Noise Control Strategies for Occupational Safety and Better Working Environments

Hearing impairment in humans due to occupational noise exposure is one of the significant occupational diseases in many countries. The equipment to measure noise levels and daily noise exposure in existing noisy environments is readily available and can be used to assess the risk of hearing damage. This article examines the currently legislated hearing damage risk criterion and compares the two main noise level-time trade-off schemes being used. The engineering methods for controlling excessive noise levels and techniques to either bring them below the hearing damage risk threshold or to within an acceptable range for the workplace requirement are discussed, together with the expected improvements by such measures.