EXPOSURE RATES
Noise exposure is the single largest contributor to deafness.
Over 46 million people in Europe work in harmful levels of noise.
Occupations most at risk of harmful levels of noise exposure include construction, metal, electrical and textile processing. The highest-risk occupation is metal processing with exposure rates three and a half times the average. Repetitive assembly and inspection and other transport and machinery operatives have rates nearly three times the average. Construction and electrical processing have rates which are more than double the average.
The higher the level of noise, and the longer individuals are exposed to it, the greater the risk they have of suffering harm from it. Hearing damage can occur when the level of noise a person is exposed to is over 80dB(A). Eight hours of workplace noise exposure at 85dB(A) is the legal limit of noise ‘dose’ in the UK, as defined in the 2005 Control of Noise at Work regulations. If the noise level is higher than 85dB(A) then the legal limit will be reached in a shorter period of time. For each 3dB increase in noise level, half the exposure time is allowable. For example, four hours of noise exposure at 88dB(A) and two hours at 91dB(A) are considered equivalent, in terms of noise exposure dose, to eight hours at 85dB(A).
The Health and Safety Executive has estimated the number of people that are exposed to a range of noise levels:
These exposure rates and the occupational diseases that can result are preventable if employers are able to apply effective noise control measures. The best way of reducing exposure rates is by controlling the noise at source while a combination of methods is normally appropriate. This can include redesigning the layout of workstations, re-organising work processes, managing noise transmission pathways and providing hearing protection.
INSURANCE CLAIMS
£360 million was spent by insurance companies on Occupational Deafness claims in 2014.
There are many new cases of people receiving compensation for hearing damage each year, through both civil claims and the Government disability benefit scheme, with considerable costs to industry, society and, most importantly, the people who suffer the disability.
Claims for hearing damage are on the increase.
In 2010, there were 24,352 Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) claims notified. This increased to 85,155 in 2013, an increase of almost 250% with a total estimated cost of over £400 million.
According to a study of the costs and funding of occupational diseases in six European countries (excluding the UK), the cost of hearing loss due to noise represents on average just over 10% of the total cost of compensation of occupational diseases.
A significant proportion of the cost of NIHL claims is made up by claimant lawyer legal fees. In 2013 the average compensation payment for a NIHL claim was £3,100, while average claimant legal costs were £10,400. This means that for every £1 paid to the claimant over £3 was paid to their lawyer.
But not all NIHL claims are successful.
Whilst insurers and compensators are experiencing a significant increase in the number of NIHL claims being reported, many claims are not successful. NIHL claims fail for a variety of reasons, including the absence of any NIHL, a lack of proof that the hearing loss was due to exposure to noise in the claimant’s workplace or because the claim falls outside the limitation period for making a claim.
NIHL claims feature a number of distinct issues which leave them open to abuse for financial gain by claimant lawyers and claims management companies including poor quality medical evidence, unmerited claims for tinnitus and claims outside the limitation period.
In order to make a claim, a claimant who believes they may have suffered NIHL will be required to obtain medical evidence to show the extent of their NIHL. The claimant will be sent to an audiologist, usually arranged by the claimant lawyers or the claims management companies, to conduct a hearing test. The audiologist should test the claimant’s hearing in clinical surroundings and produce the results in the form of an audiogram. However, the results can be distorted where hearing tests are conducted in non-compliant conditions, e.g. noisy environments.
ABI data demonstrates that some 58% of successful NIHL claims include a claim for tinnitus, which increases the average damages paid by over 20%. Like whiplash, there is no objective test for tinnitus, making it susceptible to exploitation for financial gain. Also like whiplash, the diagnosis of tinnitus is solely dependent on the history supplied by the claimant. Medico-legal reports rarely go beyond recording the history of symptoms given by the claimant making it very challenging to dispute a claim for tinnitus.
The current limitation period for making an NIHL claim is three years from when the claimant became aware, or ought to have been aware, that exposure to noise in the work place has led to NIHL.
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE
Occupational Deafness is the most commonly reported occupational disease in the EU.
The Health and Safety Executive estimates that over 2 million people in the UK are exposed to noise levels at work that may be harmful. The number of people in the UK suffering from hearing damage as a result of exposure to noise at work was estimated at 509,000 in a Medical Research Council survey.
According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the most common occupational disease in Europe. NIHL is permanent and incurable and has been recognised as an occupational disease since the 18th century, among copper workers hammering metal, blacksmiths, and shipbuilders.
Today, NIHL is regularly found in the manufacturing, construction, mining, agriculture and transport sectors. The construction sector and the manufacturing sector have the highest percentage of workers exposed to loud noise in the workplace and the highest percentage of workers reporting work-related hearing problems.
Graph shows percentage of workers reporting work-related hearing problems by sector (European Survey on Working Conditions)
Hearing damage gradually increases with exposure to noise. Often it can take a number of years of damage from noise for a person to realise they have become deaf. Hearing damage can also be caused immediately by sudden, loud noises.
What is Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) ?
NIHL represents excessive ‘wear and tear’ on the delicate inner ear structures of the Cochlea, the sensory organ of hearing. The symptoms of NIHL that occur over a period of continuous exposure increase gradually. Early stages of hearing loss will make it difficult to hear children’s voices, followed by women’s voices and speech in background noise. Sounds will become distorted or muffled, the individual may not be aware of the loss, but it can be detected with a hearing test.
