Noise Protection At Work
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 have the aim of protecting workers from excessive noise at their place of work that could cause hearing damage. These regulations introduced new requirements (namely specific actions and surveillance checks) for the employer.
Exposure to noise at work can have a significant impact on the worker’s hearing and in some cases can cause a complete loss of hearing if the noise exposure is regularly reaching unsafe levels.
We can produce custom-made earplugs, providing your employees with the right hearing protection to work safely.
Hearing protection for employees
Hearing protection should be issued to employees if noise mitigation cannot reduce the noise to a safe level, or as a short-term solution while other control methods are investigated and implemented.
Employers should not rely on ear-level hearing protection as an alternative to ensuring acceptable noise levels at work.
Some of the requirements for achieving acceptable noise levels include:
- Providing hearing protection if they are requested by employees and if the exposure to noise at work is between the lower and upper exposure action values.
- Providing employees with hearing protection and ensuring proper use when exposure to noise at work exceeds the upper exposure action values.
- Identifying hearing protection zones
- Proper training and education
Avoiding Noise Pollution At Work
As an employee looking to reduce noise exposure at work, you can request hearing protection from your employer.
If the noise in your work environment is intrusive for most of the day – for example, if you must raise your voice to converse or you use noisy tools /machinery for over 30 minutes a day – then you can expect certain measures from your employer to help protect your hearing. Attending regular hearing checks will allow you to monitor your hearing thresholds and ensure there are no changes related to noise exposure at work.
We provide luxury custom-made hearing protection for use in industry, as well as motorsports where total blockage of sound is required. For the entertainment industry, we provide musicians’ earplugs which give even reduction of sound levels; music and speech are clear and natural, not muffled as with other off-the-shelf earplugs.
Protect your hearing or lose it! – Read the official HSE noise protection guide.
Book an appointment
Our clinical audiologists take your unique ear impressions for custom-made noise protection so call for an appointment or contact us online using the buttons below.