A critical analysis of the current South African occupational health law and hearing loss

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dc.citation.issue2
dc.citation.volume67
dc.contributor.authorManning WG
dc.contributor.authorPillay M
dc.coverage.spatialSouth Africa
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-28T02:24:55Z
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-29T01:39:58Z
dc.date.available2020-03-24
dc.date.available2023-09-28T02:24:55Z
dc.date.available2023-09-29T01:39:58Z
dc.date.issued2020-03-24
dc.date.updated2023-09-05T02:37:14Z
dc.description.abstractBackground: Occupational health laws must recognise the constitutional requirement of substantive equality, and its role in ‘the progressive realisation’ of the rights provided by Section 27. Objectives: Our main aim is to review current South African occupational health law (vis-à-vis workers’ constitutional rights) in relation to hearing loss. We focus on gaps in the law regarding occupational hearing loss in South Africa. Method: Our review of legal texts relies on experience as a methodological device augmented by the use of a critical science. Guided by literature or evidence synthesis methodologies, South African primary and secondary laws were reviewed along with unpublished (non-peer-reviewed) grey literature. An established six-step framework guided our thematic analysis. A semantic approach aided the critical interpretation of data using the Bill of Rights as a core analytical framework. Results: Four themes are discussed: (1) separate and unequal regulatory frameworks; (2) monologic foregrounding of noise; (3) minimisation of vestibular disorders; and (4) dilution of ototoxic agents. The highly divided legal framework of occupational health and safety in South Africa perpetuates a monologic ‘excessive noise-hearing loss’ paradigm that has implications for the rights of all workers to equal protections and benefits. There is a need to harmonise occupational health and safety law, and expand the scope of hearing-protection legislation to include the full range of established ototoxic hazards. Conclusion: Occupational audiology is dominated by efforts to address noise-induced hearing loss. A ‘noise’ despite the reality of workers’ exposures to a range of ototoxic stressors that act synergistically on the ear, resulting in audio-vestibular disorders.
dc.format.extente1-e11
dc.identifierhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32242441
dc.identifier.citationManning WG, Pillay M. (2020). A critical analysis of the current South African occupational health law and hearing loss.. S Afr J Commun Disord. 67. 2. (pp. e1-e11).
dc.identifier.doi10.4102/sajcd.v67i2.694
dc.identifier.eissn2225-4765
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.harvestedMassey_Dark
dc.identifier.issn0379-8046
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/20190
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherAOSIS
dc.relation.isPartOfS Afr J Commun Disord
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.subjectaudiology
dc.subjectchemical
dc.subjecthearing loss
dc.subjectoccupational health
dc.subjectoccupational health and safety law
dc.subjectototoxicity
dc.subjectHearing Loss, Noise-Induced
dc.subjectHuman Rights
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectNoise, Occupational
dc.subjectOccupational Diseases
dc.subjectOccupational Exposure
dc.subjectOccupational Health
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.titleA critical analysis of the current South African occupational health law and hearing loss
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id445261
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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