Huh? Pardon me? What was that?

If you find yourself wondering why the lips of the person next to you are moving but you're not hearing anything, you may have a hearing problem.

It shouldn't come as a surprise. In addition to all the other health hazards that Hardhats have to worry about, construction worker brings one of the top occupational risks for experiencing hearing loss.

In an effort to raise awareness about hearing loss, last month the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Safety Council released a report on the risks of not protecting hearing and distributed tens of thousands of pieces of literature in U.S. workplaces on preventing hearing loss.

According to a University of Michigan study, construction workers said they wear ear plugs or ear muffs between 36 to 61 percent of the time that they are necessary. Not surprisingly, more than half believed they developed a hearing loss. Workers get lackadaisical about their own hearing protection, and there isn't a government program around that can do anything about it.

"Work-related hearing loss is one of the most common occupational diseases in the United States," said NIOSH Director Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H. "The government can't attack the problem of noise-induced hearing loss alone."

Following are some facts and figures along with a few suggestions from NIOSH and the National Safety Council for limiting hearing loss:

• Approximately 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job. Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common occupational diseases and the second most self-reported occupational illness or injury.
• Noise-induced hearing loss is preventable, but it is permanent and irreversible once it occurs. Studies have shown that quieter workplaces are more productive and efficient, and that they have lower injury rates than noisier work settings.
• Sound is measured in decibels. A normal conversation takes place at about 60 decibels. A woodshop noise level is about 100 decibels, and a chainsaw noise measures about 110 decibels. Prolonged exposure to noise above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss.
• A short, intense sound - an explosion, for example - may cause immediate hearing loss. But usually hearing loss occurs gradually after prolonged exposure to loud noise. It may occur so gradually you may not even realize you are losing your hearing.
• OSHA requires employers to develop and implement a noise monitoring program when "information indicates that any employee's exposure may equal or exceed an 8-hour average exposure of 85 decibels." When this occurs, OSHA requires employers to notify employees, to establish and maintain a hearing test program, and to train workers how to prevent occupational hearing loss. While engineering controls have not yet eliminated hazardous noise, OSHA also requires employers to provide hearing protectors and ensure workers wear them.
• Not every type of hearing protection is useful for every type of noise. Disposable foam earplugs may be fine for some noise exposure while earmuff-type protection may be suitable for another. But hearing protection doesn't work if you don't use it.
• Can workers hear warning sounds, such as backup beeps, when wearing hearing protectors? Injuries and death do occur because people do not hear warning sounds. However, this is usually because the background noise was too high or because the person had a severe hearing loss. Using hearing protectors will bring both the noise and the warning sound down equally. If the warning sound is audible without the hearing protector, it will be audible when wearing the hearing protector.
• One of the most popular forms of hearing protection are expandable foam plugs, made of a formable material designed to expand and conform to the shape of each person's ear canal. Roll the expandable plugs into a thin, crease-free cylinder. Whether you roll plugs with thumb and fingers or across your palm doesn't matter. What's critical is the final result - a smooth tube thin enough so that about half the length will fit easily into your ear canal.

Some workers prefer earmuffs - but the best hearing protector is the one that is comfortable and convenient and one workers will wear every time they are in an environment with hazardous noise.