279a - Attitudes to noise at work

Abstract Noise, being defined as unwanted sound, is a pervasive social and occupational issue. Sound exposure is also common with a huge increase in personal listening through headphones over the last 10 years and sectors such as music and entertainment being identified for creating wanted sound for public and personal consumption. Like with many health exposures there is an over reliance on PPE for noise management via hearing protection and little has changed over the years in terms of control innovation or attitudes – you might say if health is the poor relation to safety then noise has been the poor relation of health! There is a perception that noise exposures in work have decreased over recent years due to a decline in traditional heavy manufacturing and fabrication. However other workplaces such as leisure, coffee shops and call centres have increased in number and employment rates and can present workers with significant noise exposure which is often ‘hidden’ if exposure is underneath headsets or unrecognised as a risk. This session will look to explore attitudes to noise at work, the data available on exposures and ill health prevalence (or lack of) and work to improve this, emerging innovations and applicability of fit testing approaches. It will also present evidence on the wider health implications beyond hearing loss and the importance of prevention and protection in securing wider public and societal health and economic benefits.