Share with the class any experiences you have had working in an environment where hearing protection was required. Did you wear the personal protective equipment (PPE) willingly? Could the type of PPE provided have been improved? If you have never worked in a noisy environment, what do you think would be some of the barriers to PPE compliance? How could the barriers be removed? How could employees be encouraged to wear the PPE?
ALSO PLEASE REPLY TO ANOTHER STUDENTS COMMENT BELOW
RICHARD:
I have significantl hearing loss some of which was from childhood illness but was greatly compounded by poor choices of not wearing hearing protection. When I was a firefighter I spent a lot of time on the flight line around a lot of fast mover jets. During this time when we were working on the flight line our helmet flaps covered over our ears so no one would see if you were wearing hearing protection or not and since it was annoying we usually did not wear it as we should have. Employees could be better engaged to wear hearing protection if the training does a good job of outlining the value of wearing it and what is in it for them. I regret not wearing hearing protection as i have about 80% loss in one ear. So I am a stickler when I see employees not in compliance with wearing hearing protection in designated areas.
