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Message from Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health
Speech and Hearing Awareness Month
May 2010
May is Speech and Hearing Awareness Month. As Minister of Health, I appreciate the opportunity to raise awareness of the many Canadians who suffer from hearing loss or deafness.
For most Canadians, background noise, be it from traffic, in the workplace, or during outdoor or social activities, is just part of our daily lives. But how many of us think about the fact that noise is an environmental hazard? Exposure to loud noise can have potential adverse health effects, including irreversible hearing loss. These effects can occur gradually or within a short period of time.
Sources of noise include aircraft, road vehicles, rail cars, construction and landscaping equipment, home and car stereo systems, household appliances, power tools, and toys. Personal stereo systems that combine headphones or earphones with portable music players are one of the most common sources of exposure. Remember that if someone a metre away must shout to be understood, the sound level is too loud and may be hazardous to your hearing.
You can take the following steps to protect your hearing:
- Limit the amount of time you spend on leisure activities that are excessively noisy;
- Keep your car and home audio at enjoyable, but safe, levels;
- When you're at risk for noise-induced hearing loss, wear a hearing protection device such as earplugs or earmuffs. The device should be as well fitted as possible. Consult an audiologist if you need assistance; and
- If you experience temporary hearing loss or tinnitus after leisure or work activities, be sure to schedule quiet time following such activities to allow your ears to recover fully.
Health Canada is continuing its work to develop international and Canadian standards on machinery noise. This includes research on noise measurement uncertainty, which is included in new standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The expected result will be to better measure machinery noise which will enable the purchase of quieter machinery and planned noise controls in the workplace. The goal is to reduce the potential risk to worker's hearing loss and enhance safety.
Because everyone is different, there is no way to gauge how sensitive a person's ears are to damage from sound until the damage is done. Accidental exposure to an intense sound close to the ear can cause immediate and severe hearing loss that may be permanent. If you are exposed to an intense sound like this, stay in a relatively quiet place for 24 hours to rest the affected ear(s). If your hearing hasn't recovered fully after a day, contact your doctor in case you need a test or examination.
I encourage all Canadians to protect themselves against noise-induced hearing loss and to remember that prevention is key.
Leona Aglukkaq
Minister of Health
Government of Canada
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