Health & Safety Matters

Noise Levels and Hearing Loss in Construction

What Laborers Can Do To Protect Their Hearing And Maybe Even Save A Life
Unlike falling off of a scaffold or suffocating in a collapsed trench, the real damage from extreme noise exposure may not become apparent until years later. Nonetheless, health and safety officials see hearing preservation as one of the most pressing issues facing the construction industry. Tellingly, studies have shown that after 15 years on the job laborers will experience a significant loss in hearing.

Is hearing loss an unfortunate consequence that comes with the job? According to New Jersey State Laborers' Health & Safety Fund Co-Chair Raymond M. Pocino it shouldn't be, "work related hearing loss is one of the most common occupational diseases in the United Sates, affecting approximately 14 million workers, nationally, but it is 100% preventable." Click here and you can learn some important facts for noise control and hearing protection.

The Hazards
Hearing damage is caused by factors such as loudness, the amount of exposure to noise, and frequency. High frequency noise causes more damage than low frequency noise.

Noise may tire out the inner ear, causing a temporary hearing loss. After a period of time off, hearing is restored. But if exposure continues, the time it takes to restore gets longer. In many cases, by the time hearing is restored, its time for another work shift. If this continues, hearing never restores and the loss is permanent.

Normally, injury to the ears results in the inability to hear high frequency sounds. Normal speech falls into this frequency. A worker may be able to hear some sounds but speech may become unclear and distorted. Workers with hearing impairment may say, "I heard you, but I don't understand what you said."

Other Hazards
It appears that noise can increase pulse rate, blood pressure, and narrows blood vessels. Workers may complain of stomach problems, nervousness, sleeplessness, and fatigue when they have been exposed to high noise levels.

Legal Limits on Noise
Under the Occupational Safety and Health act (OSHA), every employer is responsible for providing a workplace free of excessive noise.

The details can be found in the following standards:
• 29 CFR 1910.95 - General Industry
• 29 CFR 1926.52 - Construction

Permissible Exposure Level
No worker is allowed to be exposed to sound levels greater than 90 decibels (dBA) without the use of hearing protection. If there are high noise levels the employer is required to reduce the noise exposure level to below 90 dBA. The first step should be engineering controls, and if that fails, then personal protective equipment, such as ear plugs or ear muffs, must be provided and worn.

Maximum Permissible Noise Exposure
Duration per day8 hr. 90 dBA
• 4 hr. 95 dBA
• 2 hr. 100 dBA
• 1 hr. 105 dBA

Common Examples
• Normal Conversation 60 dBA
• Passing motorcycle 90 dBA
• Pneumatic Drill 100 dBA
• Jackhammer 100 dBA
• Lawn Mower 105 dBA
• Power Saw 110 dBA
• Pain Begins 125 dBA

Hearing Conservation
Whenever 85 dBA is exceeded in the general industry standard (90 dBA in construction) for an 8 hour period, the employer is required to include all exposed workers into a hearing conservation program. The program must include:

• Training
• Yearly Audiometric Testing
• Monitoring Noise Exposure
• Hearing Protection

What are the Warning Signs that Noises Around Me are Too Loud?
• You have to raise your voice to be heard.
• You can't hear someone two feet away from you.
• Speech around you sounds loud or muffled after leaving a noisy area.
• You have pain or ringing in your ears after exposure to noise.

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