New technology and training can limit problems
There’s a new reason for workers to be concerned about persistently noisy workplaces, especially if they are young men who smoke.
Recent research published in the October online edition of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found long-term exposure to loud noise more than doubled an employee’s risk of serious cardiovascular disease.
“It was very surprising for me,” said the study’s lead author, Wenqi Gan, a researcher at the School of Environmental Health at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “I was not quite convinced by previous studies.”
Earlier research had shown tentative links between persistent workplace noise and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but those studies were not consistent and were often limited by small sample size, said Gan.
His recent findings were based on responses from more than 6,000 workers, ages 20 and over, who had been part of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2004. Those employees were asked about lifestyle and occupational health and they also submitted medical and blood tests.
For Gan's study, participants were divided into two groups: Those who had experienced persistent loud noise on the job — so loud they had to shout to be heard — for at least three months and those who had not.
One in five workers said they had endured a noisy workplace for an average of almost nine consecutive months. Most of them were men with an average of 40. Compared with their peers in quieter workplaces, the exposed workers were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and weigh more — all risk factors for heart disease.
Gan accounted for those lifestyle factors in the study but said even when they are eliminated, the result is still notable. Workers in noisy settings are two to three times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as those in quiet workplaces.
“The association is very strong,” he said.
The prevailing theory is that chronic loud noise creates psychological stress that upsets the endocrine system, said Gan. This may trigger the release of stress hormones, particularly adrenaline and cortisol, which constrict the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart.
“There is some evidence to support this hypothesis,” he said. “But it's not exactly known yet. This is a relatively new area.”
It’s also one that is gaining attention. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), based in Hamilton lists a number of suspected non-auditory effects of chronic workplace noise. These include cardiovascular function as well as changes in breathing, annoyance, sleeping problems, physical health and mental health.
“We need to start educating people on the hazards of workplace noise,” said Emma Ashurst, an occupational health and safety specialist with CCOHS.
Employers, especially those in traditionally noisy environments such as mining, construction or manufacturing, should first conduct a noise map, said Ashurst. Often, this is best done by a consultant who can properly measure noise levels.
Once the source of the loudest noise is determined, Ashurst suggests employers work through a “hierarchy of control” by focusing first on eliminating the noise altogether, and implementing the use of personal protection devices such as ear plugs or ear muffs, only as a final option.
“You want to get to the root cause of the noise,” she said. “Like all workplace hazards, it's best if you can get rid of them completely.”
The solution could be as simple and inexpensive as tightening a loose bolt and putting it on a preventive maintenance schedule, or as expensive as enclosing the loud equipment or moving it to another area, she said.
Sheri MacGregor of the Highland Hearing Clinic in Antigonish, N.S., said the best step is to separate the machine noise from the worker wherever possible, either by space or barriers such as sound baffling.
Employers should upgrade to more current technology — chainsaws are a lot quieter than they used to be, for example — or providing air conditioned heavy equipment machines, or rooms, so operators can keep windows closed, she said.
MacGregor also suggests labelling areas where hearing protection is required and offering workers choice when it comes to personal hearing protection will help mitigate the effects, said MacGregor.
“Some types of earplugs are more comfortable than others depending on the shape and size of that individual's ear canal,” she said. “Also, consider custom fit earplugs as they are the most comfortable and increase compliance.”
It's important to reward workers for using hearing protection, possibly through a monthly prize draw, MacGregor said.
She also recommends testing employees’ hearing every one or two years and bringing in an audiologist to explain the effect of noise on ears to employees.
Training is another important factor since all hearing devices are not equal, said Ashurst.
“If the ear plugs or ear muffs are cracked or dirty or old, it’s not very useful,” she said. “Personal protection devices work, but they need to be used properly. People need to be trained on how to use them, store them and clean them.”
Although noise can't always be entirely eliminated, it is in an employer's best interest to at least give their best attempt to minimize its effects, said Ashurst.
“Studies have shown a happy employee is a productive employee,” she said. “If they have a headache or they are distracted by noise, they're not going to be productive."
Danielle Harder is a freelance writer based in Brooklin, Ont.
Identifying noise problems at work
The first step is to determine whether or not noise is a potential problem in the workplace. A walk-through survey helps in making this decision. The indicators of potentially hazardous noise level include:
•noise is louder than busy city traffic
•people have to raise their voice to talk to someone at three feet away
•at the end of work shift, people have to increase the volume of their radio or TV to a level too loud for others, and
•after working for a few years at that workplace, employees find it difficult to communicate in a crowd or party situation where there are other sounds or many voices.
Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Recent research published in the October online edition of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found long-term exposure to loud noise more than doubled an employee’s risk of serious cardiovascular disease.
“It was very surprising for me,” said the study’s lead author, Wenqi Gan, a researcher at the School of Environmental Health at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “I was not quite convinced by previous studies.”
Earlier research had shown tentative links between persistent workplace noise and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but those studies were not consistent and were often limited by small sample size, said Gan.
His recent findings were based on responses from more than 6,000 workers, ages 20 and over, who had been part of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2004. Those employees were asked about lifestyle and occupational health and they also submitted medical and blood tests.
For Gan's study, participants were divided into two groups: Those who had experienced persistent loud noise on the job — so loud they had to shout to be heard — for at least three months and those who had not.
One in five workers said they had endured a noisy workplace for an average of almost nine consecutive months. Most of them were men with an average of 40. Compared with their peers in quieter workplaces, the exposed workers were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and weigh more — all risk factors for heart disease.
Gan accounted for those lifestyle factors in the study but said even when they are eliminated, the result is still notable. Workers in noisy settings are two to three times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as those in quiet workplaces.
“The association is very strong,” he said.
The prevailing theory is that chronic loud noise creates psychological stress that upsets the endocrine system, said Gan. This may trigger the release of stress hormones, particularly adrenaline and cortisol, which constrict the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart.
“There is some evidence to support this hypothesis,” he said. “But it's not exactly known yet. This is a relatively new area.”
It’s also one that is gaining attention. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), based in Hamilton lists a number of suspected non-auditory effects of chronic workplace noise. These include cardiovascular function as well as changes in breathing, annoyance, sleeping problems, physical health and mental health.
“We need to start educating people on the hazards of workplace noise,” said Emma Ashurst, an occupational health and safety specialist with CCOHS.
Employers, especially those in traditionally noisy environments such as mining, construction or manufacturing, should first conduct a noise map, said Ashurst. Often, this is best done by a consultant who can properly measure noise levels.
Once the source of the loudest noise is determined, Ashurst suggests employers work through a “hierarchy of control” by focusing first on eliminating the noise altogether, and implementing the use of personal protection devices such as ear plugs or ear muffs, only as a final option.
“You want to get to the root cause of the noise,” she said. “Like all workplace hazards, it's best if you can get rid of them completely.”
The solution could be as simple and inexpensive as tightening a loose bolt and putting it on a preventive maintenance schedule, or as expensive as enclosing the loud equipment or moving it to another area, she said.
Sheri MacGregor of the Highland Hearing Clinic in Antigonish, N.S., said the best step is to separate the machine noise from the worker wherever possible, either by space or barriers such as sound baffling.
Employers should upgrade to more current technology — chainsaws are a lot quieter than they used to be, for example — or providing air conditioned heavy equipment machines, or rooms, so operators can keep windows closed, she said.
MacGregor also suggests labelling areas where hearing protection is required and offering workers choice when it comes to personal hearing protection will help mitigate the effects, said MacGregor.
“Some types of earplugs are more comfortable than others depending on the shape and size of that individual's ear canal,” she said. “Also, consider custom fit earplugs as they are the most comfortable and increase compliance.”
It's important to reward workers for using hearing protection, possibly through a monthly prize draw, MacGregor said.
She also recommends testing employees’ hearing every one or two years and bringing in an audiologist to explain the effect of noise on ears to employees.
Training is another important factor since all hearing devices are not equal, said Ashurst.
“If the ear plugs or ear muffs are cracked or dirty or old, it’s not very useful,” she said. “Personal protection devices work, but they need to be used properly. People need to be trained on how to use them, store them and clean them.”
Although noise can't always be entirely eliminated, it is in an employer's best interest to at least give their best attempt to minimize its effects, said Ashurst.
“Studies have shown a happy employee is a productive employee,” she said. “If they have a headache or they are distracted by noise, they're not going to be productive."
Danielle Harder is a freelance writer based in Brooklin, Ont.
Identifying noise problems at work
The first step is to determine whether or not noise is a potential problem in the workplace. A walk-through survey helps in making this decision. The indicators of potentially hazardous noise level include:
•noise is louder than busy city traffic
•people have to raise their voice to talk to someone at three feet away
•at the end of work shift, people have to increase the volume of their radio or TV to a level too loud for others, and
•after working for a few years at that workplace, employees find it difficult to communicate in a crowd or party situation where there are other sounds or many voices.
Source: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
