Protecting workers' hearing in loud environments is a major challenge—and incurred damage can mean operational disruptions, fines, and potentially permanent hearing injury. Fortunately, there are technologies and protocols available to ensure your team members are protected. Managers now have hearing guidelines for:
In addition, more and more is being realized about the dangers of ototoxic chemicals—which can have a drastic effect on hearing loss. Ototoxic chemicals, like lead, solvents, and kerosene-based fuels, are a newer designation of substances that damage the hearing organs with or without associated noise exposures. On top of hearing threshold shifts, ototoxic chemicals can afflict victims with balance and speech clarity problems.