Have Ringing, Whistling or Buzzing in Your Ears?

An overview and options
By Kendra Klemme

Construction workers are known to be at a higher risk for hearing loss due to loud noise exposure. But did you know high levels of noise exposure can cause another permanent hearing condition, called tinnitus?

Have you experienced the sounds of whistling, hissing, buzzing, crickets, chirping, ringing or roaring, even when no external sound is present? Tinnitus (TIN-a-tus or tin-EYE-tus) is different for each individual and can range from slightly bothersome to debilitating, making each person’s experience unique and making tinnitus difficult to diagnose. As many as 95 percent of construction workers are exposed to high levels of noise on a daily basis.¹

Tinnitus is most commonly associated with hearing loss and exposure to loud noise, but sometimes can also be a symptom of another condition like an ear infection or high blood pressure. Whatever the cause, tinnitus can significantly alter a person’s quality of life. However, there is good news: treatment options such as sound therapy may offer relief.

Causes of Tinnitus
According to the American Tinnitus Association, the most common causes include :

• Noise exposure (e.g., from machines at work or shooting)
• Aging
• Head injury
• Side effects from medication

Prevention
Tinnitus and hearing loss often go hand-in-hand. An estimated 12.5 percent of children and adolescents ages six-19, and 17 percent of adults ages 20-69, have suffered permanent damage to hearing from excessive exposure to noise. Exposure to this level of noise, the single-most common cause of hearing loss in the United States, is almost entirely preventable. Excessive noise exposure is also one of the leading causes of tinnitus, so preventing tinnitus means taking care of your hearing.

Here’s how: Wear hearing protection when in an environment where the decibel level is above 85 for an extended period of time; this is the level at which OSHA says hearing loss can occur. To give a sense of what level that is, busy traffic and a vacuum cleaner come in at about 70dB, while truck traffic or a lawnmower come in around 90dB, at which level you have a risk of hearing damage within about eight hours. If you have to raise your voice in order to be heard, chances are you are in an environment where the noise level exceeds 85dB. On the high end of the spectrum, a gunshot or jet engine taking off produces a noise level of 140dB, which can cause immediate damage.

According to the American Industrial Hygiene Association, “Construction noise regulations lack the specificity of general industry noise regulations.” Due to a variety of reasons, which include the large volume of small businesses and worker mobility across jobs, construction companies often have a difficult time implementing hearing protection standards.²

Additionally, hearing protection use in this population is also low, due in part to perceived issues with hearing and understanding speech communication and warning signs that are important to workers” safety. The highest percentages of workers overexposed to loud noise occur in highway and street construction, carpentry and concrete work.²

Think of the sounds and volume of noise you experience every day on a jobsite. Awareness about hearing protection for construction workers has never been more important.

Hearing protection comes in many types — from the standard earmuffs and earplugs to electronic hearing protection. In a perfect world, hearing protection devices would allow natural sounds, such as speech and environmental noise to be heard, while protecting hearing at high noise levels that pose a risk to hearing. Most traditional earmuffs and earplugs simply block out all noise, which is not always the best option for people on construction sites or other environments where hearing verbal commands is very important. A better option is electronic hearing protection, which allows for natural environmental sounds to be heard, while reducing the noise when it reaches a certain threshold.

Tinnitus treatment
There are many treatment options available for tinnitus, including sound therapy and devices specifically used to treat this condition. Additionally, because many cases of tinnitus involve hearing loss, there are tools that offer amplification, which has been shown to help with tinnitus relief, and sound therapies including re-training therapy or masking. Visit www.tinnitushearing.com for more information.

Kendra Klemme is the director of communications and public relations at Starkey Hearing Technologies, where she oversees internal and external communication activities. She holds a B.A. from the University of South Dakota and a Master of Business Communication from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minn.

1. House, R., Sauvé, J., Jiang, D. (2002). Hearing Loss Among Construction Workers in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 42.
2. American Industrial Hygiene Association (2002). Construction Noise: Exposure, Effects, and the Potential for Remediation; A Review and Analysis. Retrieved July 2013 from the Electronic Library for Construction Occupational Safety & Health — www.elcosh.org.