Mining Publication: CAP the Noise to Save your Hearing!

This publication addresses what you can do when you are exposed to hazardous noise. Today, more than 150,000 miners have some hearing loss. By age 60, more than 75% of coal miners have a hearing impairment from exposure to noise. Once you have lost hearing due to noise, it is permanent and cannot be reversed. Because there is not pain or visible damage, you may not notice hearing loss right away. Every time you are exposed to noise, your risk of hearing loss increases. You do not have to lose your hearing if you CAP (control, avoid, and protect) the noise.