NOISE (A SILENT DESTRUCTIVE HAZARD)



NOISE (A SILENT DESTRUCTIVE HAZARD).
Merry Christmas everyone, this is Goke Akingbade (your safety guide). Sorry for being away for a long time,It’s the demand of the industry that I work in. Part of what makes us human and alive is our sense of hearing. The ability to differentiate a particular keynote from another one and sound in general. We are all used to listening to music, radio via our head phones during leisure times or when we are stuck in traffic.                                                                                                                                                    Scientifically, it has been proven that the maximum allowable sound level is 80 decibel.                                  This is the level that the human ear can accommodate, any level of sound beyond this has turned to noise.                                                                                                                                                       The ear is divided into the outer, middle and inner ear. The inner ear is linked to haircells.                              You see the ear drum is similar to a drum beaten by a drummer, it vibrates.                                               When an external signal reaches the ear, the ear drum vibrates, it then moves three tiny bores in the middle ear. This movement transmits the vibration to fluid in the inner ear.                                                               The movement of fluid is then picked up by tiny hair cells which transfer the movement to nerves.                  The nerves then send signals to the brain, where they are recognized as sound. When a person exposes himself to high-decibel for a long period of time, it can later damage the tiny hair cells. As a result of this, fewer signals are thus sent to the brain and then the person will not be able to hear well.                                                                                                                                                            This is because the hair cells cannot be replaced or restored, the damage is permanent. Noise is responsible for the death of many hair cells in workers in noisy jobs. If you are talking to a friend or colleague while you have your head phones on listening to music. If you can’t hear what your friend or colleague is saying and you need to shout before you think you will be heard, then the music is too loud and has become noise to your ears. It is so important that we be mindful of the level of sound that we expose our ears to everyday.
The haircells inside the inner ear are very sensitive and so the maximum allowable amount of sound (80 decibel) should not be exceeded. If you find yourself exposed to noise, it is important that you move away from the area of exposure. Workers especially in the mining industry, construction industry are more prone to noise which can have a negative impact on their hearing. We will discuss more in the next blog. This is Goke (your Safety guide) signing off.Please be safe during this festive period. Once again, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

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