Workplace Hearing Loss
Exposure to loud noise is the most common preventable cause of hearing impairment, and occupational or workplace noise is to blame for around 10% of all adult-onset hearing loss.
Mandatory Regulations
From 1 January 2024, the NSW Government will commence Clause 58 “Audiometric testing” of the NSW WHS Regulation 2017.
This means that from that date, you will be required to provide audiometric testing to any of your workers who are frequently required to use personal protective equipment (hearing protection) to protect the worker from the risk of hearing loss associated with noise that exceeds the exposure standard for noise.
In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the key elements of the regulation to help you prepare for compliance and to ensure you’re protecting your workforce appropriately.
Workplace Noise
Occupational noise induced hearing loss (ONIHL) is a significant problem in Australia, both in terms of public health and the economy.
Hazardous noise can reduce the ability to hear clearly and can also make it more difficult to hear the sounds necessary for working safely, such as instructions or warning signals.
Managing the risks related to noise will assist in:
- protecting workers from hearing loss and disabling tinnitus (ringing in the ears or head)
- improving the conditions for communication and hearing warning sounds, and
- creating a less stressful and more productive work environment.
Hazardous occupational noise can result in fatigue, tinnitus and increased risk for cardiovascular disorders (including heart disease and high blood pressure). For this reason, as well as the mental stress of continuous loud noise, occupational noise is also strongly linked to employee absenteeism.
What Causes Hearing Loss?
The causes of hearing loss can include:
- Noise
- Infection
- Trauma
- Age
- Tumours
- Side effects from drugs and hazardous chemical
- Explosions
- Ruptured eardrums
For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on exposure to excessive noise. We should note that ONIHL can be caused by exposure to very loud noise for a short time (sometimes called impact noise) or from exposure to more moderate noise levels over a prolonged period of time.
Hearing loss ranges from a slight change in the ability to detect sounds at different frequencies to total deafness. The intensity and duration of noise exposure will have an impact on the severity of the change.
Hearing loss typically lacks any painful symptoms, potentially leaving workers unaware of its gradual onset.
What is Too Much Noise?
The unit of measurement for sound is a decibel (dB). For the purposes of this article, we’ll refer to A-weighted decibels (dB(A)), which are an expression of the relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by our ears.
According to the Safework Australia Code of Practice, the exposure standard is 85 dB(A) averaged over eight hours. The exposure standard can be exceeded if the level of noise is too high, or if workers are exposed to it for too long. Noise louder than 140 db(A) can result in instant hearing loss and should be avoided at all costs.
Find out more about noise hazards in the workplace here.
Below you’ll see a guide to the length of time a person without appropriate hearing protection can be exposed to noise before the set standard (85 dB(A) averaged over eight hours) is exceeded:
| Noise level db (A) | Exposure time before the standard is exceeded |
| 80 | 16 hours |
| 82 | 12 hours |
| 85 | 8 hours |
| 88 | 4 hours |
| 91 | 2 hours |
| 94 | 1 hour |
| 97 | 30 min |
| 100 | 15 min |
| 109 | 1.9 min |
| 118 | 14.4 sec |
| 127 | 1.8 sec |
Source: Safework Australia
Who is at Risk?
Many industries in Australia expose workers to noisy conditions, but some of the most common are:
- Agriculture
- Mining
- Manufacturing
- Construction
- Military
- Entertainment
All businesses and employers have a duty of care to their employees to manage the risk of noise exposure and to provide hearing testing. This is absolutely essential for minimising the risk of hearing loss.
Strategies for managing the noise in your workplace include:
- Elimination of noise-causing tasks or machinery
- Substitution of noise-causing tasks or machinery
- Engineering control
- Exposure time management
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as earmuffs and ear plugs (In accordance with AS/NZS 1269.3:2005: Occupational noise management – hearing protector program).
- Audiometric testing and assessments.
Audiometric Testing
Audiometric testing (hearing tests) are an essential part of occupational health and safety.
As per Work Health and Safety Regulations (2017), an employer must ensure that the noise an employee is exposed to at work does not exceed the exposure standard for noise. The exposure standard refers to eight (8) hours continuous equivalent noise exposure of 85 dB(A) or a peak sound pressure level of 140 dB(C).
Workers who are frequently required to use personal protective equipment to protect them from the risk of hearing loss are recommended to undergo audiogram assessment. Testing should be completed within three months of the employee commencing their role, and then at least every two years after that.
Audiogram assessment not only helps meet your legal obligations as laid out in the WHSR, but also helps protect the health and safety of your team.
There are different types of audiometric assessment for various situations:
- Baseline/screening audiometry, done within three months of starting a new role to determine a baseline position for the worker
- Serial audiometry for monitoring and follow-up
- Diagnostic audiometry performed by an audiologist
- Exit audiometry, done to assess any decline in hearing over the course of a worker’s employment when there is not a recent audiometry available
It is essential that you prioritise occupational audiometric assessments to identify risks of and prevent ONIHL.
Let Assist Group help
We offer audiometric testing as per the AS/NZS 1269.4:2014 Occupational Noise Management standard.
Our audiometric assessments include:
- A review of previous noise exposure (both work and non-work related)
- Identification of known, pre-existing ear and hearing issues
- Standard air conduction audiogram
- Employee PPE (ear plugs/ear muffs) inspection and instruction on correct use (available on request)
- Audiograms results with associated recommendations
Where required, company results can also be analysed to identify trends between hearing abnormalities and sections within your company, and compare present results with previous audiogram assessment results.
We can offer our audiogram assessments both in clinic and on site at your workplace.