HEALTH AND SAFETY
FEATURE
Creating an effective hearing conservation program Excessive noise in the workplace is a significant health concern, affecting millions of workers across Canada. BY THE CANADIAN CENTRE FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (CCOHS)
12 MRO / Winter 2023
Hearing conservation programs can help address noise hazards by emphasizing the early detection and control of excessive noise levels through appropriate measures to protect workers’ hearing.
outlines an occupational exposure limit of 85 dBA of continuous noise over an eight-hour period, except for federal workplaces, which have a limit of 87 dBA. When noise exceeds the jurisdiction’s exposure limit, controls must be implemented. Alberta, British Noise exposure limits in Canada Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland Across Canada, each jurisdiction and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and workplaces under the federal jurisdiction require a hearing conservation program when noise exceeds the exposure limit. While not all jurisdictions have a requirement for a hearing conservation program, the elements of a program, such as training, noise assessments, and audiometric testing, also known as hearing testing, are necessary when workers are exposed to noise above the exposure limit. The CSA Standard Z107.56, Measurement of noise exposure, recommends that the employer conduct a noise assessment if noise levels in the workplace exceed 80 dBA. This recommendation extends to any changes MROMAGAZINE.COM
Photo: Top; Tomasz Zajda / Adobe Stock; Bottom: Jon Le-Bon / Adobe Stock
It’s estimated that over 11 million Canadians aged 19 to 79 have worked in noisy environments, defined as the need to speak in a raised voice to communicate with co-workers at arm’s length. Of those workers, 56 per cent were classified as vulnerable to noise—they were not required to use hearing protection and only did so sometimes, rarely, or never. Constant exposure to excessive noise is a hazard that, in the shortterm, can be disruptive and affect our ability to hear signals, speech, and machinery. In the long-term, it can lead to noise-induced hearing loss, permanently damaging workers’ hearing and affecting their quality of life. Hearing loss can also occur from a single traumatic event, such as a sudden burst of extremely loud noise near the ear. In less extreme cases, excessive noise exposure can still cause damage. Workers can experience non-auditory effects such as increased stress, disruptions to cardiovascular function (changes to blood pressure and/or heart rate), sleep problems, and impacts to their mental health.