Hearing Conservation

Important Documents, Resources, and Links

___________________________________________________

Overview

Employees exposed to sound levels that exceed established thresholds are at risk of developing threshold shifts that can lead to noise induced hearing loss. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), should employee exposures exceed established thresholds, feasible engineering or administrative controls shall be utilized. Should these controls fail to reduce sound levels to within acceptable levels, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the form of hearing protection must be used.

Should noise levels exceed the OSHA Action Level of 85 decibles as averaged over the course of an 8-hour work day, employers are required to develop and implement a hearing conservation program.

___________________________________________________

Hearing Conservation at UNH

Since there are areas at UNH where noise levels can exceed not only the AL, but the permissible exposure level of 90 decibels, UNH has developed an implemented a Hearing Conservation Program. This program outlines our policies and procedures for protection against elevated noise levels.

___________________________________________________

Support from OEHS

The Office of Environmental Health and Safety can assist you with monitoring work areas for noise levels and assist with the development of controls and/or selection of PPE. Should you have any questions or concerns about noise in the work environment please contact our office.

___________________________________________________