Noise danger increasing

Press, 16 August 1978, Page 7

Noise danger increasing

PA Wellington An enormous increase in noise-induced deafness has been predicted by a hading New Zealand doctor. The Defence Department’s director general of medical services (Dr L. Thompson) told an occupational health conference in Wellington that the Accident Compensation Commission has seen a rise in the number of claims for noiseinduced deafness. In 1976 there were only 53 claims, but in the last year there bad been 192. The largest number of associated claims, 11, came from labourers, equipment operators, and workers in production and transport. Claims to the commia-

sion by workers in professional, technical and related occupations rose from four to 35 in the last two years. The largest cause of oc« cupational-related deafness was exposure to noise and vibration. If nothing was changed, the number of claims in the years to come was likely to be enormous, said Dr Thompson. “Today’s sins of inadequate hearing conservation will be paid for dearly by the next generatio’n,” 'he said. “In recent decades the effect of noise has become an important public and industrial health problem because of the increase in the number and extent of noise sources. “Excessive noise as a cause of deafness has been well documented from the

early days of the Industrial Revolution. “Today’ the aviation industry. the military occupations, the transport industry and heavy industry al! provide potent sources o f deafness-producing noise. “That the problem is still with us, is due to several factors which have mitigated against an effective preventive programme,” said Dr Thomp» son. These factors were the slow onset of deafness, the fact that nothing dramatic happened, and the fact that the victim was unaware of any great disability until serious damage occurred. Workers often showed antipathy towards hearing conservation programmes, although this attitude was fast receding, Dr Thompson said.