How does it affect workers?
Hearing loss can affect workers in ways they may not have considered, such as:
ringing or buzzing in the ears or head (called tinnitus)
elevated blood pressure
fatigue
stress
social isolation from co-workers, family and friends.
Hearing impairment can be a major cause of psychological fatigue in the workplace. Particularly in work situations with high communication demands, such complaints should prompt an examination to assess noise levels and hearing ability.
What is the impact of NIHL?
An extensive Danish survey among 1,600 hearing impaired people aged between 16 and 60 examined the impact of hearing loss at work and in education. The survey was conducted by the Danish Institute for Social Research and resulted in the following conclusions.
People with hearing loss leave the labour market sooner than their normal-hearing colleagues; 18% receive disability pension compared with 7% in the general population.
It is harder for hearing impaired people to find work; 7.5% are unemployed compared to the general 4.8% unemployment rate.
Hearing loss leads to loss of employment; 8% of hearing impaired employees are either terminated or choose to resign.
More than one quarter (27%) believe that their hearing loss makes it hard to find a job; 9% find it impossible.
Hard of hearing people often feel mentally or physically exhausted at the end of the workday: 47% say they are mentally exhausted as compared to 36% in the general population; 51% of hearing impaired people say they are physically exhausted as compared to 31% in the general population.
Hearing problems at work affect leisure activities too; 13% find that they are so drained of energy from their work that they are unable to pursue leisure activities.
Hearing impaired people who want to pursue an education must make an extra effort: 40% say they must prepare better than other students in order to keep up in the classroom, 80% say they are mentally exhausted after a long day in school.
Exposure to occupational noise can also cause a number of additional negative health effects:
inability to sleep, fatigue and other sleep problems
a sense of isolation and interference with general workplace communications
inability to hear warnings of imminent safety hazards
temporary hearing loss
permanent hearing loss
tinnitus — a ringing or buzzing in the ears or head;
increased blood pressure and stress
hearing damage to an unborn child
high blood pressure
increased levels of stress hormones
digestion issues.
These conditions are entirely preventable if:
employers take action to reduce exposure to noise and provide personal hearing protection and health surveillance to employees
manufacturers design tools and machinery to operate more quietly
employees make use of the personal hearing protection or other control measures supplied.
LOUD ENVIRONMENTS
Noise regulations dictate that loud environments require control at source by employers.
The World Health Organisation identify some of the sources of occupational noise as rotors, gears, turbulent fluid flow, impact processes, electrical machines, internal combustion engines, pneumatic equipment, drilling, crushing, blasting, pumps and compressors. Furthermore, the emitted sounds are reflected from floors, ceilings and equipment. The major sources of noise that damage hearing are impact processes, material handling and industrial jets.
Employers are required to control risks at source, eliminating or reducing noise risks to a minimum, taking account of technical progress and of the availability of preventive measures. Workers should be consulted and participate in the risk assessment and the risk elimination/reduction process. There should not be a reliance on personal hearing protection when there are other measures available to remove or control the risk.
2003 Noise Directive
The 2003 noise directive identifies factors to consider when controlling noise risks:
Working methods that require less exposure to noise
The choice of appropriate work equipment, taking account of the work to be done, emitting the least possible noise
European directives exist that set out how to deal with noise in the workplace
Manufacturers have requirements under European directives to ensure that machinery is designed and constructed to reduce noise emissions
Standards exist to complement the directives, giving detailed information on topics, from noise measurement to acoustics
The general principles of prevention:
Avoiding risks
Evaluating the risks which cannot be avoided
Combating the risks at source
Adapting the work to the individual, especially as regards the design of workplaces, the choice of work equipment, and the choice of working and production methods
Adapting to technical progress and new innovations
Replacing the dangerous by the non-dangerous or the less dangerous
Developing a coherent overall prevention policy which covers technology, organisation of work, working conditions, social relationships and the influence of factors related to the working environment
Giving collective protective measures priority over individual protective measures
Giving appropriate instructions to the workers
The design and layout of workplaces and work stations
Adequate information and training to instruct workers to use work equipment correctly in order to reduce their exposure to noise to a minimum
Noise reduction by technical means
Appropriate maintenance programmes for work equipment, the workplace and workplace systems
Noise reduction by better organisation of work
Limiting the duration and intensity of the exposure and/or by organising appropriate work schedules with adequate rest periods.
Noise Regulations
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 are based on the European Union Directive requiring similar basic laws throughout the Union on protecting workers from the risks caused by noise. They do not apply to members of the public exposed to noise from their non-work activities, or making an informed choice to go to noisy places. They replace the Noise at Work Regulations 1989, which have been in force since 1990.
The duties in the Noise Regulations are in addition to the general duties set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. These general duties extend to the safeguarding of the health and safety of people who are not your employees, such as students, voluntary workers, visitors and members of the public. Employees also have duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to take care of their own health and safety and that of others whom their work may affect; and to co-operate with employers so that they may comply with health and safety legislation.
Source: ‘Managing noise risks’ from The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 – Guidance on Regulations