NIHL among Mining Industry Workers

This report discusses about the NIHL among the mining industry workers of Australia. The risk of hearing loss due to presence of any noise can be counted as noise- induced hearing loss. The use of heavy machineries and tools during various functions of the mining works are highly associated with the noise-induced hearing loss among the mining workers. Due to the excessive sound in the mine works, the hair cells of the cochlea are immensely damaged due to prolonged exposure in noisy condition. . In Australia, the incidence of the Noise Induce Hearing Loss (NIHL) is very common in mine workers. To fix this issue, the Health and Safety Act 2011 is introduced and in Australia, this standard practices are highly recommended as per this act.

Running head: NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
NIHL among Mining Industry Workers
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
Executive Summary
This report discusses about the NIHL among the mining industry workers of Australia. The
risk of hearing loss due to presence of any noise can be counted as noise- induced hearing
loss. The use of heavy machineries and tools during various functions of the mining works
are highly associated with the noise-induced hearing loss among the mining workers. Due to
the excessive sound in the mine works, the hair cells of the cochlea are immensely damaged
due to prolonged exposure in noisy condition. . In Australia, the incidence of the Noise
Induce Hearing Loss (NIHL) is very common in mine workers. To fix this issue, the Health
and Safety Act 2011 is introduced and in Australia, this standard practices are highly
recommended as per this act.

2NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Background Information of Mining Industry related NIHL in Australia...............................................4
Review of Literature..............................................................................................................................4
Legislation.............................................................................................................................................6
Recommendation...................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................7

3NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
Introduction
In any industry presence of excessive noise is counted as one of the most crucial
workplace hazards. The noise can be generated from any tools and machinery which is
associated with the generation of loud sound during their operation and as a consequence of
this, the hearing mechanism of the human body can face serious problems. The risk of
hearing loss due to presence of any noise can be counted as noise- induced hearing loss. The
use of heavy machineries and tools during various functions of the mining works are highly
associated with the noise-induced hearing loss among the mining workers. Due to the
excessive sound in the mine works, the hair cells of the cochlea are immensely damaged due
to prolonged exposure in noisy condition. During initial exposures, the hearing can be
recovered. However, continuous prolonged exposure in such noisy condition, the hair cells of
the inner ears of the person are damaged permanently and they are unable to exert their
function of transmitting sounds. This condition ultimately causes irreversible hearing loss of
the person. In Australia, the incidence of the Noise Induce Hearing Loss (NIHL) is very
common. The mining industry in Australia, is one of the primary contributor of the economy
of Australia and a huge amount of Australian work force is associated with this mining
industry (Parliament of Australia ,2019). It is assumed that, a huge number of employees are
exposed to the dangerous level of sound during working in the mining industries. It is
observed in the workers of the mining industry, that in most of the cases, the hearing loss of
the workers are on both sides. The noise induced hearing loss among the workers of the
industry is significantly contributing to the global burden of disease as well. It is observed
that, the coal mining industry has the highest claim regarding work place health and safety
issues among the workers of the industry. So it can be said that, issue of NIHL in the mining
industry of Australia is one of the serious occupational hazards in Australia. In this report, the

4NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
issue of NIHL in the mining industry is discussed and the mentioned fact is supported by the
literature.
Background Information of Mining Industry related NIHL in Australia
In Australia the issue of NIHL in the mining industry is very severe and the claim of
compensation from this industry per 100000 employees is highest. Therefore it is observed
that the coal mining industry is mostly associated with the NIHL among all other mining
industry in Australia. In between the year of 2007-08 to 2011-12, almost 12.5% of insurance
claim was reported from the coal mining industry due to the deafness of the workers. In the
year of 2009-10, the industrial deafness claim rate was highest among all the years in this
time period. Among all the deafness claim in 2011-12 period, open cut operator sector of the
coal mining industry had the highest insurance claim rate and the rate was almost 21%. On
the other hand the coal preparation plant had the claim rate of 15% (Coal Services, 2013). In
addition to this, the health care data record of the industry showed that, the workers in the age
group of 40 years and above had the higher prevalence of deafness due to extreme noise
exposure in the mines , than that of the younger employees of the mining industry. Due to
the NIHL among the worker of the mining industry, it is reported that, the it is affecting the
economy of the country as well. Due to the compensation of NIHL, almost $6711 claims are
reported in every cases of NIHL. In the year of 2001-02, the government of Australia
reported that, they had to give $30 million as compensation cost to the workers who are
suffering from NIHL due to working in the mining industry (Coal Services, 2013).
Review of Literature
The issue of NIHL is one of the major issues in those industries in which the workers
are regularly exposed in loud noise. In case of the mining industry, the workers are exposed
to the loud noise most of the time and as a result, the issue of NIHL is very common among

5NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
them. Hence, it can be said that, the workers of this industry is highly vulnerable to the
NIHL. The study of Lie et al. (2016), also suggested that, the coal mining workers are highly
vulnerable to the NIHL and the study also suggested that, the main reason of this permanent
deafness among the workers of the mining industry is the prolonged exposure in loud noise
of heavy machineries of the mining industry. In the study of Williams (2013), the noise
exposure issue of the Australian work force and in this study it is revealed that, a huge
amount of the Australian work forces are suffering from NIHL in this country. In another
study by Musiba (2015), the prevalence of the NIHL among the mining workers of Tanzania
is addressed. In this study, the analysis of audiogram was performed in order to measure the
level of hearing loss among the mining workers, in this study, 246 audiograms were analysed.
It was found the, 47% of the total sample population had the issue of NIHL in which 12%
were suffering from poor hearing impairment and 35% had issues of mild hearing
impairment. Along with the amount of exposure level (exposed to noise for more number of
years), the proportion of the NIHL has also increased. The study also reported that, the
underground miners are more affected than that of the open pit miners (Underground miners-
71% and open pit miners – 28%). The age group of 20-29 years are mostly affected by NIHL
(almost 60%). The study of Lie et al. (2014), revealed that a study was performed among
the mining workers of Australia and in this cross sectional study ( N=8774), it found that,
this group had a daily noise exposure of 90Db and 40% of the total sample population had the
issue of NIHL. It is revealed that, the level of NIHL is associated with the growing age and
level of exposure to the noise. The study of Strauss et al. (2014) studied that effect of noise
on the hearing impairment of gold miners of South Africa. In this retrospective cohort study it
was observed that, the different amount of noise exposure is affects the hearing loss in a
different manner and age is also associated with the amount of noise exposure as well. In this
study, almost 40123 audiological data of the mining workers were analysed. The noise

6NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
exposed control group ( n=6162) and group exposed to under ground noise was ( n=33961)
were included in the study and it was observed that threshold level is changed for those who
have exposed to loud noises and the condition is most severe for the underground mining
workers after adjusting the age group of all the noise exposed and control group of the study
The workers who are engaged in the drilling job had the worst amount of hearing impairment.
The authors concluded that, the age was the most significant influencing factor for the
alteration of hearing thresholds in the mine workers.
Legislation
In Australia, there is standard noise exposure for the mining workers according to the
Work Health & Safety Act 2011. The act identifies a few factors as a part of the
standardization such as exposure standards, duties of designers, importers, suppliers of plant,
responsible person for managing risks of hearing loss from the noise. This act also identifies
the responsibilities of the employees and employers. According to this act, the employer is
responsible for developing and implementing the noise policy and its management plan,
complying the statutory requirements, undertaking noise survey in a regular manner,
providing adequate information about the risks of noises to the workers and also for
providing training. The standard noise level is 85 dBA for the 8 hours workers (Work Health
and Safety Act, 2011).
Recommendation
In order to reduce the incidents of NIHL in the mining industry a few measures can be
recommended. For example it can be said that, the use of personal protective device is
highly recommended as in case of this particular industry it is very difficult to eliminate noise

7NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
from the source (John, et al., 2014). In addition to this, use of noise barrier and sound
absorbing materials between the source and the workers can be recommended (Mark &
Gauna, 2016) Modification of the design of currently used equipment can be replaced with
newly designed model of that equipment (Crocker, 2018).
Conclusion
Hence it can be concluded that, the problem of NIHL is one of the serious
occupational hazard of Australian mining industry. From the discussion it is evident that the
issue of NIHL is greatly affecting the health of the mining workers of the country by altering
their hearing capability. The Health and Safety Regulation 2011 of the country has various
regulations for the workers of the mining industry. Still, the NIHL is a serious occupational
health issue in the country.

8NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
References
Coal Services (2013). Managing noise in the coal industry to protect hearing. Coal Services,
Retrieved from-
https://www.coalservices.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/CSNoise.pdf
Crocker, M. J. (2018). Noise and Noise Control: Volume 2. Crc Press.
John, G. W., Grynevych, A., Welch, D., McBride, D., & Thorne, P. R. (2014). Noise
exposure of workers and the use of hearing protection equipment in New
Zealand. Archives of environmental & occupational health, 69(2), 69-80.
Lie, A., Skogstad, M., Johannessen, H. A., Tynes, T., Mehlum, I. S., Nordby, K. C., ... &
Tambs, K. (2016). Occupational noise exposure and hearing: a systematic
review. International archives of occupational and environmental health, 89(3), 351-372.
Mark, C., & Gauna, M. (2016). Evaluating the risk of coal bursts in underground coal
mines. International journal of mining science and technology, 26(1), 47-52.
Musiba, Z. (2015). The prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss among Tanzanian
miners. Occupational Medicine, 65(5), 386-390.
Parliament of Australia (2019). The extent and causes of hearing impairment in Australia.
Parliament of Australia. Retrieved from-
https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/senate/community_affairs/
completed_inquiries/2008-10/hearing_health/report/c02
Strauss, S., Swanepoel, D. W., Becker, P., Eloff, Z., & Hall III, J. W. (2014). Noise and age-
related hearing loss: a study of 40 123 gold miners in South Africa. International journal
of audiology, 53(sup2), S66-S75.

9NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS
Williams, W. (2013). The epidemiology of noise exposure in the Australian workforce.
National Acoustic Laboratories, Australian Hearing Hub, 66 (15), 326-331.
Work Health and Safety Act (2011). Safe Work Australia.. Retrieved from-
https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/inforce/f8df8095-a335-66a0-8828-
f33d06042cb9/2011-10.pdf

10NIHL AMONG MINING INDUSTRY WORKERS