Young professionals need more protection from noise

Noise at work is an everyday occurrence for young people: 78 percent of all employees aged 16 to 25 in Germany feel regularly disturbed by it at work. This is the result of a representative survey for the prevention program "Jugend will sich-er-leben" (JWSL) commissioned by the regional associations of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV). April 26, 2017 is Noise Awareness Day.

From disruptive to harmful

Not all noise is the same. Depending on the volume, a noise can be simply annoying or so damaging to hearing that noise-induced hearing loss can occur and employees must therefore wear hearing protection. In the workplace, noise that can damage hearing occurs primarily when machines or tools are used. In the survey, as many as 38 percent of 16- to 25-year-olds said they were affected by noise from these sources at work. Consequently, an equal proportion of respondents stated that they regularly or occasionally wear hearing protection at work.

However, even types of noise that are not damaging to hearing cause problems for many young employees. For example, 32 percent of those surveyed said they were disturbed by conversations with colleagues or customers and telephone calls. For 21 percent, printers and copiers, coffee machines and cash registers are annoying contemporaries. As many as 18 percent complain about the constant stress caused by background music or announcements, and 17 percent about traffic noise.

Hardly an issue in leisure time

As much as young people are bothered by noise at work, they pay little attention to their hearing in their free time. Only a minority say they wear hearing protection when listening to loud music or other loud noises. The vast majority (89 percent), on the other hand, never protect their hearing, even in their free time. According to experts, the lack of caution could be due to a widespread fallacy: that only loud sounds, perceived as noise in the negative sense, could damage hearing. In fact, however, it does not matter for the damaging effect whether the noise source is a loud machine or the loudspeaker of a stereo system.

The survey also shows that 68 percent of young people would like to be informed, particularly in the workplace, about how to avoid noise and protect their own hearing. 47 percent of respondents also see their vocational school teachers as having a duty here.

In the current program year 2016/17, "Jugend will sich-er-leben" provides information on the topic of "Noise reduction and hearing protection". The trainees are to be made aware of the prevention of hearing damage.