Hearing Protection

Hearing protection must be worn by all employees covered under the hearing conservation program.

Any employee that uses power tools should wear hearing protection as general safe practice. Some power tools, like the air chisel - for example, can reach decibels of about 108. The OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit is only 90 decibels over an 8-hour work shift. If you are exposed sound levels over 90 decibels, you will begin to lose your hearing at an increased rate.

If you cannot hear someone speaking to you from 3 feet away, because of the background noise, you are likely being exposed to noise over 85 decibels. This would require you to be covered under the hearing conservation program.

If you think you may need to be covered under the hearing conservation program, please call the EH&S Office for assistance at (608) 246-6291.

Hearing Conservation Program

Click to view MATC's Hearing Conservation Program

Questions? Contact Environmental Health & Safety