According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 22 million Americans are exposed daily to hazardous noise on the job, putting them at risk of developing permanent, incurable hearing loss or tinnitus. An estimated $242 million is spent annually on worker's compensation for hearing loss disability.

Coverage of the 2013 NSC Congress & Expo in Chicago, the government shutdown’s affect on OSHA and hearing loss stories were among the top EHS-related articles featured last week on ISHN.com:

Hearing loss happens for many reasons. Some people lose their hearing slowly as they age. This condition is known as presbycusis (prez-buh-KYOO-sis). Doctors do not know why presbycusis happens, but it seems to run in families.

1 in 5 Americans have hearing loss in at least one ear. This is 48 million people and far exceeds previous hearing care industry estimates of approximately 25 million.*****

After a decade of war, America is well schooled on post-traumatic stress, lost limbs and traumatic brain injury, but the most common injury sustained by U.S. troops is literally a silent wound: hearing loss, according to NBC News.