Hearing loss and the farming community

Over recent years, concern has been growing regarding the incidence of hearing loss in rural communities. Anecdotal accounts have always portrayed "older" farmers as individuals with typical hearing loss characteristics. More recent formal evidence certainly supports this. Published statistics and recent statistical data gathered at rural "field days" indicate that hearing loss in the rural community is a serious problem for many individuals and their families. Typically, attention has been directed at noise-exposed workers who work in more conventional workplaces, such as factories. However, farm workers have been considered "hard to reach" and, as a consequence, have not experienced traditional hearing loss prevention education programs. Thought needs to be given to more efficient methods of alerting the farming community to noise hazards.