2Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Adults

Many types of jobs put adults at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Some common jobs that put workers at risk of noise-induced hearing loss are construction, mining, farming, manufacturing, forestry, transportation (railroad, airline, trucking), police, firefighters and orchestra musicians.

17% of adults aged 20–69 years (approximately 26 million) in the U.S. have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive exposure to noise from work and recreation.

Each of the icons below represent an occupation that someone might work in. Scroll over the icons to see approximate estimates of the percentage of workers in that industry who have noise-induced hearing loss attributed to dangerous sound exposure at work.