High Pressure Sound Level

High pressure sound level

One of the incidents I had to solve was people had to work in enclosed areas where the noise level was 88 dB or above all the time. These workers had to work 12 hours per day, six days per week. Without using the ear muffs or ear plugs, people would start to lose their hearing capability within a few weeks. It had been confirmed that a decibel level of 90 or more continuously for 8 hours would damage the hearing system slightly on a permanent basis. The sound level from live rock music is 120 dB, for chain saw, 110 dB and for normal office conversation, 60 dB.

When you find out that you have lost a certain degree of your hearing capability, it is too late. All workers who have to work in high Sound Pressure Level area, 85 dB and above, must be briefed on the hazards of noise exposure. I also came across workers in these areas not willing to put on the ear muffs provided, giving the excuse the ear muffs would make them sweat more profusely. They also cited that they worked for many weeks there and non-of them had hearing problem.

Noise level must be maintained below 65 dB during the day time. The use of noise buffers such as hoarding must be encouraged. Noise level must not exceed 55 dB during night time if the workers are sleeping near the construction yards.

If a worker must be exposed to a location where the noise level is 85 dB or higher, for more than one hour, protective ear muffs must be worn. A sound level of 120 dB or more could cause a fatal heart attack.

When you use ear muffs or ear plugs, note the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR). A NRR of 25 means that muff or plugs can only reduce the sound level by 25 decibels. So if the location where you are working has a sound level of 120 dB, that Ear muff or ear plugs is not effective. You need to buy ear muffs or ear plugs with higher NRR, which will of course be more expensive. But then, if your hearing system is lost, it cannot be reversed.

Hearing loss can be a very difficult thing to prove in a court of law. How many of the employees were tested for hearing capability before they were recruited?

When an employee has severe hearing loss, the employer can simply terminate the poor guy's service. Is it cheap for him to hire a lawyer and fight for compensation?

One true incident that I have heard was a guy who worked in a power plant where a Ruston Gas Turbine was running 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. This guy was a plant operator. He totally lost his hearing capability within one year and was terminated by the company without any compensation.

In the court house, the employer can simply say that the employee had already a hearing problem when he or she was recruited.

More and more people in their 20s and 30s are having hearing problems.  They suffer significant early hearing loss, which normally would affect people in the age group 70 to 80.

Many of the victims are the ones who used MP3 for long duration every day. MP 3 players normally are tuned on 85 decibels or louder. At 85 decibels, you should not use the MP 3 for more than eight hours per day. The MP 3 may have a maximum level of 100 to 105 decibels. To be on the safe side, never exceed 60% of the maximum volume.