Dublin (IST, UTC+1)
Dargan A TCDBS
Hearing loss has been documented in the dental workforce for a number of years, often attributed to long working hours in confined spaces with various noise-producing equipment in close proximity to professionals’ ears. In the last 15 years, some employers have found themselves caught up in multi-million-pound lawsuits where they were found guilty of not providing correct hearing protection for their employees, one such employer is the British Army who have paid out £150 million in compensation to those affected by Military Induced Hearing Loss or Tinnitus.
As a dental student and a keen musician, these discoveries caused me to consider my own exposure to loud environments on my course of study, leading me to notice the sheer volume of the clinical skills labs and multi-chair clinics where our education takes place. I initially discussed the problem with one of my clinical tutors, who also agreed that this topic should lead to a wider discussion within the dental school, suggesting I take the idea to a student-led Edubites session, where students and lecturers come together to discuss suggested topics important to them.
This session delivers a brief presentation regarding the headline facts on this topic and how as a dental school we could be encouraging hearing protection use from the beginning of students’ clinical journeys, potentially reducing future damage and discomfort. We discussed a number of options and agreed that this is a very interesting, but little-discussed area of personal wellbeing within dentistry. As part of the discussion we wondered what other dental schools nationally and internationally were doing or considering around this topic, leading us to decide to engage with the wider education community to find out what mitigations may already be in place.
