Occupational Health & Safety: You've heard the excuses a dozen times ... the reasons why a worker doesn't want to wear the required hearing protection in noise-hazardous areas. Some of the excuses ("they bother me" or "they're uncomfortable") pale in comparison to the risk of losing hearing for life. But other excuses have just enough credibility to sound almost plausible. Is a worker justified in not wearing hearing protection when he claims it affects his work output or that he's safer without the hearing protection? Let's walk through some of the common reasons workers offer for not wearing their ear plugs and dispel some of the myths preventing good protection.
20 comments:
I love the "my hearing has gotten use to the noise", no you moron it means you've already lost hearing from the noise. I fall victim to the stereotype of my generation of playing my music far to loud and when i go to ridiculously high volume concerts i refuse to wear ear protection but as I find myself more frequently in loud shop environments I do tend to use ear protection more and more. The interesting one that jumps out at me is the debunking "inserting it too far can damage your ear from", in reality you can't actually insert the protection to far. For someone like me however I have chronic ear infections and inflammations of my ear canal so insert ear protection on average causes some significant pain. Just like any PPE i find my self genuinely irritated with the peoples use of gear that has not been fitted which in reality MAKES THE GEAR USELESS!
This article was particularly interesting to me because I used to have quite a bit of hearing loss as a kid. I've since regained it, but it's slowly fading away. I am a huge supporter of ear protection in general for that reason. Though my hearing loss was not caused by noise, it's something I am very sensitive to. Nevertheless, I have used many of these excuses, citing, most often, that my ears are used to it. In stagecraft the other day, DR told my mini that the most dangerous noise pollution is actually from short, loud bursts, and that really surprised me. Hearing is a critical part of our existence as humans and after reading this article, I fully understand how these common excuses are actually false and how I should refrain from using them.
I know people with severe hearing loss, and because of them I don't understand why anyone would ever want to put themselves at risk of that. Anyone who's ever had a conversation with someone who can't hear well knows how difficult it is to communicate: "can you repeat that?" "what?" "What??" "...never mind". My mom has severe hearing loss, and before she got her hearing aids she said the worst part was that she felt completely social isolated at times, because she just couldn't understand conversations. The only excuse here that makes any sense to me at all is the one about the alarms, and it was well addressed in the article. THe most ridiculous excuse was "my ears are used to it"- no, you've just hurt yourself pretty badly already and are doing even more damage now.
I spent a lot of the time in the scene shop in high school, and never knew about ear protection. We all wore goggles, but for some reason we weren't taught about the danger that our ears were being exposed to. When I started having crew assignments in the shop here last year, I realized the importance of wearing proper ear protection.
I think that the main reason that people don't wear ear protection (and this is applicable to any PPE) is because of the "tough guy" attitude that a lot of workers have, which is something that the article points out as the most reported reason. I'm not sure why it's so "cool" to be so "tough" that you can be unsafe around dangerous equipment, but it's definitely something I've noticed in our scene shop a few times.
I wonder how many of these reasons are things people actually believe, and how many are things people have convinced themselves of because they don't want to wear hearing protection. I would be interested in learning about some of technology used to create speech friendly hearing protection. I find it interesting that unlike eyesight, which has a standard of measurement compared to the average, hearing loss is instead measured based off of how much one could hear before.
This is an article full of excuses that just seem ludicrous. Hearing protection is immensely important and people need to explore their options. Custom molded and fitted ear plugs are an expensive options but if you are planning on working on the shop floor for an extended period it would be extremely valuable. I also think that investing in all forms of PPE and getting the best possible PPE on the market is smart. The more comfortable and personalized the PPE is the more readily you will use it.
I honestly don't understand why so many people aren't concerned with PPE, especially hearing protection. In my shop in high school we didn't talk about hearing protection ever and looking back I wish we had. But especially in the professional world, why would you not be concerned about your hearing. Also, hearing protection is pretty easy to deal with. The foam ear plugs can be a hassle but there are plenty of alternatives. I plan on working in the entertainment industry, specifically concerts, and I'm getting some custom molded ear protection right away. I care about my hearing as should everyone.
Hearing protection should be just as big of a concern as eye protection is in the shop. Often times I fall victim to playing my music way louder than I should or neglecting hearing protection for one reason or another. As I'm getting older I think I have suffered some minor hearing loss and wish I had taken it more seriously.
In my high school we didn't have much of a shop, and when we went over safety we didn't even talk about hearing protection. It's interesting how in so many different work environments that involve power tools people are all so quick to put on safety glasses, or to call other people out on not using them, but they don't worry about hearing protection. Maybe it's a physical thing, because you can see the damage that not wearing safety glasses causes much more than you can see the damage that not wearing hearing protection. Also, not that I think that it's ever okay to work without safety glasses, but when one is in a shop without them, there is only a chance that they will be injured. However, when one is in a shop without hearing protection, they are continually hurting themselves. Hearing protection is a very important part of staying safe in a shop, and just because the damage isn't visible it doesn't mean that it's not there.
Great article! I haven't spent a lot of time in shops with people who make these sorts of claims, but I can see this happening a lot out in the real world. Just the other week there was a group of voice majors in the shop working on the opera. Several times I heard the shop managers trying to convince them to put on some hearing protection. These are people who how to make music (and hear it) for a living, and yet they didn't want to put on some yellow ear muffs. I can't get my head around that. I have taken to wearing eye and ear protection at all times in the shop ever since my stage craft call with DR. I'm glad that I know the facts behind these common myths so that if people ever try to use them as a reason not to protect their ears I can explain the facts to them.
