Some chemicals can damage your hearing. These are called ototoxic chemicals. Construction workers are also at risk of hearing damage from noise exposure.
About one in five construction workers report that they have some hearing problems.
For an ototoxic chemical to affect the hearing system, it first has to enter the bloodstream, either by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through skin. The chemical then circulates to the blood vessels supplying the inner ear and damages the cells.