Well & Good Noise costs us $650m a year
Iam lucky enough to be able to work from home a couple of days a week. I normally love this as it is such a peaceful space to get things done. However, over the past year or so my blissful ‘‘home days’’ have been disrupted by a large building project that is happening right next door.
My work time is now punctuated by the sound of heavy machinery, nail guns, and large power tools – distracting and I am sure impacting on my productivity.
I know this type of environment is reality for many people all the time, so I am not writing this to complain but to state how much it has made me value the peace and quiet I took for granted before.
Noise is a real issue in New Zealand, and for around 30 per cent of people a noisy workplace is the norm.
It is especially problematic for those working in primary industries such as forestry and farming, construction, manufacturing, and some transport and service sectors.
I am fortunate that this only affects part of my week, and is a temporary problem, but if you are exposed to this on a daily basis, year in year out, the risks are very real.
As well as affecting our concentration and productivity, and making us more susceptible to injury, according to Worksafe, noise is the leading cause of preventable hearing loss in adults, costing us over $650 million per year – a staggering figure.
Exposure to excessive or prolonged noise causes damage to the delicate nerve cells in the inner ear that transmit sound messages to the brain.
Initially this damage can be reversible, but over time, and with more exposure to noise, the nerve cells are replaced by scar tissue which doesn’t respond to sound at all. The damage then, although painless, is permanent and can be hugely impacting on a person’s health and wellbeing.
People who are affected by Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) tend to have hearing loss in both ears, which is often accompanied by tinnitus (a ringing or buzzing noise in the ears).
The sounds most affected are those in the ‘‘high frequency’’ range, so high pitched sounds such as birdsong will be the first to go, followed by others as it progresses.
As with all types of hearing loss, NIHL can be really subtle to start with and hard to detect – but picking it up early and putting some prevention measures in place is crucial.
Worksafe has a simple online quiz that you can do, to help you figure out if this is something that may be an issue for you, or a loved one – it includes the following questions:
❚ Do you need to raise your voice to communicate with someone about a metre away?
❚ Do you find it harder to hear people and things as the day goes on?
❚ Do you experience a ringing in your ears during the day or at night, or have muffled hearing?
❚ Do you find that there is too much noise or that you can’t hear instructions clearly?
If you have answered ‘‘yes’’ to any of these questions then it is likely that noise at work is affecting your hearing, and your employers have an obligation to put measures into place to protect you from this, and prevent any further damage.
Unfortunately, other than improving your functioning with hearing aids, it isn’t possible to treat or reverse any hearing loss already sustained, but you can definitely limit further loss, and prevent others from suffering NIHL, by raising this as an issue.
Simple measures that can be put in place include:
❚ Quietening or entirely removing the source of the noise – this can include soundproofing, putting barriers in place between staff and the noise source, or moving noisy machinery away from workers to another part of the workplace.
❚ Reducing the amount of time people are exposed to noise – consider rotating people between noisy and quiet tasks so the overall exposure is limited.
❚ Providing good personal ear protection, and ensuring they are worn correctly and at the appropriate times.
❚ Getting regular hearing checks for employees as part of their workplace wellbeing.
❚ Making sure co-workers understand the potential danger of noise exposure, and know how to get help and support if they think they have an issue.
This week, Work Safe is launching a toolkit aimed at increasing awareness of NIHL. It will include business-specific resources and tools to help employers and workers think about ways they can control noise at the source, and minimise the health impacts. To find out more, visit worksafe.govt.nz.