The Impact of Noise on Workers’ Health: A Barometer Study Reveals Alarming Results

2024-03-17 07:55:37

Health at work

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Despite the obligation to wear protective equipment, 60% of workers say that noise at work has repercussions on their daily lives, including suffering, fatigue and headaches.

“The noise ? It’s part of the job…” laments Moussa before taking a last sip of coffee. The 33-year-old is in a hurry and needs energy. For a day, he swapped his jackhammer for a file stamped “CGT construction.” Like every month, as a union representative, he and one of his colleagues tour a few Vinci group sites to meet the workers. “This is the moment when we do the prevention that the bosses don’t do,” he says.

According to the Noise and hearing health at work barometer carried out by the National Hearing Day (JNA) and Ifop in October 2023, 60% of workers in the construction and public works sector “declare that noise at work has at least one repercussion for their ears on their daily life. Moussa confirms, “each mission produces some: the machines rotate continuously and materials constantly fall on top of each other… It’s a constant and exhausting hubbub!” And the repercussions on health are irreversible. “Regardless of age, being confronted with noise all day long tires the ears. This results in tinnitus, deafness, an increased risk of accidents and an alteration of the cardiovascular system,” specifies Cédric Aubert, occupational physician and ear specialist.

Ali, who accompanies Moussa, paid the price. The sixty-year-old removes two hearing aids from his ears. “It’s been four years, soup

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