Effectiveness evaluation of the hearing protection program in metal production industries

Objective To assess the effectiveness of hearing protection program in the metal production industries.

Methods Totally 28 metal production industries were introduced to hearing protection program, including noise measurement, audiometry, noise control, staff training, and the use of hearing protectors.

Results After 2 years of implementation of the hearing protection program, the occupational health work, including the engineering protection against noise, the use of hearing protectors and the staff training were much better than before. The noise level at workplaces decreased and the compliance rate increased year by year(P < 0.05). Two years after the implementation of the hearing protection program, there was no case among new workers and 6 cases (accounting for 2.27%) among old workers who were diagnosed as high frequency standard threshold shift (HSTS).

Conclusion The hearing protection program is a comprehensive strategy for prevention and control of noise at workplaces and can effectively prevent the occurrence of occupational hearing loss. The success of this program depend mainly on the attitude of the employer and leader team, and implementation in a persistent way.