Did you know that Construction workers are among the most affected by industrial deafness? Safe Work Australia research shows that the construction industry is the third noisiest industry sector.

Many of the workers are surprised at this result, particularly when they may have considered it to be a ‘Quiet’ Day during which they only conducted the occasional noisy activity. However the meaning of a ‘Quiet’ Day to a Tradie is somewhat different to somebody who works in an Office.

The EPA's Noise Effects Handbook states that excessive noise can create distraction and mental fatigue that can impair workers' judgment and reduce morale. At certain levels, constant noise pollution can interfere with necessary business communications or even drown out safety alarms. A noisy workplace environment places stress on employees, who must find ways to work around the impediment.

This may seem like a strange statement but the reality is that obesity can result in hearing loss. Being overweight is unhealthy from many points of view but recent studies show that there is also a link between obesity and hearing loss.

I can hear you thinking to yourself ‘How on earth can obesity cause hearing loss?” There are actually 2 ways that obesity can affect your hearing:

We all know the common flu symptoms – fever, headaches, sore muscle, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, dry cough, tiredness – but did you know that the flu can also cause temporary and potentially permanent hearing loss?

How temporary hearing loss is caused

OHS equipment suppliers indicate that hearing protection remains an important control measure in the fight against noise induced hearing loss. The increase in availability and affordability of equipment like powered hand tools with very noisy two stroke petrol powered engines to replace almost every physical activity has increased the need for effective hearing protection for traditionally quiet work such as sweeping and plant trimming.

Occasionally at JTA Noise we carry out assessments where we find that the noise is well within occupational and environmental standards and even best practice and yet the problem remains in that the complainant continues to be aggravated by the offending noise.

Reports of live music dying in Melbourne and moving to Sydney with the consequent loss of a Melbourne signature music scene came to a head in Brunswick last year where a local councillor intervened in a VCAT hearing to save an iconic local live music venue (The Melbourne Age, November 2013).

In a recent traffic incident a driver was accused of travelling at 140 km per hour through the Burnley Tunnel in heavy traffic. When informed of the alleged offence, the incredulous driver immediately questioned the calibration of the offending instrument. After a lengthy court case the driver was found not guilty, not due to calibration error, but due to measurement error, a prescient reminder of the importance of both calibration and measurement technique to those of us who drive instruments for a living.

Audiometric (hearing) testing shows that we still have some way to go to defeat 'noise induced hearing loss' which progressively steals the ability to communicate and, if noise exposure continues unabated, eventually socially isolates its victims. New evidence shows that the use of personal MP3 players has opened another front for the development of this serious affliction in younger people.

Restaurants can be loud—very loud. In Victoria and NSW, 85 dBA is the end of the WorkCover safe limit at which workers can complete an eight-hour day without wearing ear protection. Compare this to loud, noisy restaurants where customers and staff are regularly exposed to levels above this limit.