12 INDICATIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARING LOSS WITHOUT KNOWING IT!

Our health and safety ‘theme’ for January, 2022 is ‘noise’.

Noise can be a nuisance ... but in a working environment, the main concern is the risk of noise-induced hearing loss, which often happens without the subject being aware of it, until it's too late.

Noise happens in life – not just from workplace events such as industrial machinery, but from loud motorbikes, motorsport and music events, crowd events, even TVs and traffic.?Damage can be cumulative – the more regularly you’re exposed to the noise, the greater the damage.??

Often, hearing loss creeps up on us, because it happens gradually.?

Get a test (easy to arrange free of charge in the UK) if you have even the slightest suspicion that your hearing may be impaired.?

It’s common for people who are tested to express surprise that they have measurable hearing loss, and like most health issues, the earlier you know, the better.

Latest estimates suggest that noise-induced hearing loss costs around ￡400 million per year - a sum which is carried not just by insurance companies, but also by the NHS.

Mark Day (right), Managing Director of Artelia UK , part of an international, multi-disciplinary consultancy, engineering and project management group says: “Too many of us don’t take loud noise seriously. We live with noise that we can’t always tolerate.?Unlike, for example, a fall, we may not always be warned of the risks by our bodies, because persistent noise can generate damage without noticeable pain.”

If you take time to pay attention to your body, there are some clues.?You may not experience all these things, but you may notice some of them.?If you do, it’s time for a check-up!

1.??????Speech, music and TV soundtracks seem muffled; you start ‘missing’ words in movies, for example.?You know the character said something, but you don’t know what (maybe even after replaying the segment).

2.??????You have trouble hearing sounds at a certain pitch.?High pitched sounds, in particular (doorbells, birdsong, alarm clocks, phones, warning sounds issued from your car dashboard or alerts on your computer).?

3.??????Increasing difficulty with conversations in large, echoing spaces or public locations (pubs, bars, restaurants, shopping malls, public transport termini etc.)?

4.??????Trouble understanding speech over the phone.

5.?????Difficulty discerning consonants and similar sounds in speech (the difference between ‘s’ and ‘f’, or ‘sh’ and ‘th’).

6.??????Asking people to repeat themselves, or to speak up.

7.??????Asking people to speak more slowly and clearly.?

8.??????Realising that your ‘default’ comfort setting for the TV, radio or hi-fi is very loud (realisation sometimes comes when you switch the device on for the first time in the day, and the volume setting is where it was the night before).?

9.??????Ringing in the ears.?

10.????Finding that some sounds generate discomfort, irritation or pain, but seem to bother others less.?

11.????Noticing that others comment on your hearing (you are often not the first person to be aware that you’re experiencing hearing loss).?

12.????Being confused about where a sound is coming from, or difficulty telling sounds apart from each other, along with a general discomfort with background noise, can indicate hearing loss in one ear.?

There are three main types of hearing loss:

·??????Conductive loss involves the outer or middle ear;

·??????Sensorineural loss involves the inner ear; and

·??????Mixed hearing loss, which involves a combination of the two.?

If you’re curious, Google these terms.??

A hearing test will analyse the state of your hearing, and if you’re in the UK, you’ll have access to hearing aids and other strategies (free at the point of delivery) for improving your hearing.??

Of course, our main focus is to ensure that we do everything possible, in the working environment, to minimise the risk of hearing loss due to noise. That means using properly maintained equipment, at a distance from others where possible, using the correct PPE, selecting the right tools for the job, and adhering to the Safe Systems of Work. It means always being conscious of noise, not just as a nuisance to others but as a safety issue.

However safety-conscious you are, your hearing will (of course) deteriorate naturally as you age, and it’s important for your safety to ensure that you keep on top of it.?

Effective hearing helps us to navigate all sorts of threats in our daily lives, and whilst many deaf people live without it, they learn to manage their lives a little differently.?

So, even if you have a small amount of hearing loss, knowing that will enable you to be safer ... and a hearing specialist can help you to take steps to improve what you hear.

Happy New Year to all my LinkedIn contacts - thank you for your company through 2021!

Let's keep in touch through this very tough period!

Xmo?Strata's LinkedIn page (sign installation and maintenance) is?here .

The?SpectisGB?LinkedIn page (scanning and digital reconstruction) is?here .

You can check out my other articles?here .?

Please visit?my?profile ?and send me a connection request if we have things in common ... and stay safe!

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