Even in the early days, coal miners knew noise came at a cost and that hearing protection was important. Over the years the industry has only improved with better PPE, stronger compliance and clearer systems. Yet hearing loss is still one of mining’s most common long-term injuries and the part we still can’t get right isn’t the equipment or the rules – it’s the individual.
That’s what Jim Cooper has come to believe. He started in the coal industry in 1979 and while he’s grateful for his career, it’s left him with permanent hearing loss.
“My first 10 years in the mining industry were in a CHPP, which was a noisy environment whenever the plant was running. It was hard to get away from the noise.
“Our control room was isolated and insulated, but back then it wasn’t as good as what we have now. PPE was available and we were told to use it, but you still had to communicate on two-way radios. We didn’t have earpieces so there were times you’d take it off just to hear properly. I used PPE as much as I possibly could, but the noise environment was prolonged.”
Jim said hearing loss wasn’t even on his radar at the time.
“Hearing loss is an insidious type of injury. You don’t wake up one morning and suddenly realise you can’t hear, it builds without you noticing.
“You live with it, and the people around you are often in the same environment, so they’re going through it too. You just accept it.”
That slow build is exactly what the regulators warn about. Both Safe Work Australia and state regulators continue to flag noise as one of the most persistent hazards in mining, with damage caused not just by sudden events, but by constant exposure over time.
Coal mining in particular has been singled out as having some of the highest rates of industrial deafness claims, nearly 14 times the national average.
Katie Cooper, a senior audiometrist at Audika, sees the result of that every day.
“We are still seeing many cases of noise-induced hearing loss because the level of noise miners are exposed to is very high and a lot of people underestimate how quickly those damaging sounds build up.
“Hearing damage can happen far faster than many realise. An average noise level of 85 decibels is considered safe for up to eight hours. In underground coal mining, longwall operators are often exposed to around 92 decibels, which reaches the same daily noise dose in just 1.6 hours without protection. Continuous miner operators may be exposed to around 91 decibels, reaching that same dose in approximately two hours.
“Higher noise levels dramatically shorten safe exposure time, meaning irreversible damage can occur within minutes rather than hours.”
Katie said one of the biggest mistakes workers make is not inserting or wearing hearing protection correctly – or not using it at all.
“There’s lots of reasons workers avoid wearing hearing protection. It might be uncomfortable or it doesn’t fit properly, or it’s an inconvenience as the worker can’t hear instructions from colleagues or management.”
Because the damage builds gradually, the early signs are often the only warning people get – ringing in the ears, trouble understanding speech, asking people to repeat themselves. They’re easy to ignore, and one of Katie’s patients, a coal miner in his 80s who has asked not to be named, did exactly that.
“I knew I had hearing loss long before I did anything about it.
“You don’t think about it at the time – it’s just noise, part of the job, and you just get on with it. But later in life it does affect you and by the time you notice it properly you’ve already lost that hearing.
“Once the damage is there, it’s there. It’s not something you fix down the track.”
He said his career started before hearing protection was part of the culture.
“You could wear hearing protection if you wanted to, but not many did. We used to see people sticking cotton wool or bits of rag in their ears.
“Then later on, as hearing protection became more available, we had to enforce it because otherwise people would leave it in the crib room or just not wear it. You can tell people often enough but you want them to be doing it without being told.”
That gap between knowing and doing hasn’t gone away. Even where protection is provided and workers are aware of the risks, consistent use is still one of the biggest failures on site.
Katie said the fix is simple, but it comes down to consistency.
“Proper hearing protection involves earplugs or earmuffs designed to reduce noise exposure and you should be wearing it every single time you’re exposed to loud sounds.”
She added that it is important to get your hearing checked every 12 months and that partners and families can play a key role in picking up early hearing loss.
“There is a lot of stigma and many people don’t want to recognise a problem exists or will brush it off. Families will notice repeated conversations, the TV being turned up, or someone withdrawing from group situations.
“If every miner took just one action tomorrow, it should be to always use hearing protection whenever you are exposed to loud sounds.”
What makes it easy to ignore is that the impact isn’t immediate – it builds over time and often isn’t fully understood until it starts affecting the things you rely on every day, as was the case for Jim.
“I’ve got tinnitus which I’ve had for about thirty years and you normalise it. It’s like if you’ve got a sore shoulder, it’s really painful for the first couple of days, but then you just go about your work. It’s the same with the hearing.
“In 2005 I made the decision to seek help with my hearing. That was a big step. My first set of hearing aids were just wonderful and really showed me the amount that I’d been missing out on.
“Basically, if I don’t put them on in the morning my communication is at about 25 per cent. You tend to lose the higher pitch sounds like women’s and children’s voices and that makes communication at home even worse. Just ask some of the people I play golf with, they’ll say I’m a fairly ignorant person!” Jim joked, making light of how hard he finds hearing people.
Jim’s also had to give up plenty of the things he loves.
“I love my motorsport, but if it’s only audio I miss a lot of what happens. I still ride my motorbike but I have to take the hearing aids out and use earplugs to cut the wind noise so I have to rely more on what I see. And I don’t ride a pushbike anymore because I couldn’t hear what was behind me. I sold it because it was too dangerous.
“I’m also a volunteer with Marine Rescue but I can’t work in the radio room because taking distress calls is a critical job. You need to be confident you’re picking up everything, and I’m not, so I do other work instead. As much as I’d love to be up there, I just can’t.”
Jim said the industry can only do so much and ultimately it comes down to the choices you make.
“The information is everywhere now, inductions, pre-starts, procedures. It’s all there. When you’re doing your risk assessments on tasks or activities, noise needs to be part of it too. You’ve got to look at both the level and the duration of exposure, assess it against the standards and make sure the right controls are actually put in place.
“But even with all of that, it really comes back to the individual to take responsibility, and that doesn’t stop when you leave site. There are people that are selective in that they wear the PPE at work but not at home. What you learn at work you should be taking home.
“If you do get to the point where you need help then make sure you deal with a quality audiologist. Someone professional you can trust and build a long-term relationship with and who’s focused on getting you the best outcome, not just trying to make a quick dollar.
“Hearing loss is something you live with and by the time you realise you’ve already adapted. You don’t think about it at the time. It’s only noise, but later in life it does affect you.
“The precautions you take now will save you later.”
