3 March was World Hearing Day. It is estimated that 5% of the global population live with hearing loss, in Hong Kong, around 2% of the population have an auditory impairment and it is expected that these percentages will increase in the coming years. World Hearing Day is a great opportunity for businesses to pause and reflect on the actions that they can take to prevent hearing loss from occurring during the course of an employee’s employment.
Deaf, isolated and limited
Hearing loss negatively impacts those employees’ experience, with many choosing to keep the loss hidden from their employer out of fear of affecting their career prospects. Research from the NHS in the UK revealed that three-quarters of survey respondents felt limited in their employment as a result of their hearing loss whilst seven in ten thought that their hearing loss prevented them from realising their full potential in the workplace. Additionally, employees who live with auditory impairments were more likely to feel isolated at work (68%) or even to retire early (41%). If left unaddressed, hearing loss is more likely to decrease an individual’s income by as much as USD $30,000 and on average, earned 25% less than their auditory-enabled peers according to the Hearing Health Foundation.
Exposure to noise levels above 80-dB over a prolonged period of time may start to damage an employee’s hearing. With the rise of prolonged use of headphones in the workplace, both in the office and at home, an alarming 25% of the workforce are at an increased risk of premature hearing loss. Respondents reported, on average, that they were exposed to 3.5 hours of sound each day and depending on how loudly they listen on their headphones, could see premature damage their hearing.
There are many occupational settings where employees are exposed to loud noises. For example, factory and construction workers, delivery drivers, roadside workers, hospitality and airside ground staff are notable examples of those employees at an increased risk. As such, business leaders have a duty of care to assess, identify and ensure measures are in place to eliminate or reduce noise exposure to protect the hearing of their employees.
Taking proactive steps to minimise the risk of hearing loss can help organisations to mitigate further problems down the line including legal actions. Preventative measures HR can consider include:
- Providing at-risk employees with appropriate protective equipment such as earplugs and defenders.
- Asking affected employees how the organisation can support them in the workplace
- Conducting a health surveillance and noise risk assessment to identify problem areas.
- Ensuring that the organisation’s commitments to diversity and inclusion are echoed to build employee trust and support.
- Adjust desk and meeting room layouts and use good lighting to help with lipreading.
- Enable the accessibility features of virtual communication tools such as subtitles and speech-to-text transcripts of meetings.
- Provide employees with the necessary health and safety training.
- Creating an open culture around disabilities, hearing loss and health concerns to help support employees.
- Installing amplified telephones or assistive products and technologies to facilitate communication.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
