Nearly one in four noise-exposed construction workers already has measurable hearing loss: 23% in audiograms of 26,653 workers at 833 companies, against 20% for all industries combined (Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025). The exposure behind it is broad: 37% of construction workers were exposed to hazardous noise in the past year, and 52% of those exposed report not wearing hearing protection (NIOSH Occupational Hearing Loss Surveillance). Yet the federal injury count for 2024 shows only about 100 recorded hearing loss cases in the entire construction sector, because the damage builds slowly and is rarely tested. Jobsite noise is one slice of the wider exposure picture in our noise pollution statistics. We aggregated data from NIOSH, CDC MMWR, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, OSHA, CPWR (The Center for Construction Research and Training), the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program and peer-reviewed audiometry and dosimetry studies.
TL;DR
- 23% of noise-exposed construction workers had hearing loss in 2010-2019, vs 20% across all industries (NIOSH, Journal of Safety Research 2025).
- Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction had the highest sub-sector prevalence at 28% (NIOSH, Journal of Safety Research 2025).
- 37% of construction workers were exposed to hazardous noise in the past year; 52% have a lifetime history of it (NHIS 2023, JOEM 2025).
- 30% of construction workers were exposed to ototoxic chemicals in the past year and 19% to both noise and ototoxics (NIOSH OHL Surveillance).
- 52% of noise-exposed construction workers report not wearing hearing protection (Green et al., AJIM 2021).
- Construction workers wore hearing protection less than one-quarter of the time above 85 dBA, giving under 3 dB of effective protection (Neitzel and Seixas, 2005).
- 16.29% of noise-exposed construction workers had hearing impairment, costing 3.09 healthy years per 1,000 workers each year (CDC MMWR 2016).
- 54.6% of older building trades workers had hearing loss of 20 dB or more (Cloeren et al., AJIM 2025).
- Workers aged 56 to 65 had 20 times the hearing loss risk of those aged 18 to 25 (NIOSH, Journal of Safety Research 2025).
- Only 28% of union construction trainees had their hearing tested since entering the industry (CPWR TRU-Net survey 2019).
- BLS recorded just 0.1 thousand construction hearing loss cases in 2024, vs 9.0 thousand in manufacturing (BLS SOII 2024).
- OSHA’s construction limit is 90 dBA over 8 hours; NIOSH recommends 85 dBA (OSHA 29 CFR 1926.52; NIOSH).
1. Exposure: Half the Workforce Has Worked in Hazardous Noise
Construction is not a noisy industry for a few specialists; it is noisy for the median worker. 52.45% of construction industry workers have a history of occupational noise exposure, and 37.04% were exposed in the past 12 months, according to 2023 National Health Interview Survey data on 17,726 workers (Masterson, Morata and Themann, JOEM 2025). For workers in construction and extraction occupations, the hands-on trades, past-year exposure rises to 44.29%. That is nearly three times the all-worker rate of 16%.
Noise also rarely arrives alone. 29.70% of construction workers were exposed to ototoxic chemicals (solvents, metals and other substances that can damage hearing) and 19.17% to both hazards in the same year. The combination matters because ototoxic exposure can damage hearing at noise levels considered safe on their own. The ranking has been stable for a decade: in 2014 NHIS data, construction had the second highest lifetime noise exposure of any industry at 51%, behind mining at 61% (Kerns et al., American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2018).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Construction workers exposed to noise, past year (2023) | 37.04% (all workers 16%) | Masterson et al., JOEM 2025 (NHIS 2023) |
| Construction workers with any history of noise exposure | 52.45% (all workers 28%) | Masterson et al., JOEM 2025 (NHIS 2023) |
| Construction and extraction occupations, past-year noise | 44.29% (history 58.29%) | Masterson et al., JOEM 2025 (NHIS 2023) |
| Construction workers exposed to ototoxic chemicals | 29.70% (occupations: 34.93%) | Masterson et al., JOEM 2025 (NHIS 2023) |
| Exposed to both noise and ototoxic chemicals | 19.17% (occupations: 23.43%) | Masterson et al., JOEM 2025 (NHIS 2023) |
| Industries with highest lifetime noise exposure (2014) | Mining 61%, Construction 51%, Manufacturing 47%, Utilities 43% | Kerns et al., AJIM 2018 (NHIS 2014) |
| US workers exposed to hazardous noise each year | 27 million (22 million to ototoxic chemicals) | NIOSH, Statistics on Occupational Hearing Loss |
| Construction sector employment, September 2026 | 8,364 thousand (seasonally adjusted) | BLS, Construction: NAICS 23 |
Context note: the 2023 NHIS sample yields a weighted population of 12,232,196 construction industry workers and 9,388,193 in construction and extraction occupations, which is larger than BLS payroll employment because NHIS counts self-employed and informal workers. Mining had the highest 2023 past-year noise exposure at 56% (NIOSH, Statistics on Occupational Hearing Loss).
