Osha hearing conservation program template
- when is hearing protection required per osha
- osha hearing protection guidelines
- when hearing protection is required
Hearing protection ppe standards!
Osha hearing conservation program requirements
OSHA worksite noise regulations
Worried about noise exposure on the job? You're not alone. Work is one of the most common places you can be exposed to harmful levels of noise, which puts you at risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
As many as 22 million US workers are considered at risk to hazardous noise levels, according to the CDC.
Fortunately, the US Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA) has standards and programs aimed at reducing the risk of hearing loss among American workers.
Let's take a look:
OSHA hearing conservation program
According to OSHA's standards, employers must implement a hearing conservation program "when noise exposure is at or above 85 decibels averaged over 8 working hours, or an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA)."
This does not mean you have to be exposed to eight continuous hours of loud sound to qualify for help with noise exposure.
The key phrase is "averaged." This means if you have just two hours of very loud sound exposure (100 dB or above) in an otherwise