OVERVIEW OF OCCUPATIONAL NOISE MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

This discussion paper aims to synthesize available literature on occupational noise in Malaysia and to relate this to the current noise management practices and control. The review focuses on several main scopes; i) occupational safety and health (OSH), hearing conservation program (HCP) and hearing loss prevention program (HLPP) in Malaysia; ii) responsible authorities in occupational safety and health (OSH) in Malaysia; iii) establishment of occupational safety and health in Malaysia; iv) hearing conservation programs (HCP), hearing loss prevention programs (HLPP) and noise control policy.  Design: Narrative review and synthesis Method: Related publications and references were identified through several ways: i) by structured searches in PubMed, Google scholar, Web of Knowledge and Science Direct using the combinations of ‘occupational noise’, ‘noise induced hearing loss; ‘hearing’, ‘knowledge’, awareness’, ‘hearing conservation program’, ‘hearing protection devices’ as key words ii) by inspecting the reference lists of relevant articles. Results: The number of publications within the audiology which address this topic, is rather limited. Additionally, a review and synthesis of literature from other related fields such as medical, health and occupational safety and health were also carried out to facilitate the discussion of the above mentioned scopes. Conclusion: This paper concludes that there are an emerging trends for the studies of occupational noise Malaysia in the literature. This discussion also identifies that there is a need of more contribution from researchers, enforcement bodies, law makers and senior management in companies in implementing safety culture in workplace.