Hearing loss is typically a gradual process, and by the time its effects are noticeable, it is often too late to do anything about it. Hearing loss is more common than most people realize, according to the CDC, an average of 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to dangerous levels of noise in the workplace annually. Hearing loss can be caused by several different factors (age, illness, etc.), however, the most common of these is noise-induced hearing loss, especially among older adults.
In the previous blog, we discussed how to know whether your industrial headsets are intrinsically safe, and we briefly introduced what it means to be intrinsically safe. As we learned, intrinsically safe products, or headsets, in this case, are meant to keep the user safe when in explosive or hazardous environments. In this blog, we will dive deeper into what these hazardous environments look like and how they are systematically classified into different classes, divisions, zones, etc.
Workplace hearing protection programs typically focus on individuals with normal hearing. But what about workers who already suffer from some level of hearing loss? Even in quiet environments, workers with hearing loss face a number of challenges, including difficulty communicating with colleagues and problems with differentiating important sounds above background noises.
As a global leader in developing and manufacturing best-in-class digital communications headsets, Sensear continues to be proactive to the needs of our customers, both existing and prospective.
To provide the quality and effective protection and communications functionality we’re committed to, we remain focused on our SENS (speech enhancement, noise suppression) technology and our “three circles” approach to our product offerings:
There’s no question that the mining industry is filled with high-noise environments that require hearing protection devices (HPDs) in order for workers to perform safely. But when traditional HPDs interfere with worker communication, the devices are often removed so that workers can talk to one another, exposing them to the risk of hearing loss the HPDs were intended to prevent.
This risk may be best summed up by the CDC, which features a paper on its website from the Noise Control Engineering Journal that states:
"[M]iners frequently complain of reduced audibility or confusion about identifying spoken words when wearing conventional hearing protectors. This leads to an increased risk of miners being struck by moving equipment or errors in communication with co-workers. Miners will often remove their hearing protectors to overcome these obstacles.”
"Exposure to silica can be deadly, and limiting that exposure is essential. Every year, many exposed workers not only lose their ability to work, but also to breathe. This proposal is expected to prevent thousands of deaths from silicosis – an incurable and progressive disease – as well as lung cancer, other respiratory diseases, and kidney disease. Workers affected by silica are fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers lost to entirely preventable illnesses. We're looking forward to public comment on the proposal."
