Published on: September 18, 2024

With constant sounds of heavy machinery, power tools, and other activities, construction sites are noisy places — and all that noise can be a serious hazard to workers. One large construction firm has taken significant steps to prevent noise-induced hearing loss among its workers and contractors.

By Marnie Douglas

Ledcor Construction’s hearing loss prevention program update was initiated by the B.C. branch of its joint health and safety committee. The joint committee had invited a series of guest speakers to educate its members on various health and safety topics critical to the construction industry. One such topic was about hearing loss prevention delivered by WorkSafeBC occupational audiologist Sasha Brown.

“Permanent damage to workers’ hearing can be caused by too much exposure to workplace noise, and that includes much of the noise that you’ll find on construction sites,” explains Brown.

Brown’s presentation resonated with the joint committee and inspired the group to update Ledcor’s existing hearing loss prevention program to further enhance protection of workers against hearing loss.

“There was a lot that we thought we knew about hearing loss, hearing protection, and how it related to construction noise, but actually didn’t know,” explains John Ondzik, a health, safety, and environment (HSE) supervisor and the co-chair of Ledcor’s B.C. joint committee. “It got us thinking about what we could do better.”

Site visits lead to key findings

Ondzik hosted a virtual meeting with project staff, unionized workers, and subcontractors from 15 of Ledcor’s worksites across B.C., and Brown presented the information on hearing loss prevention again. A plan was then made to do a series of site visits with Ondzik, WorkSafeBC occupational hygiene specialist Kia Lidster, industrial audiometric technician Steve Polinsky, and a safety supply vendor.

During the site visits, Lidster completed noise measurements and educated workers while getting a sense of how they view hearing protection and what they do to protect their hearing. The team also performed hearing protection fit-test demonstrations and showed workers how to effectively use hearing protection.

“Many workers recognized that they should be wearing hearing protection, but they described barriers such as limited availability on the construction site or difficulty selecting the right protection for their work environment.” says Lidster.

There were several key findings from the site visits. One was noise contamination due, in part, to a lack of coordination between different contractors. Lidster gives the example of a worker cutting steel studs near a drywall finisher: “The worker cutting the studs was using hearing protection, but the drywall finisher nearby may not think about hearing protection, even though they were exposed to high levels of noise from the cutting.”

Another finding was that workers were wearing incorrect hearing protection — such as using noise-cancelling earbuds as a form of hearing protection or selecting the wrong class for the task.

Says Lidster: “Noise-cancelling headphones are not substitutes for proper hearing protection and should not be worn where hearing protectors are required to protect against noise exposure.”

Lidster explains that hearing protection is rated as Class A, B, or C, depending on how much noise reduction the protection provides. The recommended class of protection increases with the noise level. For example, Class C is recommended for exposure to noise that is less than 90 dBA, Class B for 90 to 95 dBA and Class A for 95 to 105 dBA. For extremely high noise levels (anything above 105 dBA), workers should be wearing double protection — both earplugs and earmuffs. It is worth noting that many construction sites have noise levels between 90 and 95 dBA, where Class B hearing protection is ideal.

“If the hearing protection does not block enough sound, or does not fit properly, noise can still cause damage,” notes Brown. “One common misunderstanding is that the highest-rated protection is best for workers. The facts are that, in some situations, the selected hearing protection can block too much sound, which creates other potential hazards, such as workers not being able to hear what’s going on around them. This can be unsafe and lead to workers removing their hearing protection, which can result in hearing loss.”

Adds Brown, “Overall, hearing protection isn’t effective if it doesn’t fit properly, is not inserted or worn correctly, or is worn only periodically. Earplugs are not universally sized as each person’s ears are differently shaped and sized, so it’s important that a variety of sizes and shapes are provided.”

One of the positive observations made during the site visits was that many workers had up-to-date hearing test cards. This indicated that employers and workers were taking advantage of the employer-funded hearing testing for workers in the construction industry (sector 72).

No one-size-fits-all solution

After Brown’s presentation and the follow-up site visits identifying that workers were using the incorrect hearing protection, Ondzik set about sourcing the proper protection for each job role.

“We were providing hearing protection, but it wasn’t always the right kind. Hoist operators, for example, are constantly exposed to noise and need protection but not necessarily the highest protection,” he says. “We tried the earmuff style but those were hot and uncomfortable. The Class A was too much protection, and they couldn’t hear instructions from other workers, so we found a Class B that works.”

In addition to Ledcor sourcing new types of hearing protection, revising its hearing protection policy, and conducting ongoing testing of its unionized workers, its project construction staff also ran unique educational campaigns, facilitated toolbox talks about the importance of protecting one’s hearing, and talked to workers about turning down their portable two-way radios and repositioning mics off their shoulders away from their ears.

Ledcor also installed sound blankets to contain noise and prevent contamination — for example, at cut stations on jobsites — where they recognized that loud noise would be ongoing.

“Updating our existing hearing loss prevention program to further enhance the protection of workers and provide additional hearing education has resulted in beneficial changes,” Mike de Jong, Ledcor’s senior manager, HSE, says. “We’ve seen improved worker knowledge, especially about contamination and exposure of noise hazards to other workers, and increased commitment to safety from both managers and workers.”

“We learned a lot, from both WorkSafeBC and the workers themselves,” he adds. “I thought it was a great collaborative process to understand more about hearing protection. It was a common thought that as long as you had earplugs, everything was fine, but now we know there’s more to it.”

Developing and implementing a hearing conservation program can be straightforward and doesn’t have to be complex, explains Daniella Pozzobon, WorkSafeBC occupational hygiene officer. She suggests the following:

• Eliminate the source, substitute for a quieter alternative, or reduce the noise at source through engineering controls. For example, choose quieter equipment, enclose the noise source or the worker, and separate the worker from the noise source. If engineering controls are not an option, reducing the worker’s length of exposure should be explored, along with hearing protection to reduce the amount of noise reaching workers’ ears.
• Educate workers about the adverse health effects that can result from not protecting their hearing.
• Organize annual hearing tests to help workers recognize early signs of noise-induced hearing loss. Employers in the construction industry pay through their premiums into a fund that covers the cost of hearing tests for their workers. Review our Annual hearing testing page for more information.
• Provide several hearing protection options for workers and educate them on how to use them.

“Work-related hearing loss can be prevented if employers, supervisors, workers, and WorkSafeBC work together to control noise exposure,” Pozzobon says. “The most effective way to do that is to implement a hearing conservation program.”

Employers are encouraged to use our templates and guides to help them develop a program and customize it to their unique workplace. For more information, visit WorkSafeBC’s Hearing loss prevention page. You can also check out this “Safety talk” on correctly choosing, inserting, and wearing earplugs.

This information originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of WorkSafe Magazine. To read more or to subscribe, visit WorkSafe Magazine.