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Can Your Job Give You Tinnitus?


Woodworker with hearing protection; can your job give you tinnitus concept

The short answer here is yes, your job can give you tinnitus.

Exposure to noise at work is a significant occupational hazard. 

A study done in the UK shows that during a typical year, almost five per cent of food manufacture workers suffer from ill health caused by or made worse by work. That's more than twice the number that suffer from a reportable injury at work. One of the main causes? Hearing loss.

In order to maintain your hearing, protection is necessary when working with noise levels measuring over 80 decibels.

Some typical noise levels associated with common tasks in the food industry include: 

- Wrapping, cutting wrap, bagging, etc: 85-95dB
- Milling operations: 85-100dB
- Blast chillers/freezers: 85-107dB
- Packaging machinery: 85-95dB

Occupational noise-induced hearing loss including tinnitus is a totally preventable condition; however, once the damage has been done there is no way of reversing the effects. 

If your company does not attempt to control noise at the source and/or provide hearing protection, you are at risk.

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