Optimize Your Hearing Protection in 4 Steps

Protecting employees from dangers on a worksite is a priority for any organization, and that includes hearing loss prevention on the job. But when you have basic safety standards to help protect employee hearing, it all becomes easier.

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With this helpful hearing protection guide, you'll have some expert guidance to help conserve hearing for your entire team in four easy steps. Let's take a look at what it takes (and how easy it is) to prevent hearing loss in virtually any environment.

Noise identification and measurements

If your work environment is ever interrupted by intrusive noise levels, that's a key indicator in how loud it is at your site. Some simple questions to explore include whether you can have a quiet conversation, or whether your team is using power tools for extended durations throughout the day.

Even your industry could be an indicator of noise levels. If you work in construction, carpentry, masonry, or even demolition, chances are you'll be exposed to an environment with extreme noise levels. Even regular noises from hammering or forging could be damaging to your ears. A major red flag would be muffled hearing at the end of your shift.

If you've ever been exposed to areas with those kinds of high noise levels, chances are you're a prime candidate for hearing protection.

Getting the right protective gear

In any environment that's exposed to extreme noises on a regular basis, employees should be issued hearing protection equipment in lieu of other noise control methods. More importantly, identifying hazardous areas as hearing protection zones is an effective way to help ensure people are aware of the danger, so they can take the correct precautions.

Training your workforce on the requirements and how to use or care for their hearing protection equipment is another key factor in getting optimized protection. Once your team is trained in how to use the equipment, like the 3M™ E-A-R™ EXPRESS™ Pod Plugs™ earplugs, verifying that it works effectively, fits well, and remains in good working condition helps make sure the entire team has all the tools they need to safely get the job done.

Compatibility between different hearing protection components is another facet to verify during your equipment checks. When you use more than one piece of personal protection equipment (PPE), make sure they can be used together. And be sure to select products that have CE markings helps make sure your equipment is compliant with the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002.

Training and compliance

Regular education on noise protection is critical in ensuring your employees understand what they could potentially lose, while acting as a friendly reminder to wear their protective equipment. Having a team member assigned to act as a hearing protection advocate is also an effective strategy.

Having someone leading your hearing protection efforts helps remind employees of your PPE policies, and could even encourage your team to follow safety regulations. This representative could also be your point-person in conducting spot checks and verifying compliance, or helping employees who are having problems with using their hearing protection correctly and comfortably.

Verification that your program is working

After taking the time to educate your team, equip them, and train them to use protective gear to prolong their hearing, it's time to validate the results. Regular inspections give you a way to measure how well your hearing protection program is working.

Whether you use an internal team to regularly review your results, or use an external consultant to verify compliance, making sure the measures are delivering the desired results is a critical step. After all, if it's not working, you can re-assess your policies and equipment to see if there were any gaps.

With a work environment that's compliant with hearing safety standards, you'll start to see less incidents surrounding hearing injuries, which will lead to a more productive and satisfied team.

For additional information about hearing protection and how you can equip your workforce with hearing safety equipment that could improve your entire worksite, please visit our Hearing Protection page today.

We know your time is valuable. We'd love for you to read the whole blog, but if you don't have time, check out our 30-Second Summary: