Birdsong Hearing on Workplace Hearing Loss and Union Worker Benefits
Dr. Michael MacDonald, Director of Audiology, and Rick Renna, Chief Growth Officer of Birdsong Hearing Benefits, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss why hearing loss is one of the most underaddressed workplace health issues in America, and why union workers are disproportionately at risk.
With more than 22 million Americans exposed to hazardous workplace noise and only 16 percent of adults with hearing loss using hearing aids, MacDonald and Renna outlined the workforce consequences of untreated hearing loss. From a $12,000 annual income gap to elevated injury risk and mental health impacts, MacDonald and Renna explained how Birdsong is working with unions, health plans and employers to close the gap through accessible hearing benefits.
As part of May’s Mental Health Awareness Month discussions, MacDonald and Renna also provided the documented connection between hearing loss and depression, isolation and cognitive decline.
- More than 22 million Americans work in environments with hazardous noise levels, and 10 million are exposed to ototoxic chemicals that can damage the auditory system. But approximately 53 percent of exposed workers do not wear hearing protection, often due to lack of education or inadequate enforcement. This leaves union workers in the trades, heavy industry and other noisy occupations particularly vulnerable to preventable hearing loss.
- Workers with untreated hearing loss earn, on average, approximately $12,000 less per year than workers with normal hearing — roughly one and a half times less income. That impact extends beyond wages to career advancement, with some workers declining leadership or roles that require communication within their union or workplace out of fear that their hearing limitations will be exposed.
- Untreated hearing loss is associated with significantly elevated rates of depression, social isolation and cognitive decline. Workers with untreated hearing loss may face workers' compensation claims that are up to 33 percent higher annually due to increased risk of slips, falls and on-the-job accidents. This makes employer investment in hearing benefits a measurable productivity and safety strategy, not just a wellness perk.
Hearing Loss Is a Workforce Crisis — and Most Workers Don't Know It
Michael MacDonald and Rick Renna of Birdsong Hearing Benefits joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to raise awareness of one of the most overlooked occupational health issues in the American workforce.
More than 22 million workers face hazardous noise exposure on the job, 10 million are exposed to ototoxic chemicals that can damage hearing, but only 16 percent of adults with hearing loss use hearing aids. More than 80 percent go untreated.
The Occupational and Financial Toll
For union workers in the trades, manufacturing and other noisy industries, the consequences of untreated hearing loss compound over a career. Workers with untreated hearing loss earn approximately $12,000 less per year on average than those with normal hearing — and the career impact goes beyond wages.
Some workers quietly pass on advancement opportunities, such as trustee posts, leadership positions, and other jobs that require frequent communication, to avoid exposing their hearing limitations. Employers, meanwhile, face measurably lower productivity and workers’ compensation claims that can run up to 33 percent higher annually among employees with untreated hearing loss. This is largely driven by the elevated risk of slips, falls and workplace accidents.
The Mental Health Connection
With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, the link between hearing loss and mental health deserves more than a passing mention. MacDonald explained there can be a correlation between untreated hearing loss and mental wellness, including depression, social isolation and cognitive decline, including pre-dementia. These are all documented outcomes for workers who go without treatment.
MacDonald explained that when someone cannot hear well, they begin withdrawing from conversations, social situations and workplace interactions. They stop participating in meetings. They avoid family gatherings. They quietly withdraw from parts of life that require communication. That withdrawal compounds over time into something far more serious than a hearing problem, he said.
For workers, the mental health toll intersects with the physical and financial damage in ways that reinforce each other. A worker who is isolated and depressed is less productive, more prone to accidents and less likely to seek help for either the hearing loss or the mental health consequences that follow from it. Renna added that untreated hearing loss is associated with workers’ compensation claims running up to 33 percent higher annually. This is not just because of the physical risks of not hearing warnings, alarms, or instructions on a job site, but because the full-body toll of operating in an environment where you are constantly straining to hear creates fatigue, inattention, and elevated accident risk.
Treating the hearing loss, MacDonald said, does not just help the ear. It helps the whole person — reducing depression, restoring communication, strengthening family relationships, and returning workers to full engagement with their jobs and their lives.
A Changing Stigma
One of the more encouraging developments, both MacDonald and Renna shared, is the erosion of the stigma around hearing aids. Smaller, more sophisticated devices with Bluetooth streaming, tinnitus support, and near-invisible profiles have made hearing aids genuinely appealing. The prevalence of wireless earbuds has normalized having something in your ear entirely, they added. Younger workers who would never have considered a hearing aid a decade ago are increasingly open to getting tested and treated.
For union members, plan administrators, and employers looking to learn more, birdsonghearing.com is the starting point.
Go Behind the Scenes of the Labor Movement
Every victory at the bargaining table starts with workers standing together. From the shop floor to the statehouse, hear how activists are fighting for better wages, safer conditions and a stronger future. Subscribe to the America's Work Force Union Podcast to get the latest interviews with the leaders and organizers building worker power across America.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.
