Did You Know?

It's not just your parent oryour grandparent whosehearing may be slipping.A 25-year-old farmercan have the ears of a50-year-old and not evenknow it!

Nothing can restore lost hearing.Once it’s gone, it’s gone!BUT hearing loss caused by noise ispreventable

— and you can choose to

prevent it.Noise-induced hearing loss can result fromworking around farm noise - even handdrills - without hearing protection.If you're exposed to loud noise on the farm

you may already be losing your hearing.

Hearing protection can increaseyour ability to hear your equipment orothers' voices because it cuts down on thebackground noise. Some earmuffs haveamplification circuits that may help evenhearing impaired workers communicatebetter in noisy backgrounds.

You can buy protective earmuffs with

built-in radios that allow you to listensafely to your favorite sports or musicwhile working. They make nice gifts.People have found that protectingthemselves from noise reduces theirstress, anxiety and fatigue at the endof the day.

The best way to avoid hearing loss is to

reduce your exposure by using quieterequipment or staying away from noise.

Sound Advice: Protect YourEars from Damaging Noise

Exposure to noise above 85 decibels (dB)can cause permanent hearing loss.

It can even result from a single nearbyshotgun blast, dynamite blast or other veryloud noise.

85 Too Loud

0 25 50 75 100 125 150

Tractor, enclosed cab

Tractor, in shop (idling - 6’ away)

Table sawChain sawSquealing pigsFirecrackersRock bandGrain dryerCircular sawHand drillTractor, without cabCombine (full throttle - in cab)

dB

85

Combine (full throttle - 10’ away)

Normal conversation

Gunshot

A "decibel" is the unit used to measure the loudness of sound.Decibel levels for each item shown in the graph may vary.

If you need to raise your voice to be heard

an arm’s length away, the noise is probably

loud enough to damage your hearing.

How Long I

The red bar below sa particular sound lethe human ear. For sound intensity of ahearing protection, r2 minutes can cause 

It only takes...

112 dB

109 dB106 dB103 dB100 dB

97 dB94 dB91 dB88 dB85 dB

1 h

7.5 m

15 m30 m

<1<2<4

minminmin

If you know someonknow that conversatboth of you.A good hearing aid the sound. Howeveclearer the way glas

Hearing aids 

the way g
Hearing Protection Resources 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention Resources include this brochure at: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise National Hearing Conservation Association: www.hearingconservation.org National Agricultural Safety Database Hearing Conservation: www.cdc.gov/nasd/menu/topic/hearing.html National Institutes of Health WISE EARS! Campaign Resources: www.nidcd.nih/gov/health/wise/index.asp Dangerous Decibels: www.dangerousdecibels.org University of Kentucky Agricultural Disability Awareness and Risk Education (AgDARE) NIHL Resources: www.mc.uky.edu/scahip/projects/agdare-2.htm American Tinnitus Association: www.ata.org Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers 

(a non-profit group that educates young people about the 

dangers of exposure to loud music): www.hearnet.com Acknowledgments: Writer/Editor: Barbara Mulhern, Agricultural Journalist Document Advisory Group: Thomas Bean, The Ohio State University and NIOSH Great Lakes Center for Agricultural Safety and Health; Deborah Reed, University of Kentucky; Sam Steel, Pennsylvania State University 

For additional copies, questions, or comments related to this brochure, e-mail farm.noise@cdc.gov To receive other NIOSH documents or for more information about occupational safety and health topics, contact: 1–800–CDC–INFO (1–800–232–4636) TTY: 1–888–232–6348 E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov or visit the NIOSH Web site at www.cdc.gov/niosh. For a monthly update on news at NIOSH, subscribe to NIOSH eNews by visiting www.cdc.gov/niosh/eNews . 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007–175 – 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

TM 

How Can I Protect My Hearing

You don’t have to have the hearing of a 

50 year old by the time you’re 25. It’s 

up to you to protect your hearing! 

Identify noisy tasks around your farm and shop that may be harmful to your hearing. Wear hearing protection 

at all times whenever you are exposed to loud noise. 

Make hearing protection convenient . Stash earplugs in your pockets every morning when you grab your cell phone and keys. Hang canal caps or muffs on your tractor steering wheel, combine and lawn mower. Reduce equipment noise by replacing worn, loose or unbalanced machine parts. Keep equipment well lubricated and maintained. If you have been meaning to replace that loud tractor muffler, do it now. Limit your exposure to loud noise. Stay away from noisy equipment if you don’t need to be near it. Keep cab doors and windows closed. Have your hearing tested by a health care provider if you or someone else suspects a problem. 

Your family or friends may be the 

first to notice that your hearing is slipping. Keep children away from noisy areas and equipment. 

The best protectors are the ones 

you will wear all the time you are 

around loud noise. 

Formable Earplugs 

Canal Caps 

There are hundreds protectors to choose find one that is convcomfortable and fits “Hunter's” or “shoofor you. Hearing pr

internet and in local 

farm stores. Only trust your ears hearing protectors. 

shift protectors can 

“Getting used to w

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even after g

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