People are idiots. I'd like to just leave it at that, but I doubt that would actually be counted as a comment. I probably watch out for my ears more than the average person, due to my work in sound design. When working in a place with high SPL levels, the obvious thing to do is to get some ear protection. An interesting conversation can be had with those in the audio field, especially those who mix concerts for a living. There are generally a few schools of thought when it comes to hearing protection at concerts with high SPL levels. On one hand, mixers may feel like they need to be exposed to the same levels the audience is in order to truly do their job, so they forgo PPE while mixing and are careful with their ears the rest of the time. On the other hand, some engineers feel that they can mix with some form of PPE that reduces level evenly across the frequency spectrum, and rely on meters and other hardware to see what level they truly are at. Both seem to be valid approaches, but it is a very interesting conversation to have.
I'll be the first to admit that I have a particularly bad habit of not wearing hearing protection, and I could maybe blame it on the early days of my career when I worked as a contractor and my very old school boss didn't believe in it and we just didn't have it in the truck. Fast-forward a few years to now, every shop I've ever worked in since then has never required it...and so my bad habit continued. And still to this day, I'm incredibly bad at remembering or making an effort to wear the appropriate PPE. And even though I'm aware of the bad habit, it still seems difficult to overcome sometimes. If I had to offer up my own excuse to this issue, I would say that it's not direct conversations or the tool itself that I have trouble hearing when I'm wearing my hearing protection, it's everything else that's happening in the shop...as a Job Lead it's important for me monitor the entire shop in one way or another and sometimes with hearing protection on it's much more difficult for to hear the other things happening in the shop.
Reading this article, I think every reason for not wearing ear protection sounds mere excuse except #3. When I first came to CMU, I, too, tend not to wear any protection, thinking that I will be extra careful when using machines. However, after doing a lot of crews and taking classes like stagecraft, where it emphasizes one's safety as the most important thing, I started to wear protection every time. However, for number 3, I somehow agree with the point. I tend to wear ear plugs than ear muffs because it is more comfortable and light, but in either way, I sometimes have hard time listening to what other people tell me. So, every time, I have to take out my earplugs. Looking at the explanation that rebukes #3, I see how some electronic ear muffs are designed to amplify the sound, but not all areas have that kinds of protection. When ear protections are required to wear in certain areas, there is reason that one should wear. So, I think it is better to take care one's safety by following the direction than to regret after getting any damage on one's hearing.
I value my hearing just as much as the next person, so i wear ear protection when working in a shop (when i remember to). This seems to be a common excuse among workers in a hazardous noise area. The thing that most often reminds me to put in my hearing protection is the loud whine of a table or radial arm saw, not necessarily the more damaging repetitive sounds of a nail or staple gun. Let alone an impact driver or hammer drill. I would love to see some sort of generic chart of damage risk due to various tools. I have already lost a portion of the upper range of my hearing due to an ear tube surgery when i was younger, i would also love to know if noise danger is less or more of a risk for me.
I think this is a really interesting article primarily because throughout my life i have actually heard most of these complaints. One of my favorites is "my hearing has gotten used to it" Thats pretty funny. The two myths however that i have encountered the most often though are the one about communication and the one about being able to hear the equipment functioning, primarily because these are both actually legitimate concerns. I think the answer here though, which the article alludes to, is to make sure you are using the right type of hearing protection for your job. Like in the shop, using protection that cuts the harmful edge off the sound but maintains the ambient sounds of people and the dimmed noise of the machines.
I would add, "I'm already deaf" to the top of this list. It's the excuse I've heard most often from co-workers, especially older ones, as if it's not possible to become more deaf. I think the best argument for wearing hearing protection, and respiratory protection for that matter, is that you can do a better job on a project if you are comfortable while you're doing it. I can't count how many times I've watched someone grinding out a weld without hearing protection, wincing in pain the whole time from the awful noise, rushing through the job so they can turn the damn tool off, and then wonder why their work is crap. Is wearing hearing protection really more uncomfortable than the angry scream of a grinding wheel on steel? The look on your face tells me "no." You are better at your job if you aren't distracted the whole time by the ringing in your ears and the grit in your teeth and the sparks in your eyes. Wear your protection or get out of my shop, not because I care if you can hear the crappy music you'll be listening to on the drive home, but because your work isn't worth the rate I'm paying you.
This article was an interesting read for me. I must admit that I am often guilty of not using hearing protection when I should be. Usually for me the rationale is that they are uncomfortable and require too much fiddling to keep in the ear, which distracts me from my work. Of course, in reality this just means I need better fitting hearing protection. This article really does make me think that I should look for better options for PPE that I can use comfortably.
This article is very important. Far too many people take safety too lightly, especially hearing. It's easy to ignore the impact sound has on your ears because there is no visual danger, but noise can cause serious and permanent damage. Be especially careful using hammers and staple guns. the noise level is dangerously high, but we hardly notice it because it is for such a short duration.
The take away is clear, use ear protection! There is no excuse for significant hearing loss! These myths seem rather silly to me, but I suppose some people believe them. I'm glad that all the folks at CMU make sure we follow proper safety protocol, for everything, not just hearing protection.
This article is definitely one people need to follow! Hearing is super necessary and losing it sucks. I already have somewhat bad hearing when it comes to understanding what people are saying sometimes (Probably because I used to be around loud noises when I was younger). So I definitely agree with this! I also really like the idea of fit testing ear protection, that sounds like it would make a lot of people happy, since when used, it will not really interfere with them or bother them too much.
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