A GUIDE FOR EMPLOYERS ON CHOOSING AND USING THE RIGHT HEARING PROTECTION AT WORK

A need for hearing protection is probably the most common outcome of a noise assessment. Getting the right hearing protection is important, too little protection and employees remain at risk of hearing damage, while too much protection and people start to feel isolated, unable to hear things like forklifts or other vehicles, or simply unable to hear colleagues speak, so they don’t wear the protector properly to let more noise through, and are at risk of hearing damage again.

The noise assessment should make all the recommendations you need but if you want more information then this is your place.

Man wearing yellow ear muffs, standing in a factory, facing forwards wearing high vis

SNR is your guide to how strong a protector is

SNR - Single Number Rating, is a nice simple single figure which tells you how strong a hearing protector is. SNR ranges from 14 dB at the lowest to 39 dB at the highest, both a type of 3M foam plug.

Never use NRR, that is American and not for people who understand that cheese does not come out of a can.

A row of men working on a production line, all wearing overalls and ear muffs

Never buy the strongest protection you see

Hearing protection needs to be ‘enough but not too much’. Workplaces with average noise levels of around 90 dB(A) need hearing protection with an SNR of about 20 dB or so.

Hearing protection goes up to 39 dB but almost no workplace ever needs that, it is too much.

A woman standing in a factory, side-on, wearing grey ear muffs and grey overalls

Cheap doesn’t always mean nasty

Hearing protection varies in price but price isn’t a guide to how strong a it is. For example, 3M’s Optime I muff has an SNR of 27 for about £14, while Beeswift’s BBED has an SNR of 28 for about £3.

More expensive will usually last longer and be more comfortable, but isn’t always ‘more safety’.

What are the employer’s obligations for hearing protection?

If your noise assessment confirms there is a noise risk then there are certain elements which apply and which the employer must comply with.

Noise assessment gives levels between 80 and 84 dB(A)

You have to make suitable hearing protection available, where ‘suitable’ means it is appropriate for the noise risk and not too strong.
You have to put signs up saying hearing protection is available.
You must tell people it is there and how to use it, but whether they use it can be left up to them.

Noise assessment gives levels of 85 dB(A) and over

This is where it gets a little more onerous.

You have to make suitable hearing protection available which again means calculating to make sure it is correct for the noise risk, and not too weak or too strong. Again, never buy hearing protection on the basis that ‘strongest is best’. Link: Problems with over-protection.
You must have signs up saying it is mandatory.
Hearing protection must be issued and usage is mandatory. It should not be shared between people.
Everyone must be trained in how to use it, how and when to replace it, and who to report problems to.
For reusable hearing protection, you must have somewhere clean for them to store it when not in use.
This is the bit most companies fall over on: You must have systems in place to monitor compliance with it and that it is used correctly, and take steps to enforce this. That includes disciplinary action for people who repeatedly do not wear hearing protection. You cannot issue it, tell them to wear it, and then that is the end of it. Without this monitoring and enforcement you can and will still be liable for issues.

A paid or EAR soft FX ear plugs, yellow soft foam ear plugs

E-A-R Soft FX ear plugs, among the strongest hearing protection on the market with an SNR of 39 dB. Brilliant for trying to sleep in noisy hotels but pretty much no workplace needs this level.

There is nothing wrong with foam ear plugs as hearing protection though and they come in a huge range of strengths.

The lowest attenuating hearing protection on the market are foam plugs with an SNR of 14 dB, while the strongest on the market are also foam plugs with an SNR of 39 dB, and they cover all points between.

‘Low attenuating’ means it knocks a small bit of noise off.

How to know if a type of hearing protection is suitable for your noise risk

A woman wearing ear muffs, looking at a display of ear plugs on a shelf

A middle-aged doctor sitting at a desk, in a white coat, writing a letter

To do this you need two bits of information, the SNR for the hearing protection and the average dB(C) noise level for the workplace which should be in your noise assessment report.

Your simplest way is to put the figures into my free hearing protector assessment tool and it will tell you the answer, or you can do a simple calculation manually. Ideally you are then looking for a result of between 70 and 78 dB(A).

Music headphones in high noise areas

A man wearing music headphones in a factory

A common issue found in noise assessments is the use of standard music playing headphones or ear buds in a high noise area. It doesn’t matter if they are noise-cancelling, this still cannot be permitted.

Standard headphones are not hearing protection, whatever the marketing claims of the manufacturer, and the employer is failing to meet its obligations to supply certified hearing protection and enforce its use. In addition, the headphone reduces external noise but then internally adds it all back in again and more.

Can people be exempted from the use of hearing protection?

If it is a high noise area, i.e. over 85 dB(A), then the answer is that unless it is a very specific circumstance, no. They cannot sign disclaimers that they accept the risk of any hearing damage, these have no weight in law and are not allowed. GPs cannot give people an exemption from the use of hearing protection due to ear aches or headaches etc. There is one exception to that which is an employee who is so totally deaf that excess noise cannot damage their hearing further, but that is it.

The HSE can issue exemptions for very exceptional circumstances, but these are targeted at an organisation rather than as a blanket policy, are time-limited, and must be in writing.

Do forklift drivers have to use hearing protection?

A man driving a forklift truck in a factory, wearing ear muffs

If a forklift driver is entering a high noise area on the forklift and the noise assessment shows their noise exposure is 85 dB(A) or above, then there is no exemption for them from the need to wear hearing protection. It is a myth that forklift drivers are exempt from hearing protection, they are not.

Their hearing will still be damaged by excess noise, the fact they are on a forklift doesn’t stop that. What is important is that they have the right level of protection, that it is not excessive and does not isolate them from their surroundings.