Protect your hearing on the job
Christina Riley, Marketing Representative of the Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA), believes every individual working in construction should prioritize hearing protection. Hearing protection is often neglected due to poor on-site availability and inadequate training. When hearing protection isn’t readily available, workers often forgo it altogether, risking permanent hearing loss.
What to Wear
The two most common types of hearing protection are earplugs and earmuffs. Both are available in various styles, but Riley recommends workers use those with built-in cords and hardhat attachments.
“There are types that attach to your hardhat so they're always right there. All you have to do is slide them down over your ears…With ear plugs, I always liked the type that were connected with a long cord. They’re always around your neck or attached to your hardhat and they’re hard to lose.”
Like all other personal protective equipment (PPE), proper usage is key. Earplugs should not be protruding from the ear and should not be reused. Earplugs and earmuffs can be worn together as long as other necessary noise can still be heard.
“If you have your back to a piece of equipment and your hearing is limited, you may not hear an alarm,” Riley warns. “It’s a double-edged sword. You have to be cautious that you're not overdoing it.”
The Importance of Education
Riley notes that most workers aren’t familiar with the necessary hearing protection associated with different decibel levels. “If you work in traffic five days a week for 10 years, there's going to be hearing loss because of that continuous sound…There are situations that are less obviously loud yet still do lasting damage.”
Even short stints can cause irreparable hearing loss. Constant exposure compounds upon itself to cause life-long problems.
“The biggest regret I have about working in construction is not taking better care of my ears,” Riley admits. “We often think, ‘It's just this one time. It's just this one time.’ But if workers understood the damage that's being done by that ‘one time’ plus that other ‘one time,’ then I think they would take hearing protection more seriously…Unfortunately, I had that same attitude and now, 15 years later, I have ringing in my ears all the time. There's a lot of frequencies—one of which being my daughter's voice—that I just can’t hear well at all. And it's because of my old attitude of ‘Eh, it's only going to take 20 minutes. I'll just bust it out and I'll be fine.’”
Riley believes a contractor-based campaign would do wonders to properly educate workers on the many work-related causes of hearing loss. In-depth education, in Riley’s opinion, would quickly change the way workers view construction noise and the damage even limited exposure can cause.
“It only takes one accident. I had an accident on the job and it caused my vision to go black. I had this terrible noise in my head for so long. But because I was nervous about being let go, I didn't seek help; I didn't let anybody know about it. And now I have permanent hearing issues…We really don't talk about hearing protection other than: wear earplugs when you're chipping concrete. And that's not good enough. We as an industry can do so much more.”
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