Optometrists and audiology professionals are joining forces to remind local Geelong labourers, tradespeople, and home DIYers to be vigilant of looking after their eyes and ears to avoid long term damage.
August is Tradies National Health Month and the warning comes after new research commissioned by Specsavers Australia revealed that 60 per cent of tradies are putting their hearing and eye health at risk by not wearing protective equipment at work.
There are 32,398 technicians, tradespeople, labourers and machinery operators in Geelong, 60 per cent of which are not taking the preventative measures to look after their eyes and ears, the report said.
On top of this, those that consider themselves ‘weekend tradies’ or do it yourself professionals, are
also not prioritising their ear and eye health.
Of the 73 per cent of Australians who do handy work around the house (mowing the lawn, gardening, painting, DIY projects with power tools), 61 per cent admitted to not wearing hearing and/or eye projection.
“We can’t stress enough how important it is to look after your hearing and your eyesight,” Geelong Specsavers audiology professional Monica Jones said.
“Once you lose it, there is no getting it back. 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.”
Preventative measures included wearing earplugs, earmuffs, sunglasses or safety goggles, Ms Jones said.
The study consisted of an online survey conducted between July 13 and 20. It was commissioned by Specsavers Australia and undertaken by YouGov. The sample comprised 514 tradespeople.
