Are you or someone you know passionate about preserving worker hearing? Do you understand how important hearing is to workers and their families and how devastating it can be to lose your hearing? If you understand how important hearing is and are making extra efforts to prevent hearing loss, you might be eligible for the Safe-in-Sound Award. Established in 2008 by NIOSH and now co-sponsored by the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) and the Council for Accreditation in Hearing Conservation (CAOHC), this award is given each year to companies and individuals that have demonstrated excellence in hearing loss prevention. For the first time, nominations are open to companies and individuals from Canada.
Two awards are given: One for Excellence and One for Innovation. For the excellence award, the judges look at: What have you done to control noise levels in your workplace? Have you considered noise levels in purchasing equipment or tools (buy quiet programs)? Do you regularly check noise levels in your workplace? Provide effective hearing protection where needed individually tailored to the workers’ needs? Provide annual hearing tests for workers? Train all workers effectively on noise both on and off the job? Are you controlling exposures to the minimum requirements (OSHA standards) or going beyond the minimum to the levels recommended by NIOSH? Are you evaluating your program and improving it each year where deficiencies are found? The judges are looking for a comprehensive approach that goes above and beyond. For the excellence award, the judges are looking for important contributions that will have a significant impact on hearing loss prevention.
If you or someone you know has that passion and has made such contributions, you can nominate them by June 8, 2024 or you can nominate yourself by August 19, 2024. Information on how to apply is on the web at www.safeinsound.us. The website also has useful tips on how to submit a strong application. Join the small group of award winners who have achieved new heights in hearing loss prevention.