How to prevent common workplace hearing problems [2025]

Each year, an estimated 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One study found that 53% of noise-exposed workers reported not wearing hearing protection.

The impact is serious: roughly one in four of those workers experience measurable hearing difficulty, and many more face related health concerns such as stress, fatigue, and even cardiovascular issues linked to prolonged noise exposure.

For safety managers, this raises a critical question: how do you know if hazardous noise is silently affecting your workforce? Recognizing the signs of hearing loss early, understanding which job sites carry the highest risks, and knowing how to implement effective hearing conservation measures are all essential steps in protecting your employees’ long-term health and productivity.

In this blog, we’ll break down what hazardous noise means for your workers, how to identify risks, and what actions you can take to reduce exposure and keep your team safe.

Is your workplace too noisy?

While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets clear regulations on when hearing protection must be used, safety managers don’t always have or need a sound level meter to spot potential issues.

A practical first step is to watch for these everyday signs that noise levels may already be putting workers at risk:

• Hear ringing or humming in your ears when you leave work
• Have to shout to be heard by a coworker an arm's length away
• Experience temporary hearing loss when leaving work

Several sound-measuring instruments are available to obtain a more accurate gauge of workspace noise levels, such as the Sound Level Meter App from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which can help reduce occupational noise-induced hearing loss and other related issues.

If workers have increased exposure to loud noises (even loud background noises), here are the common hearing problems they’re up against.

Occupational noise-induced hearing loss

Damage to any part of the ear can cause hearing loss. If, over time, you put your hearing at risk, you could suffer from constant buzzing, diminished hearing, ear infections, several related health issues, or worse – you could lose your hearing permanently. And loss of hearing can significantly impact your personal and work life, causing relationship issues and social isolation.

Here are the most common types of hearing loss that are experienced:

• Temporary hearing loss: Occurs when the tiny hairs in your inner ear (stereocilia) become slack (ex, like after going to a concert). After a sufficient break from loud noise, regeneration is possible.
• Acoustic trauma: A substantial, often irreparable loss of hearing after a single short, very high noise exposure or a series of high noise exposures (ex, the sound of a pistol or explosion)
• Tinnitus: A very distressing condition, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is an early sign of hearing damage that can become permanent. Caused by prolonged exposure to loud sounds, there is no effective cure for this condition; however, treatment is available to ease the symptoms.
• Permanent hearing loss: This arises after long-term periods of high noise exposure without breaks (ex, working in a factory with loud noises for many years). The blood supply to the inner ear will be disrupted, causing irreparable damage to the stereocilia.

Other health effects of loudness on your ears

Exposure to high levels of noise does more than damage your hearing – it affects your day-to-day life in other ways.

• Increased blood pressure and heart rate:Noise can influence the cardiovascular system, resulting in an increase in blood pressure and the release of catecholamines in the blood. An increased level of catecholamines in the blood is associated with stress.
• Mental and physical issues:According to OSHA, loud noise can cause physical and psychological stress, reduce productivity, and interfere with communication and concentration, leading to poor judgment and decision-making processes.
• Temporary (TTS) and permanent (PTS) threshold shifts: Exposure to intense sound can produce TTS, acute changes in hearing sensitivity that recover over time, or PTS, a loss that does not recover to pre-exposure levels.
• Risk of accidents: Performance in safety-critical tasks that demand continuous attention may be affected by noise, which could lead to workplace accidents and injuries by making it difficult to hear warning signals (OSHA).
• Effect on pregnancy: Research from NIOSH suggests that prolonged exposure of the unborn child to high noise levels during pregnancy may have an effect on a child’s hearing. One recommendation is that pregnant women should avoid noise levels over 115 dB(A).
• Social isolation:As hearing becomes challenging, people will often avoid interactive activities, such as social, business, or transactional situations, and instead choose to withdraw and isolate themselves.

How to protect your hearing and prevent hearing loss

Because occupational hearing loss develops gradually, many workers may not notice the early signs — like trouble hearing conversations or workplace instructions — until significant damage has already occurred. That’s why consistent prevention and protection are critical, both on and off the job.

For safety managers, taking action early can help workers avoid long-term issues, including profound hearing loss that can permanently impact quality of life.

When at home

The following steps can help you prevent noise-induced hearing loss and avoid worsening of age-related hearing loss:

• Turn down the volume or step away from the sound: Limiting the duration and intensity of your exposure to noise is the best protection.
• Have your hearing tested: Consider regular hearing tests if you work in a noisy environment. If you've lost some hearing, you can take steps to prevent further loss.
• Minimize risks during recreational tasks: Loud activities, such as mowing the lawn, hunting, using power tools, or attending rock concerts, can damage your hearing over time. Wearing hearing protection when the noise is consistently over 85 dB or taking breaks from the noise can protect your ears.

When at work

In occupational noise scenarios, more precautions are necessary – and required. Noise controls are the first line of defense against excessive noise exposure. When at work, here are best practices for employers (and how employees can benefit):

• Minimize the exposure period: Companies can use engineering and administrative controls to reduce sound exposure levels that are technologically feasible for most noise sources. This could include modifying or replacing equipment, making related physical changes at the noise source or transmission path, or eliminating the worker's exposure to noise entirely.
• Use hearing protection: In addition to the precautions above, hearing protection devices (HPDs), such as earmuffs or earplugs, are the last line of defense to help control exposure to noise.

HexArmor® can help

There are several factors to consider when choosing the right earplug or earmuff technology, which is why HexArmor® offers a variety of hearing safety information, as well as varying levels of hearing protection, to ensure you are adequately protected for your specific application and environment.

Let us know if you need help finding what you need or if you're ready to start a trial—our Solution Specialists are ready to help. Call 1.877.MY ARMOR or send us a message.

Browse all HexArmor® hearing protection

[Blog originally published February 8, 2021]