2. Prevalence: Construction Beats the All-Industry Average in Every Major Dataset
The audiogram data are unambiguous. 23% of noise-exposed construction workers had hearing loss in 2010-2019, compared with 20% for all industries and 11% in the reference industry (couriers and messengers) (Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025). Hearing loss was defined as an average threshold of 25 dB or more across 1, 2, 3 and 4 kHz in either ear, a level at which conversation in noise becomes difficult. The earlier 2006-2010 estimate was 25% for construction, against 19% for all industries.
The sub-sector spread shows where the heavy equipment is. Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction led at 28%, followed by Site Preparation Contractors at 26%. On adjusted risk, which controls for age and sex, Industrial Building Construction was 62% riskier than the reference industry, Other Heavy and Civil Engineering 61%, and Oil and Gas Pipeline 60%. An older CDC analysis of 1.4 million audiograms found the same order across sectors: mining first, construction second and manufacturing third (CDC MMWR, Vol. 65 No. 15, 2016). Ringing in the ears is part of the same picture, and the wider population data are in our tinnitus statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing loss, noise-exposed construction workers, 2010-2019 | 23% (all industries 20%) | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Highest sub-sector prevalence | Highway, Street, and Bridge 28%; Site Preparation 26% | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Sub-sectors at 25% | New Single-Family Housing, Oil and Gas Pipeline, Other Building Finishing | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Highest adjusted risk vs reference industry | Industrial Building +62%, Other Heavy and Civil +61%, Oil and Gas Pipeline +60%, Finish Carpentry +59%, Site Preparation +58% | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Any hearing impairment, construction, 2003-2012 | 16.29% (5,860 of 35,969 workers); all industries 12.94% | CDC MMWR 2016 |
| Moderate or worse impairment, construction | 2.57% | CDC MMWR 2016 |
| Healthy years lost to hearing impairment | 3.09 per 1,000 construction workers per year (all industries 2.53) | CDC MMWR 2016 |
| Hearing difficulty / tinnitus, all construction workers | About 13% / about 7% | NIOSH OHL Surveillance, Construction |
Context note: men were 92% of the construction sample (78% across all industries), and hearing loss prevalence was 25% among men vs 10% among women. NIOSH also reports that 16% of noise-exposed tested construction workers have hearing impairment in both ears (NIOSH OHL Surveillance, Construction).
3. Age and Career Length: Damage That Compounds Over a Working Life
Noise-induced hearing loss is cumulative, so the career, not the job, is the unit of risk. Construction workers aged 56 to 65 had 20 times the hearing loss risk of workers aged 18 to 25, and 71% of noise-exposed workers aged 66 to 75 had hearing loss (Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025). Among older tradespeople screened by the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program (mean age 60.4), 54.6% had hearing loss of 20 dB or more in the better ear (Cloeren et al., American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2025).
The damage starts early. A 10-year prospective study of 316 construction apprentices measured average exposures of 87 dBA (plus or minus 3.6) and found exposure-related threshold shifts of about 2 to 3 dB over a projected 10 years at 3, 4 or 6 kHz per 10 dB increase in exposure, concluding there was evidence of noise-induced damage at around the 85 dBA level (Seixas et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2012). A Dutch analysis of 29,644 construction workers found noise-induced hearing loss was already present at the start of employment. How occupational loss stacks on top of normal aging is covered in our age-related hearing loss statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing loss risk, age 56-65 vs 18-25 | 20 times higher | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Hearing loss prevalence, age 66-75 | 71% | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Older building trades workers with hearing loss (20 dB or more, better ear) | 54.6% (mean age 60.4) | Cloeren et al., AJIM 2025 (BTMed) |
| Severity among BTMed participants | Mild 31.7%, moderate 15.0%, moderately severe 5.6%, severe to complete 2.2% | Cloeren et al., AJIM 2025 (BTMed) |
| Dementia prevalence, with vs without hearing loss | 1.22% vs 0.23% (adjusted odds ratio 1.88) | Cloeren et al., AJIM 2025 (BTMed) |
| Construction workers developing hearing loss over a 45-year working life | 73.8% | Ringen et al., AJIM 2014 |
| Average noise exposure of construction apprentices | 87 dBA (plus or minus 3.6) | Seixas et al., OEM 2012 |
| Dutch construction workers analyzed | 29,644; daily exposure 80 to 96 dB(A) | Leensen et al., Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2011 |
Context note: the BTMed program screens former construction workers at US Department of Energy sites, so its cohort skews older and more heavily exposed than the active workforce; the dementia finding is a cross-sectional association, not proof of cause. The Ringen et al. lifetime estimate is drawn from 11,793 audiograms in the same program (Ringen et al., AJIM 2014).
