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Noise

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Overview

Most of us take our hearing for granted. When we go home after work and when we get up in the morning, we expect to hear. Human hearing is amazingly sensitive. Our ears can distinguish 400,000 different sounds and can detect sounds so quiet they cause the eardrum to vibrate less than 1/80 millionth of an inch. But that remarkable sensitivity does not have a lifetime guarantee.

Noise-induced hearing loss is the term for hearing damaged by exposure to excessive noise. The damage to hearing caused by too much noise may not be apparent for years. Hearing loss cannot be cured, but it can be prevented.

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Advisory Committee

Permissible Exposure Limits

Borrow from the Resource Center

Watch Online

Additional Resources

Technical Manual, Section III: Health Hazards, Chapter 5: Noise

OSHA/ NIOSH Safety and Health Information Bulletin: Preventing Hearing Loss Caused by Chemical (Ototoxicity) and Noise Exposure


 

Highlights

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Hearing Protection Quick Guide

Learn how to protect workers from noise-induced hearing loss

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