Facilitating Effective and Reliable Resources for Occupational Safety and
Health in the Turkish metal sector
Funded by the Netherlands embassy , Ankara, Turkey
Noice-induced hearing loss
derived from Emutom e-course
• The 5th European Working Conditions Survey shows that the physical hazards have remained a problem for the European workers in the last few years.
Which are the effects of physical factors?
Worker- occupational diseases- occupational related diseases- accident of work
Workplace- days of incapacity of work- a new worker- risk insurance
How can we protect ?
Worker
I. Reduces the PA at the source
Eg:- isolation - change the device
How we can protect ?
Worker
II. Reduce exposure time
Increase the distance
How can we protect ?
Worker
III. At the Worker LevelE.g.:- isolation (special cabin)- individual equipment protection
What is the Role of the OH Physician?
Noise
• What is noise?– a group of unwanted or/and wanted sounds which
produce an unpleasant hearing sensation, sometimes disturbing, which impede communication
– an annoying sound• The perception depends on the listener and the
circumstances (e.g. rock music can be pleasant for a person, but uncomfortable in a surgery room).
What is occupational noise?
• a complex of sounds, of variable intensities and pitches, having different characteristics, rhythmic or rhythmless, produced continuously or discontinuously by machines, tools, devices, means of transportation, the human voice, etc, during the performance of the professional activity
Characteristics of sounds
What is the Threshold Limit Value?• The Threshold Limit Value (TLV) depends on the work
specificity (International Standard, ISO 1999-1990).• The Law establishing this is the Directive 2003/10/EC
of the European Parliament and of the European Council.
• This directive is to be transposed into the national legislation of all Member States.
• In the European countries the maximum admitted values (Leq - weekly equivalent acoustic level) at the workplace with normal neural-sensorial solicitation are between 85 and 90 dB (A).
What are the Health Effects?
http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/video/hearingvideo.htm
What are the Health Effects?
Auditory Acute :• tinnitus• acoustic trauma
Chronic:• hypoaccousia • Noise Induced
Hearing Loss (NIHL)
Non-auditory• sleep disturbances• general effects
(cardiovascular, metabolic changes)
• behavioural effects
The audiogram - records both ways of sound transmission: air and bone conduction
Normal audiogram
NIHL
Treatment
1. Ceasing the exposure to noise and other toxic substances (Hg, SC2, toluene, Gentamycin, Kanamycin etc)
2. Medication: antioxidants, vitamins
3. Hearing aids in severe cases
How can we protect from noise?
I. Reduces the N at the source
E.g.:- isolation - change the device
Technical and organizational measures
Worker
III. At the worker levelE.g.:- isolation (special cabin)- individual equipment protection (ear plugs or ear muffs)
II. Reduce exposure time
Increase the distance
How can you protect from noise?
Medical measurements• Pre-employment examination• Periodical examinations
– Audiometric testing
• Risk assessment• Risk management
Ultrasounds and infrasoundUltrasounds > 20000 Hz= inaudible
Where to be found? (workplaces)• - industry (used in detecting defects,
cleaning of pieces etc)• medicine (ultrasounds, dental
scaling, therapy)• devices against thieves, pests etc
Infrasound 1-20 Hz= inaudible
Where to be found? (workplaces)• natural sources:
– geological (earthquakes, landslides, avalanches) or
– meteorological events (storms, tornadoes)
• artificial sources: – industrial machines– ventilation systems, air
conditioning– aircraft– rail traffic
What are the health effects of ultrasounds and infrasound?
Ultrasounds Acute effects: 18-30 kHz• headache, fatigue at the
end of the day, sleepiness during day time, the feeling of pressure inside the ear, walking disturbances, numbness, and sensitivity disturbances.
Chronic effects:• vascular disturbances,
increase of the central and skin temperatures, hyperglycemia, increased number of eosinophiles
InfrasoundAcute exposure:• to intensities high enough
to be heard, it can determine a decrease in vigilance
Chronic exposure:• to normal levels present in
the environment, there is not enough evidence
How do we protect from ultrasounds and infrasound?
• By respecting the technical prophylactic measurements concerning noise exposure
• In case of ultrasounds, wearing rubber cotton gloves may be of help
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