Noise Induced Hearing Loss #1 Occupational Illiness

The other day while gaining access to a plant in Texas I was offered the standard safety orientation. Normally, I carry my own hard-hat and safety goggles but rarely think about hearing protection.

A great business colleague, Pam Cheesman, Sensear - Southwest  Account Executive provided the following;  "Noise Induced Hearing Loss is the number one occupational illness in the world. Communication in high noise is also a big issue, especially in the Oil & Gas industry, due to the high noise throughout the plants. As a result, workers remove their hearing protection to try and hear communication or they have to constantly step away from the noisy area to be able to hear their 2-way radio or cell phone call. The Intrinsically Safe certified headsets (ATEX, IECEx, Class 1/Div 1) are allowing Sensear to provide solutions for this issue globally. In two recent surveys, the results showed that at least 40% of workers lose over 30 minutes a day trying to communicate in high-noise environments."

She further stated, "Our clients that have adopted Sensear into their environment, have seen a huge difference. Workers that used to scream at each other, use hand signals or just not communicate at all until they were in a quieter area, are now communicating much more efficiently, without any delay and in a much safer environment because of the situational awareness that the Sensear headset provides."

When you consider your work environment, especially when exposed to any type of industry manufacturing where high noise is constant, hearing protection should be first and foremost.