Refreshing on the Basics of Noise and Hearing Conservation

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that more than 20 million workers are exposed to hazardous levels of noise at work. In 2017, employers received nearly $1.5 million in federal OSHA citations, and workers' compensation payouts cost another $242 million. Under OSHA's occupational exposure limits, at Action Level of 85 dBA over an eight-hour time weighted average (TWA), an estimated 50 percent of the population will experience some hearing loss. At this level, the employer is required to provide employees, at no cost, with appropriate hearing protection, a written Hearing Conservation Program, and audiometric testing. At the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 90 dBA, eight-hour TWA, 100 percent of the population will start to experience hearing loss. When an employee is exposed at or above the PEL, the employer is required to provide appropriate hearing protection at no cost to employees; issue appropriately rated hearing protection to reduce exposure to below 85 dBA, and employees are required to use it; attempt to reduce noise exposures to below the PEL through engineering and administrative controls; have a written Hearing Conservation Program; and conduct audiometric testing. No employee shall be exposed in excess of 115 dBA of sustained noise for more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, and 140 dBA is the maximum instantaneous level for impact noise not lasting longer than one second in duration.

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