Hearing loss caused by work is preventable but once your hearing has gone it won't come back.
Damage can cause loss of hearing ability and people may also suffer a permanent sensation of ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus.
Hearing loss caused by exposure to noise at work continues to be a significant occupational disease. Some 170,000 people in the UK suffer deafness, tinnitus or other ear conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work.
Full compliance with the new Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 would eventually eliminate occupational noise-induced hearing loss. HSE aims that by 2030 there should be no new cases of noise-induced hearing loss through noise at work.
Factors that contribute to hearing damage are noise levels and how long people are exposed to the noise, daily or over a number of years.
The most efficient and effective way of controlling noise is by technical and organisational means that protect workers at source, eg changes in process, reducing vibration (damping) and reducing time spent in noisy areas.
Health surveillance or hearing checks are vital to detect and respond to early signs of damage.
