaluate 7-Minute Safety Trainer and see how it can build safety awareness, we’ll be happy to send it to you for 30 days on a no-cost, no-obligation trial basis. Just let us know, and we’ll arrange it.