4. Hearing Protection: Provided, Owned, and Mostly Not Worn
The protection gap is the industry’s defining number. 52% of noise-exposed construction workers report not wearing hearing protection on the job (NIOSH OHL Surveillance, Construction). In NHIS data, construction’s non-use rate fell from 61.44% in 2007 to 52.18% in 2014, a change that was not statistically significant (p = 0.397), and the industry’s adjusted risk of non-use was 1.60 times the reference group (Green, Masterson and Themann, American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2021).
Self-reports overstate real protection. Dosimetry across nine construction trades showed workers wore hearing protection less than one-quarter of the time they were exposed above 85 dBA, and even self-described ‘always’ users wore it only one-third of that time, leaving an effective protection of less than 3 dB (Neitzel and Seixas, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 2005). The fixable part is fit and training: a 2026 meta-analysis of 23 studies and 5,575 workers found extensive training raised earplug personal attenuation by 12.88 dB, decaying to 4.46 dB after 12 months without refreshers. Product-level adoption trends are in our hearing protection statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Noise-exposed construction workers not wearing protection | 52% | NIOSH OHL Surveillance, Construction |
| Construction industry non-use, 2007 vs 2014 | 61.44% vs 52.18% (change not significant) | Green et al., AJIM 2021 |
| Construction and extraction occupations non-use, 2007 vs 2014 | 57.17% vs 47.57% | Green et al., AJIM 2021 |
| Non-use, all noise-exposed US workers, 2014 | 53% | Green et al., AJIM 2021 |
| Share of time protection worn above 85 dBA | Less than one-quarter; effective protection under 3 dB | Neitzel and Seixas, JOEH 2005 |
| Measured protection use among apprentices | About 17% to 24% of exposure time | Seixas et al., OEM 2012 |
| Earplug attenuation gain after training | +12.88 dB immediately, +8.84 dB within 6 months, +4.46 dB at 12 months | Gong, Morata and Samelli, JOEH 2026 |
Context note: an intervention study of 268 construction workers with a mean observed noise level of 89.8 dBA found protection use was bimodal, with nearly 80% reporting either almost never or almost always using it, and site safety climate predicted which group a worker fell into (Edelson et al., Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2009). The 2026 meta-analysis is available at doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2025.2602758.
5. On the Jobsite: Training, Testing and Why Workers Skip Protection
Worker surveys explain the gap that dosimetry measures. Only 44% of union construction trainees said they wear hearing protection always, almost always or most of the time around noise, while 25% never or almost never do (CPWR, TRU-Net Noise Survey for Workers, 2019). The top reason given was functional, not cultural: 49% said they cannot hear things they need to hear with protection in, 30% said they cannot always find it and 29% said it is not provided.
Employers lean on the cheapest control. 84% of respondents had seen employers provide earplugs, but only 8% had seen quieter, low-noise equipment used. Training mirrors that: 90% of trained workers covered OSHA standards and the exposure limit, but only 23.9% covered engineering controls, and 52% of those asked listed earplugs or earmuffs as an engineering or administrative control. The survey reached 4,195 trainees in 2016-2017 with an 84% response rate, so it is the most recent available data of its kind (CPWR, 2019).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Must shout to be heard at arm’s length often or all the time | 26% (another 43% sometimes) | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| Spend 4 hours or more a day using the noisiest equipment | 61% | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| Wear protection always, almost always or most of the time | 44% (never or almost never: 25%) | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| Top reasons for non-use | Cannot hear what is needed 49%; cannot find it 30%; not provided 29% | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| Employers seen providing earplugs vs using quieter equipment | 84% vs 8% | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| Received hearing loss prevention training | 69% | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| Hearing tested since entering construction | 28% | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| Self-reported hearing loss / tinnitus in past 12 months | 29% / 22% | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
Context note: the survey covered union apprentices and journey-level trainees, 65% of whom had worked in construction for less than five years, so the 29% self-reported hearing loss rate comes from a young population. The noisiest tasks named were cutting and sawing, grinding and polishing, and drilling; 72% of respondents were unaware of smartphone noise-measurement apps.
