Every year, about 30 million people in the United States are occupationally exposed to hazardous noise. Noise-related hearing loss has been listed as one of the most prevalent occupational health concerns for more than 25 years. Since 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that nearly 125,000 workers have suffered significant, permanent hearing loss. In 2009 alone, BLS reported more than 21,000 hearing loss cases.
Penalties for violations of OSHA’s 29 CFR 1910.95 Occupational Noise Exposure Standard totaled $1,558,661 across all industries during the period October 2014 through September 2015.