Page "Mining" Paragraph 80

Miners utilize equipment strong enough to break through extremely hard layers of the Earth's crust.

This equipment, combined with the closed workspace that underground miners work in, can cause hearing loss.

For example, a roof bolter ( commonly used by mine roof bolter operators ) can reach sound power levels of up to 115 dB.

Combined with the reverberant effects of underground mines, a miner without proper hearing protection is at a high risk for hearing loss.

By age 50, nearly 90 % of U. S. coal miners have some hearing loss, compared to only 10 % among workers not exposed to loud noises.

Roof bolters are among the loudest machines, but auger miners, bulldozers, continuous mining machines, front end loaders, and shuttle cars and trucks are also among those machines most responsible for excessive noise in mine work.