Monthly Archives: August 2018

Hearing Loss in the Oil & Gas industry

August 30, 2018

More oil-and-gas drill workers are losing their hearing despite more of them using ear protection

 

Although more workers in the oil and gas drilling sector are using ear plugs than ever before, work-related hearing loss is on the rise. According to WorkSafeBC, hearing-test data shows that noise-induced hearing loss in the industry has gone up over the past five years, and more than half of the affected workers are under 35.

Due to high noise levels in the oil-and-gas industry, WorkSafeBC is warning that workers who don’t wear ear protection properly are at risk of permanently damaging their hearing.

Sasha Brown, a WorkSafeBC occupational audiologist, suspects it’s because hearing protection isn’t being used properly.“It does seem counterintuitive that people are wearing hearing protection and still getting hearing loss,” Brown said.

Using results collected by employers, the agency reports that in 2012, 33 percent of workers tested had some kind of hearing loss from their careers, and in 2017 the percentage of workers who had lost hearing on the job was 45 percent. At the same time, the percentage of workers using hearing protection rose from 94 to 98 percent. This stands in sharp contrast to other noisy work industries, for which, in 2017, only 13 percent of workers showed noise-induced hearing loss.

“People are wearing hearing protection, which is fantastic,” she said. However, because they’re still experiencing hearing loss, Brown said it’s clear that simply using hearing protection isn’t enough.
“Not only do you have to wear hearing protection but you have to wear it properly and you have to wear it all the time,” Brown said.

hearing loss in oil & gas

Hearing – WCB Regulation on Hearing Loss

According to WorkSafeBC regulations, employers in oil and gas drilling sector must provide yearly hearing tests for their workers and provide the results to the agency. While visiting oil and gas rigs up in Fort St. John last year, Brown saw many people using foam earplugs, but she said they were often inserted incorrectly.

“When the noise is as loud as it can be in oil and gas, that’s not enough (to just insert earplugs). I think part of the problem is we’re seeing this heavy reliance on those compressible foam earplugs, which can be excellent but they can also be worn improperly very, very easily,” Brown said.

According to WorkSafeBC safety instructions, foam earplugs must be properly squished down and rolled, and a person should pull their ear up and back before inserting it into the ear canal. When inserted properly, the earplugs shouldn’t be visible when looking at a person from the front. They also come in different sizes, Brown said, and if they’re too big or too small they can fall out easily. And, depending on noise levels, sometimes workers need to be wearing over-the-ear ear muffs in addition to the earplugs. Of the 294 B.C. oil-and-gas drilling workers who experienced hearing loss, 194 of them were 35-years-old or younger. And then there is custom hearing protection, fitting the ear close to perfect. They are snug and custom to the wearer’s ear. Learn More..

To remedy the issue, WorkSafeBC is releasing safety warning bulletins to workers and employers and it will continue to monitor the workers’ mandated yearly hearing tests.


SOURCE:

https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/08/24/more-oil-and-gas-drill-workers-are-losing-their-hearing-despite-more-of-them-using-ear-protection.html

Author: Tessa Vikander is a Vancouver-based reporter covering identity and inequality.

 

Keep older workers healthy and productive

August 22, 2018

Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce is older than 65, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2020, 1 in 4 American workers will be older than 55.

Older workers typically have more experience and greater institutional knowledge than younger workers, NIOSH notes. However, their injuries often are more severe and may take longer to heal. Employers should take special considerations into account to help protect older workers.

 

older adults

Injuries and health

Health issues increase with age, and NIOSH data shows that arthritis and hypertension are the two most common health conditions reported by employees older than 55. More than 75 percent of older workers are estimated to have at least one chronic health condition that requires management.

“The frequency of these conditions and others in older adults has important implications for how and when workers can physically perform their duties,” the agency cautions.

How can employers help keep older workers healthy and safe? Let’s start with Safety Programs and or processes that ensure that the level of care is consistent throughout the organization. Also, some work environments have dedicated Occupation Health and Safety roles that ensure safety but also enforce preventative policies to minimize workplace injury.

Make the workplace age-friendly

Employers and supervisors can follow several strategies to make workplaces more age-friendly, NIOSH states. Among them:

  • Be flexible with older workers by giving them a say in their schedule, work tasks and conditions, when possible.
  • Let employees work self-paced, and avoid assigning repetitive tasks or work that involves prolonged sedentary tasks.
  • Require supervisors to take training on managing an aging workforce.
  • Provide ergonomically correct workstations.
  • Prevent Occupational injuries by investing in Protective Gear like Molded Hearing Protection, Eyewear, and Respiratory wear. Learn More about Hearing Protection. 
  • Consult with older workers to develop teamwork strategies to help abate age-associated hazards.
  • Keep hazards managed – particularly slip, fall and noise hazards, as these can challenge older workers.
  • Invest in training to help older workers hone their skills and become comfortable with new technologies.

 

 

 

 


SOURCE

For more information on productive aging, visit cdc.gov/niosh/topics/productiveaging/safetyandhealth.html.

Summer sounds can cause hearing damage

August 7, 2018

Summer sounds can cause hearing damage

(HealthDay)—The sounds of summer can cause hearing damage, warn experts from Penn State University.

Huseyin Isildak, M.D., director of otology and neurotology in the Division of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, says that sounds associated with summer fun—fireworks, music concerts, and lawnmowers—can cause real damage. Ear plugs and moving far enough away from the noise source can prevent damage.

Additionally, Isildak sees ear trouble resulting from time spent in the water. Ear plugs can prevent the most common issue—water in the ear. He recommends that before going scuba diving, divers should be sure that they don’t have any ear or nose conditions that would prevent being able to balance the pressure. Isildak also suggests allergy sufferers be advised to use a nasal spray or take allergy medicine before they go diving.

Many of us like to fill our summer calendar with concerts and music festivals, including loud concerts.

Can you hear what you’re doing?

A recent study from the American Medical Association says too much loud music can have a lasting impact on our hearing.

You can wear two of those foamy ear plugs, but what’s the point? You won’t hear much.

Dr. Sharon Sandridge, of the Cleveland Clinic, suggests having custom-made earplugs, especially if you attend a lot of concerts. 

“If you are a concert-goer and you go on a routine basis, you really should have custom earplugs made by your audiologist because those will help lessen the intensity but maintain the frequency response, so it will sound real natural whereas just the foamy roll-up ones tend to change the frequency response and then the quality of it,” she said. 

You should protect your hearing somehow.

That ringing you might hear in your ears after a concert may be temporary, but this type of decrease in hearing actually causes permanent damage in the microscopic parts of the ear.

Whenever you go into any situation where there will be loud noise — a concert or sporting event — remember your ears. An earplug might help.



Source