Environmental Health and Safety

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NIOSH recommends that all worker exposures to noise should be controlled below a level equivalent to 85 dBA for eight hours to minimize occupational noise induced hearing loss.

Acoustic trauma, also known as acoustic shock, can occur when a person is subjected to an extremely loud noise or series of loud noises such as gun shots, explosions or shouting at very close proximity.

If you find that you are struggling to hear others speak or often need to turn up the volume on a TV or radio and you work in an environment where the noise level is frequently above the 80dB level, then you may be suffering from a case of industrial deafness. Industrial deafness is grouped into four main types temporary loss of hearing, permanent loss of hearing, acoustic trauma and tinnitus and the difficulty hearing can be a percentage of full hearing in one or both ears, or if suffering from tinnitus there will be the sensation of external noise when no external noise exists.

In a surprising finding, new research out of Great Britain shows that many employers in their 60s have a lower “relative vitality age” – and thus, lower health risks – than colleagues in their 30s. The Britain’s Healthiest Company Report* crunched numbers on nearly 10,000 people and concluded that the sexagenarians in the survey had lower health risks based on a “Vitality Age calculator” developed by PruHealth, a health insurer and wellness program provider.

Sitting for long periods of time has emerged as a hot topic in occupational safety, and has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease. In a finding disappointing to loyal exercisers, hitting the gym outside work hours does not seem to lessen those risks.