6. Regulation, Recordkeeping and the Long-Term Trend
The regulatory floor is lower in construction than many workers assume. OSHA’s construction standard allows 90 dBA for 8 hours and 115 dBA for a quarter hour or less, while NIOSH recommends 85 dBA with exposure time halved for every 3 dB increase (OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.52; NIOSH, Noise and Hearing Loss). OSHA’s table uses a 5 dB exchange rate (95 dBA for 4 hours, 100 dBA for 2 hours), so at 100 dBA OSHA allows 2 hours while the NIOSH rule allows 15 minutes (8 hours halved five times for the 15 dB above 85 dBA), one-eighth of OSHA’s allowance. The standard requires ‘a continuing, effective hearing conservation program’ above the table values but, as NIOSH notes, annual audiometric testing is not required in construction.
That gap shows up in the official injury count. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 0.1 thousand hearing loss cases in construction in 2024, a rate of 0.1 per 10,000 full-time workers, against 9.0 thousand cases and a rate of 7.2 in manufacturing, where annual audiograms are mandatory (BLS, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, Table SNR07, 2024). Hearing loss is largely absent from construction’s recorded illness totals; the broader injury picture is in our workplace injury statistics. Long-run surveillance shows slow progress: construction’s adjusted hearing loss risk fell 50% over 1986-2010, close to the 46% drop across all industries.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| OSHA construction permissible exposure | 90 dBA (8 h), 95 dBA (4 h), 100 dBA (2 h), 115 dBA (15 min or less) | OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.52 Table D-2 |
| OSHA impulse or impact noise ceiling | 140 dB peak sound pressure level | OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.52 |
| NIOSH recommended exposure limit | 85 dBA over 8 hours, 3 dB exchange rate | NIOSH, Noise and Hearing Loss |
| BLS hearing loss cases, construction, 2024 | 0.1 thousand; rate 0.1 per 10,000 FT workers | BLS SOII Table SNR07, 2024 |
| BLS hearing loss cases, manufacturing / all ownerships, 2024 | 9.0 thousand (rate 7.2) / 14.0 thousand (rate 1.2) | BLS SOII Table SNR07, 2024 |
| Construction total illness cases, 2024 | 3.5 thousand | BLS SOII Table SNR07, 2024 |
| Change in construction hearing loss risk, 1986-2010 | -50% (all industries -46%) | NIOSH OHL Surveillance, Construction |
| Change in construction prevalence, 1981-2010 | Decreased 3% (all industries less than 1%) | NIOSH OHL Surveillance, Construction |
Context note: the international picture shows the same under-recording. Great Britain paid only 50 new occupational deafness benefit cases in 2024, down from 195 in 2010, while the Labour Force Survey estimates about 15,000 workers with work-related hearing problems in 2022/23 to 2024/25 (HSE, Noise-induced hearing loss statistics, 2026). Globally, a WHO/ILO meta-analysis of 65 studies in 28 countries put the pooled prevalence of high occupational noise exposure (85 dBA or more) at 17% of workers (Teixeira et al., Environment International 2021).
Summary: Construction Worker Hearing Loss by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing loss, noise-exposed construction workers, 2010-2019 | 23% (all industries 20%) | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Highest sub-sector prevalence | Highway, Street, and Bridge 28% | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Highest adjusted sub-sector risk | Industrial Building +62% | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Risk at age 56-65 vs 18-25 | 20 times higher | Masterson and Themann, Journal of Safety Research 2025 |
| Past-year noise exposure, construction (2023) | 37.04% | Masterson et al., JOEM 2025 |
| Lifetime noise exposure, construction (2023) | 52.45% | Masterson et al., JOEM 2025 |
| Ototoxic chemical exposure, construction | 29.70% | Masterson et al., JOEM 2025 |
| Hearing difficulty / tinnitus, construction workers | About 13% / about 7% | NIOSH OHL Surveillance |
| Any hearing impairment, 2003-2012 | 16.29% (all industries 12.94%) | CDC MMWR 2016 |
| Healthy years lost per 1,000 construction workers per year | 3.09 | CDC MMWR 2016 |
| Not wearing hearing protection when exposed | 52% | NIOSH OHL Surveillance; Green et al., AJIM 2021 |
| Share of noisy time protection is worn | Less than one-quarter | Neitzel and Seixas, JOEH 2005 |
| Older building trades workers with hearing loss | 54.6% | Cloeren et al., AJIM 2025 |
| Hearing loss over a 45-year construction career | 73.8% | Ringen et al., AJIM 2014 |
| Trainees reporting top non-use reason: cannot hear what is needed | 49% | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| Trainees with hearing tested since entering construction | 28% | CPWR TRU-Net Worker Survey 2019 |
| BLS recorded hearing loss cases, construction, 2024 | 0.1 thousand (manufacturing 9.0 thousand) | BLS SOII Table SNR07, 2024 |
| OSHA vs NIOSH 8-hour limit | 90 dBA vs 85 dBA | OSHA 29 CFR 1926.52; NIOSH |
| Construction employment, September 2026 | 8,364 thousand | BLS, Construction: NAICS 23 |
Methodology and Sources
Every figure above was read during research for this article in a government surveillance page, a federal data table, a regulation, a research center report or a peer-reviewed paper (full text via PubMed Central or abstracts via Europe PMC). Statistics that circulate on blogs without a primary document were excluded, and no figure from VoxBooster was used.
