According to the National Institute of Deafness (2017), Tinnitus is commonly described as a ringing in the ears, but it can also sound like roaring, clicking, hissing or buzzing. Roughly 10% of the adult population has experienced tinnitus lasting at least five minutes in the last year.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a symptom when something is wrong in the auditory system, which includes the ear, auditory nerve and parts of the brain that process sound (NID, 2017). Some things that may cause tinnitus include:
- Earwax blocking the ear canal
- Noise-induced hearing loss
- Hormonal changes in women
- Thyroid abnormalities
- More health conditions diagnosed by your GP
Tinnitus is sometimes the first sign of hearing loss in older people.
According to NID (2017) people who work in noisy environments—such as factory or construction workers, road crews, or even musicians—can develop tinnitus over time when ongoing exposure to noise damages tiny sensory hair cells in the inner ear that help transmit sound to the brain. This is called noise-induced hearing loss.
Workplace Health and Safety Victoria offer hearing testing – this is generally used as a pre-employment check or a workplace yearly health check up as a workplace benefit. This entails employees sitting in a booth with earmuffs on and performing a test, where workplace health and safety will record results and handover to a GP who will discuss further with the employee.
If you experience tinnitus, always visit your GP where further assessments can take place.
If an employee is exposed to loud noises at work, the correct hearing protection needs to be supplied and workplaces need to train their employees when and how to correctly use this equipment – https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/resources/noise-control-hearing-protection.