Canadian Occupational Safety

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 31 There might be less compliance with young workers wearing hearing protection in the construction industry due to a lack of training, says Mitchell. Construction is not the highest profit industry, so it does not have as much money dedicated to training, he says. "The construction industry could definitely stand to do a better job, especially of informing their young workers of the long-term risks that exist through not wearing your hear- ing protection," says Mitchell. BUT WHY? So why aren't young workers wearing hearing protection? One reason may be the "illusion of invincibility," says Witt. "That young worker who walks in the door kind of thinking that they're Superman almost," he says. "They just don't feel they are personally susceptible to noise damage. And it's really a fantasy attitude and it comes across in comments like, 'I'm used to the noise,' 'It's not really that bad,' 'It doesn't really bother me that much,' but those are all just fallacies." While the brain can grow accus- tomed to loud noise, the ears are unable to do so and they just lose hearing, explains Witt. It's important that a good exam- ple is being set in the workplace for younger workers. Older workers and supervisors need to be wearing their hearing protection. Supervisors also need to make it clear that this is a job requirement — not something that's nice to do, says Jamie Hall, COO of Safe Work Manitoba in Winnipeg. "It requires more diligence from a supervisor in the early days of a per- son's employment that they are very clear that this is a practise that might not seem natural, but it's a require- ment and after a while it becomes the norm," he says. "Like with most PPE (personal protective equipment), it's just getting into the habit." If a company sets a strong culture of safety, young workers are likely to follow. "I find more and more with the younger culture nowadays, they are more likely to buy-in to what we are trying to sell as safety leaders," says Mitchell. "I think kids are more likely to listen to what they're told." Research conducted by Safe Work Manitoba last year found that young workers — especially young males — are more likely to take risks on the job, says Hall. This attitude may contribute to not wearing hearing protection because noise is not as obvious as physical hazards. "The concern becomes that much greater to reinforce those good prac- tices because it's one thing if I can cut my finger or break my leg versus something that's going to affect me in years to come and is progressive. But every incremental exposure can have a damaging effect and a cumulative effect down the road," says Hall. A key reason why workers of all ages do not wear their hearing protection is that it affects their ability to do their job well, which may really hit home for young workers, says Witt. "I can just imagine those younger workers are very focused on job per- formance, whether it's to impress the employer or look as good or better than the co-worker next to you or whatever drives that. They just (see) hearing protection as being an obsta- cle to job performance," he says. The temporary nature of many young workers' jobs — whether it be just for the summer or contract jobs through- out the year — may have an impact on their likelihood to wear hearing protec- tion. For one, training may not be as robust for temporary workers as it is for permanent employees. "They know there is the potential they may not end up with a long-term employee… A lot may end up working for their competition. It's the old com- plex of 'How much money do we want to dedicate to that person knowing we might not get a return on this?'" Mitchell says. But it really comes down to the employer level, says Hall, noting there are certainly employers out there who don't consider whether the worker is temporary or permanent; they all receive the same high-level training. Secondly, moving from job to job makes it harder to get PPE-related habits to stick. "You might spend two months at this site and then you move to the next site…. And so, in that sense, it's always a changing work environment as opposed to the factory workers at one location," says Witt. Lastly, temp work can psychologically affect young workers and their commit- ment to wearing hearing protection. "Because the negative effects are gradual, the young worker might say, 'Well, I am only here for a short dura- tion, so being two to three months on the job is not going to affect me' versus thinking, 'I am going to be exposed to this day in and day out for years to come' might cause different behaviour," says Hall. According to 3M, hearing loss due to noise is fastest during the first 10 years of exposure, making hearing protection especially important for young workers. Once individuals realize they are losing their hearing, it's too late; it's gone forever, says Mitchell. "If you are slowly losing your hear- ing starting at the age of 16 with your headphones pounding in your ear and then you move onto your job site with a 100-decibel (dB) compressor that you're working next to all day for 15 years, as you reach the middle part of your career, you've already experi- enced minor hearing loss and you don't even know it," he says. "By the time you're 60, you may have extreme hearing loss and there's nothing that can be done." Noise-induced hearing loss is a serious, irreversible condition. It has a number of side effects, including lower achievement at work and a poor social life, says Witt. "People who have hearing loss, they don't like to go out to restaurants, to concerts or social settings. They just withdraw and put themselves in front of the TV and that becomes their social life," he says. Hearing loss can become a safety hazard. For example, a colleague may say to a worker "Watch out for that

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