Speech and Hearing Month - Lobe Raising Awareness Among Workers on Effects of Workplace Noise and the Importance of Preventive Hearing Screening

QUEBEC CITY, May 3, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Each year, hearing loss significantly impacts quality of life for a number of workers and their loved ones. Lobe, which is one of the largest networks of multidisciplinary hearing health clinics, wants to heighten popular awareness about the importance of preventive hearing screenings. As part of Speech and Hearing Month, the company seeks specifically to draw workers' attention to the importance of having their hearing preventively assessed, thus benefitting their long-term health.

Through an awareness campaign that was launched with the aim of making the impacts of workplace noise better known, Lobe wants to shed light on some concerning facts about noise exposure. "In Quebec, over 400,000 workers are exposed to excessive noise as part of their jobs¹ and many of them are not aware of the damage to their hearing," indicated Marie-Josée Taillefer, an ambassador of Lobe and hearing health. "Workers are exposed to noisy sound environments in many employment sectors: the construction, manufacturing and industrial sectors, the transportation sector, the performing arts, but also sectors related to teaching or catering, as well as hair salons, to name but a few."

Prevalence of Occupational Deafness in the Workplace
Occupational deafness is a permanent, irreversible and non-apparent damage that can develop progressively after a few years of exposure to noise. According to Statistics Canada, 42% of Canadians between the ages of 16 to 79 have worked or are currently working in an environment deemed noisy. Yet of these exposed individuals, just 22% regularly use hearing protection and 39% say they never use it.

"These statistics are worrisome because occupational deafness can have consequences for relationships and communication, as well as on people's overall health," says Ms. Taillefer. "Among these consequences are communication problems in family life, isolation in social and professional activities and an increasingly negative self-image. According to the World Health Organization, ambient noise can have crucial effects on physical health. Taking care of our hearing health is about taking care of our quality of life."

Learning to Identify the Signs
While hearing loss can occur due to noise trauma resulting from exposure to extremely loud noise, it usually develops gradually following multiple exposures to daily noise. Exposure to ototoxic substances, for example solvents or carbon monoxide, can also play a role in the development of hearing loss. Deafness manifests most often in having difficulty understanding someone speaking when there is background noise, watching television with a higher volume or the inability to detect particular sound signals, like a ringtone. Tinnitus, which can be defined as the inability to perceive silence, is also one of the symptoms associated with prolonged exposure to noise.

There is also a risk of progressive hearing loss when the following signs are present: a ringing or buzzing in the ears at the end of a shift, a temporary decrease in hearing after a day's work or when someone's voice has to be raised to be heard at a distance of one metre. "The often insidious nature of hearing loss can be an obstacle as the individuals and their communication partners can adapt to the gradual changes in hearing acuity in such a way, that the hearing loss can go unnoticed," added Ms. Taillefer.

Bill 59
Bill 59, An Act to Modernize the Occupational Health and Safety Regime, is currently being studied at the National Assembly of Québec and Lobe believes that, in its present form, it will render the Commission des Normes, de l'Équité, de la Santé et de la Sécurité du Travail's (CNESST) compensation system less accessible for workers suffering from occupational hearing-related injuries. Lobe therefore submitted a brief and recommendations that aimed to improve the bill and ensure protection for workers suffering from occupational hearing injuries.

About Lobe
Lobe is a network of almost 60 hearing health and communication clinics throughout Quebec. They gather all types of hearing health professionals under one roof (ENT specialists, audiologists, audioprosthesists, special educators and speech-language pathologists). Lobe offers a multidisciplinary approach which facilitates the population's access to hearing health and communication services. Lobe was the winner of the 2019 Fidéides in the Services category and the 2019 Mercuriades in the Entrepreneurship category, and makes a real difference in the community by breaking the isolation associated with hearing loss.

SOURCE Lobe, Hearing Health and Communication