NFSHW26: Noise in Agriculture: An Overlooked Occupational Hazard
Summary: Agricultural workers experience some of the highest rates of occupational noise exposure in the United States, yet hearing conservation has received far less attention in agriculture than in other high-risk industries. This webinar will review current evidence on noise exposure and hearing loss among agricultural workers, with a particular focus on field workers in the US Southwest, an underserved and often overlooked population. Participants will learn about common sources of hazardous noise in agricultural settings, challenges to implementing hearing protection programs, and emerging research on culturally and contextually appropriate interventions. The presentation will also highlight findings from recent studies conducted among farmworkers in the U.S.–Mexico border region and discuss opportunities for improving hearing health through education, policy, and workplace-level prevention strategies.
Intended Audience: Agricultural safety and health professionals, occupational health practitioners, farm owners and managers, extension personnel, agricultural educators, community health workers, researchers, public health professionals, clinicians, policymakers, and others interested in improving the health and safety of agricultural workers.
Objectives: At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to…
- Describe the prevalence and consequences of occupational noise exposure and hearing loss among agricultural workers.
- Identify common sources of hazardous noise exposure in agricultural settings and factors that contribute to risk.
- Recognize barriers to hearing protection use and hearing conservation program implementation among farmworkers.
- Discuss evidence-based strategies to prevent noise-induced hearing loss in agricultural workplaces.
- Identify opportunities to integrate hearing health into existing agricultural safety and health initiatives.
Presenter: Laura Coco, PhD, AuD Assistant Professor, San Diego State University
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Continuing Education: The University of Cincinnati, Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, Education and Research Center offers 1.0 contact hours for this activity. Upon completing the evaluation, learners will receive a certificate of completion. This course can meet continuing education requirements for a variety of professionals including: BGC criteria for IH/CIH professionals, BCSP criteria for safety professionals, CPH criteria for public health professionals. Please contact your accrediting agency regarding questions about receiving credits for this activity.
A special thank you to our NFSHW sponsors:
