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Uncovering Effective Strategies for Hearing Loss Prevention

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Abstract

Occupational health agencies, researchers, and policy makers have recognized the need for evidence on the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce or prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. While many workplaces comply with legal or obligatory requirements and implement recommended interventions, few publications exist documenting the effectiveness of these actions. Additionally, some workplaces have discovered through their own processes, novel ways to reduce the risk of injury. Peer-reviewed information on the effectiveness of the many strategies and approaches currently in use could help correct weaknesses, or further encourage their adoption and expansion. The evaluation of intervention effectiveness would certainly contribute to improved worker health and safety. This need is particularly relevant regarding noise exposure in the workplace and hearing loss prevention interventions. In a 2006 review of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Hearing Loss Research Program, the independent National Academies of Sciences recommended that NIOSH place greater emphasis on identifying the effectiveness of hearing loss prevention measures on the basis of outcomes that are as closely related as possible to reducing noise exposure and work-related hearing loss (http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11721). NIOSH used two different approaches to address that recommendation: the first one was to conduct research, including broad systematic reviews on the effectiveness of interventions to prevent occupational noise-induced hearing loss. The second was to create an award program, the Safe-In-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award\(^{\mathrm{TM}}\), to identify and honor excellent real-world examples of noise control and other hearing loss prevention practices and innovations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Applied Research and Technology, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1190 Tusculum Avenue/ MS C27, Cincinnati, OH, 45226, USA

    Thais C. Morata

  2. Audiology and Speech-Language Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA

    Deanna Meinke

Authors
  1. Thais C. Morata
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  2. Deanna Meinke
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Correspondence to Thais C. Morata.

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Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Morata, T.C., Meinke, D. Uncovering Effective Strategies for Hearing Loss Prevention. Acoust Aust 44, 67–75 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40857-016-0044-9

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