Noisy Work Environment Affecting Workforce’s Productivity and Safety

Date: July 5, 2019 | Category: High-Noise Workplace Safety

The effects of exposure to a loud work environment within your workplace shouldn’t be underestimated. Loud noises can cause a range of negative effects, both physical and psychological, making excessive noise an important safety concern.

These excessive noise side effects include hearing loss, speech interference, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and more.

Hearing Loss and Its Effects

There are many long-term detrimental effects of hearing loss. If a colleague’s hearing is damaged from excessive noise in the workplace, this is something they will need to live with for the rest of their lives.

And if you are a business owner or manager of an industrial workplace, there are many considerations concerning the hearing health of your employees and colleagues.

If you don’t do your utmost to protect the hearing of those you work with, you could be held responsible for their hearing health in the years to come. Therefore, noise safety should be a top priority when considering the health and safety of your employees in the workplace.

It’s also important to consider the way in which the impacts of a noisy work environment can affect your workers’ efficiency and productivity. Continuous excessive noise can have a detrimental effect on the amount of work your employees are able to achieve, due to miscommunication and irritation caused by the loud noise.

Here are the top four implications you need to consider:

Speech interference – Raising your voice in order to be heard places stress on both the speaker and the listener. It can also lead to a breakdown in communication.

Sleep disturbance – Excessive noise can lead to sleep disturbance at night. As a result, this can cause fatigue and a decrease in cognitive performance when at work, possibly leading to accidents. 

Interference with concentration – Excessive noise can interrupt concentration and prevent employees from working to their potential, which can lead to frustration. 

Decreased productivity – Exposure to excessive noise can often lead to a drop in productivity levels. 

How technology can help you manage a noisy work environment >>

SENS® Technology from Sensear is helping businesses across the globe effectively manage their noisy work environments and keep their workers safe.

While suppressing noises in the surrounding environment, SENS® Technology still allows users of the headsets to communicate with one another, making the technology safe.

The innovative SENS® Technology works by limiting loud background noises while processing and separating speech allowing the wearer to hear speech as well as alarms or other important sounds.

This is perfect for potentially dangerous environments such as factories, where workers need to be able to hear their peers yet require loud machinery noises to be suppressed.

Using this high-tech sound filtration system, which has built-in digital signal processing, SENS® Technology achieves this.

Make the right noise reduction choice for your work environment. Download this Buyers Guide to Industrial Headsets to make sure that you are selecting the right noise reduction and communications solution for your team.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim Kruckow

Jim Kruckow is a member of the Sensear team who shares insights on hearing and noise protection. With a background in hearing safety, he aims to inform and inspire readers.