More Hong Kong workers going deaf than ever before.
Statistics released by the Hong Kong SAR Government in August 2019 show that there were 275 cases of occupational deafness (including monaural hearing loss) in 2018. Compared to 2017 this number represents an increase of around 55% and is the highest number on public record.
The highest previous number in a single year was 226 in 2011, which is still over 20% less than the most recent record. The average number per year, over the past decade, is 149. If you remove the recent increase, the average over the previous nine years is 135.
Cases resulting in occupational deafness were linked to the following activities:
- 41% Rock grinding, chiselling, cutting or percussion
- 23% Metal grinding
- 17% Working near internal combustion engines, turbines, pressurised fuel burners or jet engines
- 11% Pile driving
These activities are mostly linked to the construction industry, which in the same year saw 14 fatalities in Hong Kong—a rate of 0.125 per thousand workers.
Source: labour.gov.hk, August 2019
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
