Jobs With High Incidents of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss resulting from one’s daily occupation is common in many fields. Excessive noise levels are often the reason for hearing loss. According to the Centers for Disease control, about 30 million employees are exposed to dangerous noise level on the job. Are you one of them?

Here are a few examples of common jobs where you may be vulnerable to hearing loss due to excessive noise.

• Miners – the CDC reports that 49% of male miners are projected to experience hearing impairment by age 50, compared with 9% of the general public.
• DJs and nightclub staff – whether you’re a bartender, or part of the security or wait staff, you could be exposed to noise levels as high as 108 decibels nightly. Dangerous decibels cites any noise level above 85 decibels as harmful to your hearing.
• Construction – this group has the second highest number of permanent hearing loss disabilities resulting from daily job functions, which often expose workers to decibel levels of 90 or above.
• Airport staff – airplane engines are among the noisiest pieces of machinery, with sound levels easily reaching a very dangerous 140 decibels.
• Paramedics and firefighters – these important workers experience the cumulative effect of exposure to sirens. Studies show that firefighters and emergency vehicle drivers suffer from hearing loss at a disproportionately higher level than their peers with other occupations.
• Armed forces personnel- this group counts noise-induced hearing loss as the number one disability suffered post-combat. The Deafness Research Foundation reported that over 65% of combat troops that returned from Afghanistan experience noise-induced hearing loss.