Dentist Hearing Loss Products - Noise Induced Hearing Loss
Whether you already have
hearing loss or you are just starting your career, you
no longer need to put yourself at risk.
The Dentist Hearing
Loss Products hearing protection system protects you from hazardous
noise in your workplace.
Everyday, we experience
sound in our environment. Normally, we hear these sounds
at safe levels that do not affect our hearing. However,
when we are exposed to harmful noises, like sounds that are too
loud or loud sounds generated over a period of time ...
such as sound generated by dental equipment, then the hair
cells in the inner ear can be damaged, causing
noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Once damaged,
those hair
cells cannot be repaired.
Some of the abnormalities
include metabolic exhaustion of the hair cells,
structural changes and degeneration of structures within
the hair cells, morphological changes of the cilia,
ruptures of cell membranes, and complete degeneration
and loss of hair cells, neural cells and supporting
cells.
NIHL
SYMPTOMS
There are several
symptoms commonly associated with noise induced hearing
loss. To determine if you have signs of NIHL ask
yourself the following questions:
- Do you have difficulty
understanding conversation when two or more people are
talking at the same time?
- Do you have increased
difficulty understanding conversation when in a noisy
environment such as a restaurant?
- Do family members or
staff members frequently remark that you have missed
what has been said?
- Do you have to ask
others to repeat what they have said or respond
inappropriately at times?
- Do many people you talk
to seem to mumble or not speak clearly?
- Do you have increased
difficulty understanding the speech of women and/or
children?
-
Do you have ringing,
called tinnitus, in your ears?
 Tinnitus can be a sign of
trauma to the ear caused by listening to sounds that are
too loud. For more information on tinnitus, visit The
American Tinnitus Association at
www.ATA.org.
OCCUPATIONAL HEARING
CONSERVATION
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
mandates that employers provide hearing conservation
programs for their employees in workplaces where noise
levels equal or exceed 85 dB(A) for an eight-hour
time-weighted average. An
occupational hearing conservation program includes
engineering and administrative controls to reduce noise
exposures, employee training in the use of hearing
protection and annual audiometry for all workers who are
exposed to noise.
Dental ear plugs are offered with a Lifetime Warranty
and will be replaced at no charge should the body or
stent fail due to faulty material or workmanship.
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