- NIOSH: Occupational Hearing Loss Surveillance, Construction, Statistics on Occupational Hearing Loss, Noise and Hearing Loss (REL and exchange rate)
- Masterson EA, Themann CL. Prevalence of hearing loss among noise-exposed U.S. workers within the Construction sector, 2010-2019, Journal of Safety Research 2025
- Masterson EA, Morata TC, Themann CL. Prevalence of ototoxic chemical exposure, noise exposure and hearing difficulty among workers in the United States, 2023, JOEM 2025
- Kerns E et al. Cardiovascular conditions, hearing difficulty, and occupational noise exposure within US industries and occupations, AJIM 2018
- CDC: Hearing Impairment Among Noise-Exposed Workers, United States, 2003-2012, MMWR Vol. 65 No. 15 (2016)
- Green DR, Masterson EA, Themann CL. Prevalence of hearing protection device non-use among noise-exposed US workers in 2007 and 2014, AJIM 2021
- Neitzel R, Seixas N. The effectiveness of hearing protection among construction workers, JOEH 2005; Seixas NS et al. 10-year prospective study of noise exposure and hearing damage among construction workers, OEM 2012; Edelson J et al. Predictors of hearing protection use in construction workers, Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2009
- Cloeren M et al. Is work-related hearing loss associated with dementia? AJIM 2025; Ringen K et al. Risks of a lifetime in construction, Part II: Chronic occupational diseases, AJIM 2014
- Gong W, Morata TC, Samelli AG. Enhancing and sustaining noise attenuation from hearing protection devices, JOEH 2026
- CPWR: TRU-Net Noise Survey for Workers (Apprenticeship and Journey-level Trainees) Survey Results, May 2019
- OSHA: 29 CFR 1926.52, Occupational noise exposure (construction)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses tables (SNR07, 2024), Industries at a Glance, Construction: NAICS 23
- Health and Safety Executive (Great Britain): Noise-induced hearing loss statistics; Teixeira LR et al. Prevalence of occupational exposure to noise, WHO/ILO systematic review, Environment International 2021; Leensen MC et al. Retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry, Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2011 (abstract via Europe PMC)
- Data watch: The audiometric prevalence data (Masterson and Themann 2025) come from a convenience sample of audiometric service providers, which the authors say may not represent all noise-exposed construction workers; because annual audiometric testing is not required in construction, untested workers may have much worse hearing. Different definitions produce different numbers: 23% hearing loss (25 dB average, either ear), 16.29% hearing impairment (MMWR, better-ear impairment scale, 2003-2012), about 13% self-reported hearing difficulty (NHIS 2023) and 54.6% (20 dB, better ear, older BTMed cohort); they should not be compared directly. The NIOSH construction page gives 37% past-year noise exposure (NHIS 2023), while the 2025 Journal of Safety Research paper cites 51% from Kerns et al. (NHIS 2014), which measures lifetime history; the 2023 lifetime figure is 52.45%. The 52% protection non-use figure is from 2014 NHIS data (most recent available, Green et al. 2021); the CPWR worker survey (2016-2017), the dosimetry studies (2005, 2009, 2012) and the Ringen lifetime estimate (2014) are older than three years and are reported as most recent available data. The CDC trend figures (1981-2010) are reported as published, without stating whether they are percentage points. BLS SOII counts only cases recorded by employers and excludes the self-employed. NIOSH’s 1998 criteria document and CPWR Construction Chart Book pages on hearing loss could not be read during research, so their figures are not used. Sub-sector values from the 2025 paper are limited to those stated in its abstract.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when BLS releases 2025 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses illness tables (SNR07) and NIOSH publishes updated construction surveillance estimates.