Hearing protection in industry: Companies' policy and workers' perception

Personal hearing protectors are widely used to prevent occupational noise-induced hearing loss. These devices have to be worn both correctly and consistently while exposed to noise, therefore substantial research has been devoted to barriers and opportunities associated with effective hearing conservation.The current paper focuses on the company's hearing conservation approach to identify from a practical point of view major policy aspects that can stimulate effective hearing conservation and are also feasible within a real industrial context. In four companies from different branches of industry, surveys have been carried out among safety advisors and workers to asses the companies' hearing conservation program from both perspectives and relate it to reported use of hearing protectors.The findings highlight the benefits of strict policy: reported consistent wearing is much higher in the establishment where actual control and even sanctions are in place. Workers' risk perception of noise levels at the work floor is also found to be important, but less associated with final use than the safety culture. Finally, the safety climate reported by safety advisors corresponds closely to the workers' perception, suggesting that (adequate) policy making can get really through to daily working routines. These findings stress once more the managements' responsibilities and opportunities to create a healthy occupational environment.Relevance to industryAs stated in this abstract, the current findings are very relevant for industry because they identify the major influential factors for use of hearing protection at the work floor. This way, the results can serve as a base and inspiration for focused hearing conservation programs, improving the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss with effective efforts.

► We link personal hearing protection to workers' opinions and companies' policy.
► Consistent use is mostly related to strict procedures with warnings and sanctions.
► Workers' risk perception is related to noise levels more than to companies' policy.
► Training and education of correct use deserve more attention.