How to Request Hearing Protection Devices at Work

Are you a machinist or other trade worker in a loud environment? If so, you need to make sure you are getting the proper protection from noise that could cause hearing loss. High decibel levels are common in manufacturing environments. Unfortunately, too many people in supervisor roles are adherents to an ignorant way of thinking about workplace safety and don't consider hearing protection a "real" part of the challenge. Get past these people and get your employer to provide you with quality earplugs or other gear that will keep your ears working well when you have gone on into retirement.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Go above the "deniers." If your foreman is a jerk, take your comments directly to the nice girl in Human Resources. If the HR people are cut-throats, find a sympathetic ear in another department. Get your message to those who will hear it.

2. Bring OSHA and other organization resources to work. Explain to the top people how workplace regulation works; they might start singing another tune about providing their workers with necessary hearing protection. Show them it's cheaper now than later.

3. Get others on board. Start a petition at work to show bosses that it's not just one worker complaining (who might be hypersensitive) but a body of workers, who have a real and legitimate complaint.

4. Talk to your union representative. If you are part of a union, your reps can fix these things for you neatly and without further involvement by you (in some cases). The union can work with the employer to find equitable ways to improve safety, including hearing protection.

5. If you have hearing protection, but it's substandard, don't be afraid to ask for an upgrade. Use the same steps above, and show employers why what they have provided is not doing the job. In a workplace with certain decibel volumes, you are entitled to real, working equipment to protect your hearing. Get what you deserve.