Childcare organization Babilou will soon offer employees hearing protection. This is because staff face noise during their work, putting them at risk of hearing damage. The decision is part of a large-scale trial designed to protect employees' hearing.
It's not just pounding disco beats or grinding machines that can cause hearing damage in the workplace. Children, too, can produce the necessary decibels. For example, sources say Pedagogical Assistants are exposed daily to sounds around 80 decibels. This is a noise level that can cause hearing damage with prolonged exposure.
Since hearing damage in the workplace is receiving more and more attention, Babilou Family Nederland also decides to take action. This is an organization that has over 300 childcare locations. Director Remko Berkel indicated that more and more employees would be concerned about their hearing. That is why a trial was started, experimenting with several measures, including earplugs.
According to the aforementioned article, Gjalt Jellesma is not so keen on this measure. He is president of interest group BOinK and is afraid that children who talk a little softer may not be heard as well because of the earplugs. BOinK represents parents in the childcare industry.
When using good otoplastics, Jellesma's concerns are unnecessary as far as we are concerned. For instance, we make earplugs with special filters, which muffle the high tones but still allow conversations. In addition, if necessary, one can exchange the relevant filter for a lighter or heavier variant free of charge.
The aforementioned source also indicates that ENT specialist Veronique van den Heuvel is in favor of this action. According to her, there is still the necessary resistance to hearing protection, from shame or fear of not hearing the children properly anymore. Although, according to her, this is unnecessary.
In addition to childcare workers, teachers are also at risk of hearing damage, especially when working in a gymnasium. Should you also want to protect yourself from hearing damage in the workplace, please feel free to contact us.