The likely prevalence of occupational noise induced hearing loss across British industry
Around 1 in 5 of British workers are exposed to noise that could damage hearing.
Workplace Health Expert Committee (WHEC) will be presenting their latest findings in a public seminar on Thursday 28th September, 1 hour:
- The seminar will summarise the published scientific evidence.
- It is estimated that around a fifth of the British working population is probably exposed to high noise levels that could damage hearing (>85 dBA) and the prevalence of occupational NIHL is most likely much less than 10%.
- The prevalence of occupational NIHL has probably decreased over the last forty years partly because of improvements in workplace conditions but also because of declining numbers employed in “traditional” noisy industries.
- We will conclude the seminar with a discussion about where there are gaps in our current level of understanding, where future research could close those gaps and, how the prevalence of NIHL could be estimated in the future.
“Hearing loss caused by noise at work remains a well recognised hazard of many jobs. The risk of NIHL has been reduced in many workplaces by improved noise control. This investigation, however, has found that the prevalence of NIHL in the current UK workforce, and the circumstances in which it continues to occur, is unclear. It suggests ways to obtain this information, whose importance will be to inform future strategies to further reduce the risk of NIHL.”
Professor Sir Anthony Newman-Taylor, Chair WHEC.
Register here for free: Eventbrite: WHEC seminar registration
Download the WHEC report here: The likely prevalence of occupational noise induced hearing loss across British industry