Topical Issues Awareness – Oct 2023

Decibel Scale
What is Décibel ? What is your responsibility as a team at work to ensure hearing
Decibel refers to a scale of measurement for workplace noise conservation?
Workers
Awareness ❖ When you have the symptoms mentioned, visit the Watu Wetu Clinic for a hearing
assessment.
The decibel scale is a logarithmic scale, not a linear scale. ❖ Strictly observe hearing conservation control measures.
Small increases in dB level represent enormous increases in noise level and risk. Supervisors
❖ Inform your teams of how to protect themselves against noise exposure.
If the noise source is doubled, the noise level only goes up by 3 dB.
❖ Provide and monitor compliance to recommended PPE.
Sound energy that is twice the level of 85 dB is not 170 dB, it is 88 dB. Managers
Effects of Noise On Hearing ❖ Make sure your supervisors and superintendents share this information with their teams.
❖ Enforce the recommendations of doctors and the occupational hygienist in order to
❖ Damage to different parts of the ear: Ear Drum; Middle ear bones; Inner ear nerves. protect your teams against potential hearing loss.
❖ Irreversible hearing loss over time.
❖ Ringing in the ear (“Tinnitus”).

Potential Causes of Hearing Loss.

Noise damage can occur on-the-job as well as off-the-job (loud music, shooting, power tools, equipment noise).
Good hearing conservation should be practiced, no matter what the setting.

Prevention of Hearing Loss.

Implement a hearing conservation program as part of the occupational health program not to exceed the
established occupational exposure limit for noise (85).
Lower the volume of the headphones or earphones.
Wearing the recommended PPE in demarcated noise areas where there is a lot of noises.
Undergo an annual hearing test at the clinic.

Safe behavior is a culture to be applied at work, to prevent adverse events

Mutanda Mining Sarl