Noise is everywhere, but how loud does it need to be to cause harm? While many people know that loud noise can hurt their ears, they don’t know how loud is too loud or how long they can listen before it becomes harmful.

When you’re jet skiing on a hot summer day, are you thinking about hearing loss? You should be, according to the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Jet skiing is only one of the popular summertime activities that harbor hazards to your hearing.

Noise monitoring specialists Cirrus Research have some great offers ready to unveil at this year's Health & Safety Event at the Birmingham NEC, April 10-12 - as well as a sneak preview of the Optimus+ sound level meter prototype. Delegates visiting Cirrus Research at Stand HS153 will be able to demo both products, and take advantage of some great new offers, exclusive to HSE delegates.

Yorkshire-based noise monitoring specialists Cirrus Research have appointed Martin Ellison as its new Sales Manager, following a re-alignment across the company’s senior management team. Martin, 55, has more than 15 year’s direct sales experience having worked in several sectors including the automotive, manufacturing, construction and engineering acoustic industries.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Hearing Day, which raises awareness about preventing hearing loss and promoting hearing care, is fast approaching. This year’s theme, “Hear the Future,” focuses on strategies to prevent the expected increase in the number of people living with hearing loss.

Up to 31 percent of the workers in the Health Care and Social Assistance (HAS) sector have experienced hearing loss, according to a new study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

A military initiative is this year’s honoree in the prestigious Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award™ which is presented annually by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA).

Research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on noise-induced hearing loss in non-workplace settings has produced some alarming statistics. Testing on nearly 4,000 adults in the U.S. in 2014 found that: Approximately 15% of American adults, aged 18 and older, reported some degree of trouble with hearing—about as much as the prevalence reported for both diabetes and cancer combined (Vital Health Stat 10. 2014;260:1 http://bit.ly/2lZlMX0). Nearly 24% of adults have measurable hearing damage in one or both ears. Nearly 50% of adults with this damage were not exposed to noise at work (MMWR. 2017; 66[5]:139 http://bit.ly/2lZxpNr).

It is often said that the U.S. and the U.K. are two nations divided by a common language. For example, Americans name the people who investigate occupational exposure and control methods industrial hygienists, whereas we Brits use occupational hygienists. But where noise is concerned, we definitely have agreement on the causal relationship between exposure and hearing loss, which has been observed anecdotally for centuries.

The pain threshold for humans is 120-130 Decibels. Any sound above 85 dB can cause hearing loss, and the loss is related both to the power of the sound as well as the length of exposure. Here are 10 sounds produced throughout history and how incredibly loud they are. Just remember, human speech is only registered at about 25-35 decibels.