February 28, 2003—The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has added a new topic page on Hearing Loss Prevention to its Web site. Topics covered include: common hearing loss prevention terms; choosing a hearing protector; student presentations on noise solutions; best practices workshop on noise and chemicals; noise solutions; and hearing conservation checklist. Links include FAQs about hearing loss prevention; current research on noise; resources in HLP and noise; and publications.
According to NIOSH, too much noise exposure may cause a temporary change in hearing (your ears may feel stuffed up) or a temporary ringing in your ears (tinnitus). These short-term problems usually go away within a few minutes or hours after leaving the noise. However, repeated exposures to loud noise can lead to permanent, incurable hearing loss or tinnitus.
NIOSH recommends removing hazardous noise from the workplace whenever possible and using hearing protectors in those situations where dangerous noise exposures have not yet been controlled or eliminated.
