Exposure to excessive noise is a widespread occupational health issue and “…hearing loss continues to be an important topic in the safety and health community, especially for employers who try to balance hearing loss safety with prevention costs,” writes Luis Martínez, an economist in the office of Compensation and Working Conditions,Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Long-term exposure to high levels of noise can cause permanent, irreversible hearing loss. Even short-term exposure can cause temporary hearing loss or tinnitus (a ringing sound in your ears). Excessive noise can reduce productivity, interfere with concentration and communication, including workplace warning signals, thus contributing to occupational accidents and injuries.

An effective hearing conservation program is designed to protect workers from the negative effects of noise pollution caused by their workplace environment or job duties. A key element is assuring that the workers are aware of the hazards of excessive noise exposure and that they know how to properly use the protective equipment they are provided.

Succeed Management Solutions, LLC has released a new online Hearing Conservation training course. It is designed to teach employees about the properties of sound and how it affects hearing. Trainees can learn aboutOSHA’s requirements, as well as state and federal regulations on exposure to high noise levels. The training also covers the hazards of over-exposure, and how to protect oneself from hearing loss with hearing protection devices. Lastly, the training outlines ways to control noise and emphasizes the importance of implementing and following a comprehensive hearing conservation program, helping to improve workers’ overall occupational health and safety.

Providing the Hearing Conservation Training can help reduce losses due to employee hearing loss, and the related accidents and injuries due to communication interference by high noise levels. Offering this training, along with other proactive hearing conservation efforts, can significantly improve workplace safety, health, and morale.

This training is available in both English and Spanish and is accessible via the web. It can be assigned and managed through the Training Track™ application of the Risk Management Center, an automated learning management system. Training Track helps organizations maintain accurate training records, and document compliance.

About Succeed Management Solutions

Succeed is the recognized leader in providing web-based Enterprise Risk Management solutions. Thousands of organizations use the Succeed Risk Management Center as a holistic solution to improve their risk management programs, implement web-accessible employee safety training programs, improve regulatory compliance, increase efficiencies, and lower the frequency and severity of claims and associated costs.

The Succeed Risk Management Center contains a suite of software applications that help manage claims and OSHA reporting (Incident Track™), behavior-based safety programs (BBS Track™), hazard communication and Safety Data Sheets (SDS Track™), Return to Work programs (Job Description Track™), employee training (Training Track™), and third party insurance compliance (COI Track®). They have a growing library of safety training courses. Succeed also offers other support services, such as managing Safety Data Sheets and creating custom training courses.