Good hearing is an essential requisite for most teachers, yet by the nature of classrooms, for many after prolonged exposure to such a busy – and loud – work environment, this most vital of senses is often damaged beyond repair.
“I would say that we are only now really starting to understand that teaching is a very noisy environment, dangerously so, because of the noise of children in small classrooms that have very poor acoustic value,” Steve Williamson says.
Williamson is CEO of Deafness Forum Australia, an independent body representing Australians with hearing challenges, whose mission it is to make hearing health a national priority.
“It’s a professional issue that I think more of us in Australia and in the teaching profession, have to come to grips with, because teachers every day are in a noisy classroom, and are endangering their hearing for now and for the future,” Williamson tells EducationHQ.
He says for many teachers, after so many years in noisy environments – not just at work, but during their recreation time as well – they find that hearing loss forces them to either downgrade their employment, or worse, retire early.
“And that’s a terrible loss to the education system in Australia, and to the workforce generally,” Williamson, who’s been CEO now for 12 years, says.
He says you’ve only got to go onto Google Scholar to see there’s an enormous amount of research showing hearing loss is an issue that has to be addressed.
The World Health Organization suggests nearly 50 per cent of people aged 12 to 35 (about 1.1 billion young people), are at risk of hearing loss because of the prolonged exposure to loud sounds, particularly listening to music on their smartphones and audio players or at gigs and clubs.
“There’s basically a tsunami of hearing loss that’s occurring in the community, and that’s because we’re living in a noisy world, and young people have access to entertainment and recreation and their leisure listening devices, and it’ll manifest itself when young people start to get into their 40s.”
The former long-time ABC journalist and reporter is keen to get the word out about Safe Listening Week 2024 (August 26 to September 1), which is shining a spotlight on the urgent need for more hearing health awareness.
The inclusive and interactive event features daily educational content and activities on Deafness Forum’s Facebook page.
Participants can access practical tips, engage with diverse content, and take part in community-driven initiatives to promote safe listening habits.
By participating in Safe Listening Week, teachers will better understand the rising trend of hearing loss and its implications for daily life.
There’s straightforward advice to integrate safe listening into everyday activities, a range of daily content, including educational posts, testimonials, guides, and quizzes.
There’ll be challenges, prizes and shared personal safe listening stories and for accessibility, a user-friendly online format designed to be inclusive for all participants.
This week also sees the debut of a new resource for secondary students in agricultural communities developed in collaboration with the National Centre for Farmer Health.
Hearing loss from loud noises is on the rise, and young people are particularly at risk. Deafness Forum Australia has created a range of fact sheets to help young people, particularly in agricultural families, to avoid lifelong problems that can impact well-being and future opportunities.
“The agricultural sector most often presents a very noisy work environment, and the noise levels don’t just affect the farmer, the person who’s working in the sheds and driving the machinery, it also affects his or her partner, parents and the kids who live in that environment, because they too share that noise,” Williamson says.
“This is our first collaboration on providing safe listening resources for schools, and we’re starting with the regional rural communities, because noise is part of everyday life, but later, we’ll be tackling other school environments,” Williamson explains.
“…and this is just the beginning. We’re already planning more resources for all Australian schools in 2025,” he adds.
For early career teachers, Williamson says prevention is the aim of the game.
“Hearing loss is a cumulative thing, it accumulates over time … and it can’t be reversed, so understanding that the steps you take today and every other day in the future will preserve your hearing into the future, that’s a really good thing to do,” he explains.
“So, do things like taking yourself out of noisy environments when you possibly can, both at work and in your leisure time.
„If you’re exposed to noise in your classroom, think very carefully about not adding to the burden on your hearing system by having noisy listening habits at home.”
In a classroom, Williamson says it may come to pass that earplugs or some protection might be necessary, and he says there are a range of outstanding noise reducing plugs available today that allow certain and specific sounds to flow that aren’t damaging to your hearing.
“…it’s also important to, as much as possible, control the noise level in your classroom, because obviously it’s imperative that children’s hearing is not damaged, either.”
Williamson questions some of the modern designer classrooms, where acoustics and noise levels seem to perhaps have been something of an afterthought.
“In many ways, the recent trend of open classroom environments is the worst thing, because it does encourage greater noise and echoes – so thinking about the environment, and (I would encourage teachers to) talk to your union and talk to your principal if you’re uncomfortable with noise levels. By all means, speak up!”
For teachers who are already facing hearing loss after many years in the classroom, and are fearful of the stigma attached with wearing hearing aids, Williamson says times have changed.
“Hearing devices are tiny these days, they’re not those large things that you have in your mind that are more from the 1940s and 50s,” he says.
“They’re not only discrete, they’re clever devices.
“You can tailor your hearing device specifically to your needs, you can set it to a general room noise, you can focus on a particular speaker from a particular direction, they’re attached to bluetooth – I mean, they’re tremendously technological devices.
“Just get over the stigma part of it, it’s about what’s good for you, what gives you a healthy life and allows you to continue in your professions and enjoy it, but also come out with a good future in your retirement, because you’ve acted to preserve your hearing, and you’re able to access the sounds of life just because you went and consulted an audiologist.”
To be a part of Safe Listening Week 2024 and to learn more about protecting your, and your students’, hearing, click here.
Fact sheets can also be downloaded from Deafness Forum Australia’s website here.