LIBERTY Hearing & Health

Sirens - are our Firefighters, Policemen and EMTs at Risk for Hearing Loss?

Yesterday, four firefighters from Pittsburgh filed a lawsuit against siren manufacturers claiming that long term exposure to sirens throughout their firefighting careers has lead to irreparable hearing loss.  The claim further states that the companies sold these products knowing that the sounds emitted from the sirens were inherently dangerous to human hearing.

Studies at UC Berkeley validate the issue.  “The damage is invisible. It's internal to your ear,” said Dr. Catherine V. Palmer, director of audiology and hearing aids in the department of otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “It's permanent damage, and it's generally gradual.”

In 1992, former federal Fire Administrator Olin L. Greene said noise “is probably the most underrated health hazard” for firefighters. A 2007 study by University of California professor Oisaeng Hong, director of the Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing Program at the school's campus in San Francisco, said roughly 40 percent of all firefighters in the United States are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss.

The issue is real, however, the question remains as to whether or not the siren manufacturers can be held responsible.

Seems to me that perhaps manufacturers should offer, at a minimum, foam earplugs to all firefighters when their products are purchased.  If nothing else, it would show a good faith effort to support our finest and educate them on the importance of hearing protection.  

Wouldn't be great if local and state governments were progressive and offered custom earplugs to all newly hired firefighters? They protect us - we should protect them.....