Evaluation of Noise Hazards among Employees in Bar Areas

Evaluation of Noise Hazards among Employees in Bar Areas
Bar environments is an area loved by many individuals for relaxation purposes. Most employees and patronages see these places as those areas that are free from danger or harm. Even those clubs and bars that seem so safe also have with them the likely unforeseen dangers to employees and patronages; that is noise (Lawrence and Andrew 3). Yes, noise may mean that sound that is not necessary but this case, it is not applicable.
At times noise that is within the bar environment may be so loud such that the patrons may suffer from hearing impairment. Due to the hearing impairment or loss that the patrons experience, there is an assumption that can be made that the employees who have greater exposure when compared to the patrons are at higher risks (Lawrence and Andrew 3). Meanwhile, OSHA, the body concerned with safety at the workplace came up with standards for regulating noise with the intention of curbing the hearing impairment or loss among the employees. The body formulated the conservation amendment in the year 1983, where it set for the inclusion in a Hearing Conservation Program of the employees that have time-weighted average because of exposure to noise that must equal to or be beyond 85dBA for eight hours. Based on this weighted average of 85dBA, it assists in the determination of whether the establishment of the bar, risks the employees to hazardous levels of noise. During such hours, the maximum noise levels of exposure permitted minus the application of devices of noise attenuation such as earplugs for more eight hours is 90dBA.

Often, the maximum possible exposure rises with the decrement in time. However, the exposure to noise that is above 115dBA is not permissible for any particular time. Noise, concerning this paper, goes concurrently with the sound that is beyond the set standards for safety (Lawrence and Andrew 4). Employees who work in clubs that play loud music experience symptoms of tinnitus especially after leaving their work and at the same time have higher chances of succumbing to hearing problems. On the same note, employees lately employed are likely to suffer more hearing loss when compared to the earlier ones. The reason behind this could be due to the fact these employees who have been on long-term employment have ended up being desensitized towards the hearing loss perceptions or tinnitus after their working hours. On the other hand, these employees may have suffered full-time threshold case of the shift in hearing.
Normally, the times for exposure range from four to almost less than one hour in a night club that plays the loudest music. Another shocking fact is that there is no real linkage between distance where the noise comes from and the level of noise exposure among the employees who work in bars (Lawrence and Andrew 5). The instance here gives a deduction that the size of a club is not a risk factor when it comes to noise disturbance. Ambient levels of noise have a range of 83.7 to 97.dBA thus in this case giving a suggestion the exposure due to noise may be because of excessiveness in music clubs at such times when they do not perform them. In this regard, it may result into the increment in the number of persons employed in bars that are at higher risks of exposure to excessive noise and the potential risks from NIHL.
Work Cited
Lawrence, Nancy and Andrew Turrentine. “Examination Of Noise Hazards For Employees In Bar Environments”. She and Research 5.3 (2008): 10. Web.