You are here: Home Employee Health Testing FAQ What is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) ?
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) refers to the loss of hearing sensitivity that occurs as a result of damage cause by
  • continuous exposure to loud sounds over an extended period of time, such as noise found in factories, or
  • a one-time exposure to an intense sound, such as an explosion
Sound that is too loud or sounds that last a long time (and even worse, a combination of those two) can damage the hair cells inside the inner ear.  That damage is permanent because once damaged, those hair cells cannot grow back and cannot be repaired.
 
Continuous exposure to loud noise also can damage the structure of hair cells, resulting in hearing loss and tinnitus, although the process occurs more gradually than for impulse noise.
 
Hearing Loss can also be caused by disease or by trauma like that experienced in accidents.
In Occupational Health, the term noise-induced is used to identify hearing losses caused by noise, and to highlight the premise that these kinds of losses are preventable if:
  • the levels of noise are reduced
  • if the employee's exposure to noise is mitigated by various 'controls' like hearing protection and
  • if employees are educated about the need to protect themselves from long-term noise exposure.
Contact us to learn more about Noise Induced hearing Loss, and the Audiometric Testing or Mobile Hearing testing services that help identify these types of hearing losses.
You are here: Home Employee Health Testing FAQ What is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) ?

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