Hearing Loss Differences For Men And Women In The Workplace
Research conducted in recent years into industrial deafness have found some intriguing differences between male and female workers according to occupation.
Although estimates can vary, it is suggested that around 153,000 men and 26,000 women in the UK, aged between 35 and 64 suffer from severe hearing difficulty caused by their occupation. Significantly, a further 266,000 men and 84,000 women experience the effects of tinnitus.
Whilst the statistics seem to show that males are more vulnerable to noise induced hearing loss, it is obviously, highly probable that men are more likely to work in generally more noisy environments than women.
The study found that when they divided their results by gender, they discovered quite substantial differences between the types of male and female workers who reported hearing damage. They found that among men, transport or machinery personnel were most likely to have industrial deafness, followed by construction workers and delivery/removal and storage workers. Among women, caterers and cleaners reported the highest levels of hearing difficulty.
Research into tinnitus sufferers showed that men, were more likely to sustain the condition in the farming, fishing and forestry industries followed by transport and machinery workers and those working in electrical and metal processing. Female cleaners and women involved in managerial roles were found to be most at risk of tinnitus.
Becoming aware of the condition amongst a workforce can be a problem as some tinnitus or head noise may be considered normal and can be masked by outside noise. Unfortunately, high levels of noise are also too readily accepted in some industrial or factory environments and the harmful effects of constant exposure may only be realised too late.
Tinnitus can also be a symptom of a more serious problem such as an aneurysm or a brain tumour and urgent attention may be required if the tinnitus is constant, intermittent or pulsating in time with the heart beat.