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NOISE AND HEARING LOSS PREVENTION

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Occupational hearing loss is the most common work-related illness in the United States. Approximately 22 million U.S. workers exposed to hazardous noise levels at work, and an additional 9 million exposed to ototoxic chemicals. An estimated $242 million is spent annually on worker’s compensation for hearing loss disability.

NIOSH recommends removing hazardous noise from the workplace whenever possible and using hearing protectors in those situations where dangerous noise exposures have not yet been controlled or eliminated.

Learn About Workplace Noise and Hearing Loss

Facts and Statistics
Publications and Tools
Hearing Loss Prevention
National Goals, Policies, and Standards
 

Features

  • spacer Buy Quiet
    Buy Quiet is a prevention initiative which encourages companies to purchase or rent quieter machinery and tools to reduce worker noise exposure. Visit our website to learn more.
  • spacer Controls for Noise Exposure
    Learn about solutions for reducing noise in the workplace
  • spacer Promising Practices for Total Worker Health™
    Examples of how employers are taking steps to effectively integrate both health promotion and hearing health protection.
  • spacer Occupational Hearing Loss (OHL) Surveillance
    This is the main page for the NIOSH OHL Surveillance Project, which is a national surveillance system for this common occupational illness.
  • spacer NIOSH Noise Meter
    This Flash application plays different sounds and sound intensities of everyday objects, and shows how long it takes before a particular sound level becomes dangerous to the human ear.
  • spacer NIOSH Power Tools Database
    This database of commonly used power tools contains such information as sound power levels, sound pressure level and downloadable exposure files.
  • spacer Preventing Occupational Hearing Loss – A Practical Guide
    Intended to assist employers and employees to develop and maintain hearing loss prevention programs.
  • spacer Hearing Protector Compendium
    A searchable database for selecting hearing protectors available from US hearing protector manufacturers
  • spacer Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Noise Exposure
    This document reevaluates and reaffirms the recommended exposure limit (REL) for occupational noise exposure established by NIOSH in 1972.

NIOSHTIC-2 Search

NIOSHTIC-2 search results on Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention
NIOSHTIC-2 is a searchable bibliographic database of occupational safety and health publications, documents, grant reports, and journal articles supported in whole or in part by NIOSH.

Other Noise and Hearing Loss Resources

  • Publications and Tools
  • Noise and Hearing Loss Research Program at NIOSH
  • Other Resources
 
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  • Page last reviewed: August 15, 2013
  • Page last updated: June 26, 2014
  • Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Division of Applied Research and Technology
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