During Agricultural Safety Awareness Week (March 3-9), Waushara County Farm Bureau and Rural Mutual Insurance: Victor Magnus reminds everyone that noise can affect health in many ways in addition to hearing loss. Noise exposure can quicken pulse rate, increase blood pressure and narrow blood vessels. Over a long period of time, this may place an added burden on the heart. Noise can also cause abnormal secretions of hormones and tensing of muscles. People who deal with noise every day may complain of nervousness, sleeplessness and fatigue. Job performance may also suffer when people are exposed to high levels of noise. Loud noise is the most common cause of permanent hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss does not heal and cannot be corrected by hearing aids. If you have to shout, yell or speak loudly to talk to someone who is three feet away, you are working around noise levels that dictate hearing protection. Ear-muffs, earplugs and canal caps can all reduce the amount of noise exposure from sounds like a tractor idling, barn cleaners, conveyers and grain elevators, which are all in the decibel danger zone (80 decibels or higher). General guidelines for farmers to follow to help safeguard their hearing are below (adapted and used with permission from Maine Cooperation Extension).
• Use hearing protection on all noisy jobs, the minute the activity begins.
• Regard quiet operation as a “plus” value when shopping for tractors, machinery or other equipment (this includes household appliances).
• Keep machinery and equipment well-lubricated and maintained. Regularly tighten all components.
• Replace defective mufflers and exhaust system parts. Do not use a “straight pipe” exhaust for tractors or other engines. This type of exhaust does not increase power very much and often emits sound levels that can damage hearing.
• Consider enclosing noisy components or building acoustic barriers or heavy partitions for stationary equipment.
• Stay away from noisy equipment when you don’t need to control or tend it.
• Limit the duration of noise exposure if you are without hearing protection. Put yourself and your ears as far away from a noise source as possible.
No one is ever too young or old to suffer from the effects of hearing loss from noise. Take steps today to safeguard your hearing on the farm or ranch. For more information, see University of Maine Cooperative Extension bulletin #2293, Hearing Protection for Farmers https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2293e/. For more information on Agricultural Awareness Week tune into Rural Mutual Insurance: Victor Magnus on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/VMagnus.RMIC/
