Mining, and Oil and Gas Extraction (MOG) Statistics

At a glance

  • View hearing loss trends and statistics among Mining, and Oil and Gas Extraction (MOG) workers.
  • Approximately 18% of all MOG workers have hearing difficulty.
  • About 11% of all MOG workers have tinnitus.
  • 28% of noise-exposed MOG workers report not wearing hearing protection.
Oil pumps at sunset.

Noise, ototoxic chemicals, and hearing protection

  • About 52% of all workers in MOG have been exposed to hazardous noise in the last year.1
  • Approximately 44% of all workers in MOG have been exposed to ototoxic chemicals in the last year.1 These chemicals can cause damage to different parts of the ear.
  • About 33% of all workers in MOG have been exposed to both hazardous noise and ototoxic chemicals in the last year.1
  • 28% of noise-exposed MOG workers report not wearing hearing protection.2

Hearing loss and tinnitus

  • Approximately 18% of all MOG workers have hearing difficulty.1
  • About 11% of all MOG workers have tinnitus, which is an annoying buzzing, rushing, or ringing noise in your ears or in your head.3
  • About 24% of noise-exposed tested Mining workers and 14% of noise-exposed tested Oil and Gas Extraction workers have a material hearing impairment.4 Hearing impairment is hearing loss that impacts day-to-day activities. Material hearing impairment is hearing loss severe enough that a person has difficulty understanding speech.
  • 17% of noise-exposed tested MOG workers have hearing impairment in both ears.5

Trends

Trends in hearing loss among noise-exposed tested mog workers (1981-2010)6

  • The prevalence for MOG increased 1% over 20 years (1991-2010) as compared with a 1% increase for all industries during the same time period.
  • The incidence for MOG increased less than 1% over 10 years (2001-2010) as compared with a 1% reduction for all industries during the same time period.
  • The adjusted risk for MOG decreased 7% over 10 years (2001-2010) as compared with a 12% reduction for all industries over the same time period. There was insufficient sample size to examine the MOG adjusted risks from 1986-2000, and this was not plotted.
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Graph showing prevalence of hearing loss by time period and industry sector, 1981-2010, for 1,816,812 workers
Adapted from Figure 1, Masterson et al. 2015
View Larger
Graph showing incidence of hearing loss by time period and industry sector, 1986-2010, for 560,320 workers
Adapted from Figure 2, Masterson et al. 2015

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Content Source:
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  1. Masterson EA, Morata TC, Themann CL [2025]. Prevalence of ototoxic chemical exposure, noise exposure and hearing difficulty among workers in the United States, 2023. J Occup Environ Med, 67(10):785-797.
  2. Green DR, Masterson EA, Themann CL [2021]. Prevalence of hearing protection device non-use among noise-exposed U.S. workers in 2007 and 2014. Am J Ind Med, 64(12):1002-1017.
  3. Masterson EA, Themann CL, Luckhaupt SE, Li J, Calvert GM [2016]. Hearing difficulty and tinnitus among U.S. workers and non-workers in 2007. Am J Ind Med, 59:290-300.
  4. Lawson SM, Masterson EA, Azman AS [2019]. Prevalence of hearing loss among noise-exposed workers within the Mining, and Oil and Gas Extraction Sectors, 2006-2015. Am J Ind Med, 62(10):826-837.
  5. Masterson EA, Bushnell PT, Themann CL, Morata TC [2016]. Hearing impairment among noise-exposed workers — United States, 2003–2012. MMWR, 65(15):389-394.
  6. Masterson EA, Deddens JA, Themann CL, Bertke S, Calvert GM [2015]. Trends in worker hearing loss by industry sector, 1981-2010. Am J Ind Med, 58:392-401.