What Makes a Successful Hearing Conservation Program?

Berryman, Phyllis; Lukes, Eileen; Rogers, Bonnie; Meyer, Denai; Summey, Carol; Scheessele, Dawn; Atwell, Terry; Ostendorf, Judith; Randolph, Susan A.; Buckheit, Kathleen

doi:10.3928/08910162-20090716-02

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This is not a novel finding as poor compliance with HPD usage in the manufacturing sector have been reported by others [9,25,30]. If HPD are provided by the employer to protect workers' hearing, then management must improve its efforts with respect to enforcement of their use [31,32] In addition to the use of HPD, an effective hearing conservation program should also include engineering controls [13,33] but, since these types of controls require more initial capital [34], there may be substantial cost considerations. However, what is more of an issue, as alluded to by several study participants, is the need to ensure that the engineering control can be cleaned/sanitized in order to meet food safety requirements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Studies have indicated that it can be reduced through the implementation of a hearing conservation program [9,10] which typically includes noise exposure assessments, noise control measures, audiometric testing as well as worker training [11,12]. However, prior to the implementation of such a program, it is important to assess the likelihood that workers will engage in such a program by understanding their attitudes and perceptions towards occupational noise [13,14]. To the best of our knowledge, no single study has examined this common occupational issue using a mixed-methods approach, which involves collecting noise measurements and concurrently ascertaining the attitudes and perceptions of exposed workers through qualitative analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Case Study in a Working Environment Highlighting the Divergence between Sound Level and Workers’ Perception towards Noise

Hon

Tchernikov

Fairclough

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Excessive noise levels are a prevalent issue in food processing operations and, although there have been numerous studies on occupational noise, no single study has used a concurrent mixed-methods approach. Employing this study design allows for an understanding of the level of convergence (similarity) between measured noise levels and workers’ attitudes and perceptions towards noise. This, in turn, allows for the identification of potential challenges with respect to the implementation of hearing conservation efforts. In this study, spot noise measurements were collected using a sound level meter. One-on-one interviews were conducted with workers to determine attitudes and perceptions towards noise in their workplaces. Subsequently, the results of the noise measurements (quantitative data) were integrated with the survey responses (qualitative data) to identify convergence. The majority of the noise measurements were found to exceed 85 dBA—the criterion mandated by the local occupational health and safety legislation. Although all study participants felt that it was noisy in the workplace, a large proportion of respondents indicated that the noise was not bothersome. With workers’ perception being contradictory to the measured noise levels, it is a challenge to implement hearing conservation measures unless changes are made to raise the awareness of the risks associated with excessive noise exposure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Case Study in a Working Environment Highlighting the Divergence between Sound Level and Workers’ Perception towards Noise

Hon

Tchernikov

Fairclough

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, since hearing loss has a significant influence on the quality of life of workers, the health managers, labor supervisors, and workers all recognized the importance of management implementing a hearing conservation program. Therefore, for the invigoration of hearing conservation programs, it is necessary to convey that hearing loss problems are a priority in workplace health management and inform the industry of the immense problem [17]. It is imperative to emphasize the fact that the number of workers who are diagnosed with occupational noise-induced hearing loss increases annually and to highlight the decline in quality of life due to hearing loss [1,2] and the decrease in work efficiency [3].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experience and Awareness of Health Managers, Administrators, and Workers on a Hearing Conservation Program in Korea: A Qualitative Study

Ock

Pyo

Kim³

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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This study aims to evaluate the experience and awareness of a hearing conservation program to explore its activation plan. Three focus group discussions were conducted with five health managers, five labor supervisors, and five workers. A single in-depth interview was conducted with a health manager. Since hearing loss has a significant influence on the quality of life of workers, all participants recognized the importance of management. Although the need for hearing conservation programs was acknowledged, the participants had negative views about their effectiveness. Most health managers have not been able to demonstrate tangible results from their efforts to solve hearing problems, and they have been unable to demand that their employers actively invest resources and personnel in solving or preventing hearing problems. The participants in this study did not entirely understand the hearing conservation program, negative comments suggested that it is impossible to eliminate noise sources from the workplace, and measures for noise reduction would reduce work efficiency. This study can be supplied not only as a basis for reidentifying the real problems of the hearing conservation program but also for the tailored implementation method of future hearing conservation programs at each worksite.

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“…Under the 1983 OSHA noise standard, workers exposed to occupational noise of 85 dBA or greater averaged over an 8-hour work shift (8 h TWA) should be enrolled in a hearing conservation program that includes noise control, training, use of hearing protection, and annual audiometric testing (Randolph et al, 2007;Rogers et al, 2009). If a worker demonstrates loss of hearing on a surveillance audiogram, they need to be notified, counseled, and referred as necessary.…”

Section: Screening For Hearing Lossmentioning

confidence: 99%