Noise Induced Hearing Loss – Are your workers protected?

Speakers:
Mohammed Saleem - Senior Technical Specialist at 3M EMEA
Emma Shanks a Senior Scientist, Noise & Hand-arm Vibration at the Health and Safety Executive 
Mark Sennett, Content Director at Health and Safety Matters (HSM) magazine

Around 23,000 people in the UK suffer from new and longstanding work-related hearing problems, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)1.

Many employers rely on personal HPE (Hearing Protective Equipment) as a primary means of noise control in the workplace. However, the level of protection achieved in the workplace is often lower compared with the laboratory generated data.

Fit testing is a simple and reliable way to accurately quantify the level of protection that each individual worker will receive from their HPE in practice. Equipment such as the E-A-Rfit Dual-Ear Validation System from 3M can test the effectiveness of earplugs or earmuffs while they are being worn, giving accurate results in seconds.

In this webinar, we will discuss the key elements of an effective hearing conservation programme including:

• Recognising the impact of hearing damage
• Effective control of noise hazards
• Training and awareness
• Validating your hearing conservation programme

Emma is a senior research scientist in noise and hand-arm vibration at HSE's Science and Research Centre in Buxton. The scope of work can include planned research for HSE, reactive support work for HSE incident investigations and bespoke work for external customers. Emma has a special interest in hearing protection and is involved in hearing protection standards work as HSE's nominated UK expert for both UK and European standards committees. She also regularly delivers training to HSE and external clients on the management of noise and hand-arm vibration in the workplace, and noise and hand-arm vibration measurement.

Reference

1 http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/deafness/index.htm