Have you ever attended a loud concert? Did your ears ring, or were sounds muffled the next day? If you were lucky, the effects were temporary, and your hearing soon returned to normal. But even short-term events can cause permanent hearing loss. Occupational noise-induced hearing loss is the most common work-related illness worldwide.
In this course, we describe how sound is transmitted and interpreted by the human ear, provide noise levels for some common sounds, demonstrate how hearing loss occurs and how it can be prevented, describe the elements of a hearing conservation program, and list the responsibilities of employers for providing protection from harmful noise.
