Industrial deafness still common workplace injury

Industrial deafness as a workplace injury has been a known risk for many years.

The problem of industrial deafness, and how to avoid it, has been known to employers for many years. As long ago as 1963, that is 48 years ago, employers were informed by the then government of the danger. The guideline “acceptable” level of noise was a compromise between what could be achieved with the equipment installed in factories, and the safety of employees. So even at or below the “acceptable” noise level people could still suffer industrial deafness, but in theory the level of exposure meant a lower level of deafness. The compromise was to reduce the noise level for workers, but not to do it overnight to avoid too much immediate expense. Continue reading “Industrial deafness in the workplace”