As part of Tradies Awareness Month this August, optometrists and audiology professionals are joining forces to remind local Casey labourers, tradespeople, and home DIY-ers alike to be vigilant in looking after their eyes and ears to avoid long-term, preventative, and in some cases irreversible, damage to their eyesight and hearing.
This comes after new research commissioned by Specsavers Australia revealed around half of tradies surveyed were continuously putting their hearing and eye health at risk by not wearing protective equipment while at work.
There are 51,280 technicians, tradespeople, labourers, and machinery operators in Casey, with around half not taking the preventative measures to look after their eyes and ears, if the survey results were applied across the area.
On top of this, those that consider themselves ‘weekend tradies’ or do it yourself professionals, are also not prioritising their ear and eye health.
Survey results indicate, of the 73 per cent of Australians who do handy work around the house (mowing the lawn, gardening, painting, DIY projects with power tools), 39 per cent of them admit to not wearing hearing and/or eye protection for these activities.
Nationally, 56 per cent of tradies surveyed admit to not wearing hearing protection in loud working environments or around loud machinery, with 34 per cent forgetting to wear hearing protection and nine per cent believing loud noises won’t have an impact on their hearing.
Equally concerning, when it comes to protecting eyes from debris and UV rays, local tradies were even more inclined to adopt the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude with only half of those surveyed wearing protective googles all the time and 36 per cent ensuring they always wear their sunglasses when working outdoors.
The most common reasons the tradies surveyed gave for not wearing eye protection while working outdoors included that they don’t bother wearing them if it’s overcast, they forget to wear them and concerningly, that they can’t be bothered, or it’s too much effort.
Local Cranbourne Specsavers optometrist Kevin Middleton said looking after hearing and eyesight was vitally important.
“Once you lose (them), there is no getting (them) back,” Mr Middleton said.
“However, there are preventative measures you can take and it’s even more important for our tradies to be taking these precautions as their working environments make them more vulnerable to experiencing damage to their hearing and sight.
“Taking small precautions like putting on a pair of glasses to protect your eyes from UV rays, or goggles to protect your eyes from dust or, even earmuffs when working on loud machinery to prevent damage to your ears.
“These protective measures can make the world of difference and save you from experiencing a decline in your eyesight or hearing which as we know are pivotal to your quality of life.”
The study showed that, for some, their working environments may already be impacting their senses with 73 per cent saying they believe their hearing has been impacted by their work environment and for 12 per cent of those, this has been brought to their attention by a recent hearing test.
“Prevention is always better than cure and getting regular health checks is important in keeping your eyes and ears safe now and for years to come,” Mr Middleton said.
