SINGAPORE: Complete hearing loss due to loud noises is commonly associated with workers dealing with heavy machinery, but employees at nightclubs, exercise studios and call centres may also be at risk of the condition, experts said.
This comes as noise-induced deafness was listed as the top occupational disease in Singapore in a report by the Manpower Ministry released earlier this month.
About 300 of such cases were reported in the first half of this year alone, accounting for close to two-thirds of all occupational diseases during the period. Those in the manufacturing industry, especially metal-working, are at the highest risk of developing the condition.
Clinical audiologist Alicia Tay told CNA that call centre employees, for instance, have sought help at The Listening Lab, where she heads its retail department.
“They have to always turn up the volume of their headphones in order to hear the person speaking over the phone, over the environmental noise. So they do come in with some symptoms of noise-induced hearing losses,” she said.
She added that while it is less well-known, instructors who teach exercises like spin – a form of indoor cycling – several times a day may also be at risk of hearing problems.
“They play very loud music, and the instructors have to shout into a microphone in order for people to hear,” she noted.
“That combination of noise can sometimes exceed 100 decibels, and that is a risk of hearing loss because they’re so often exposed for long durations.”
The maximum safe listening level is 85 decibels for eight constant hours. The duration of exposure that is considered safe “rapidly decreases” when it gets louder, Ms Tay pointed out.
