How to choose the right hearing protection at work
Hearing protection is at the bottom of the list of controls measured in the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, but it is the most common noise control in place across industry.
Choosing the right hearing protection is an important noise risk control measure but that means finding protection which is suitable for the specific noise risk, not always getting the strongest protectors available.
This is some guidance on the process for hearing protection selection following a noise assessment, along with a library of the more detailed guidance articles expanding on specific aspects of hearing protection use at work.
Included below are some free tools to help with identifying the correct hearing protection, including what SNR is most suitable for your noise risk and a hearing protection selector tool which allows you to enter a noise level and it will list some suitable hearing protectors by name and type.
Key points: Selecting the appropriate hearing protection at work
Hearing protection needs to be chosen for the specific noise risk.
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 require employers to provide suitable hearing protection, not the strongest available.
The HSE say in L108 that you should aim for a noise level at the ear of around 70 to 78 dB.
The tools below can give you the names of specific hearing protectors which are good for your noise risk.
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 shows noise between 80-84 dB(A) or 135-136 dB(C)
You have to make suitable hearing protection available, where ‘suitable’ means it is appropriate for the noise risk.
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 can be left up to them.
Noise assessment shows noise of 85 dB(A) or 137 dB(C) and over
An employer has to make suitable hearing protection available which means calculating to make sure it is correct for the noise risk - don’t go on the basis of ‘strongest is best’.
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.
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.
Be aware that hearing protection has an expiry date so you need to have systems in place to keep within that.
How to choose the correct hearing protection to use at work
SNR is your guide to how strong a hearing protector is
SNR - Single Number Rating, is a nice simple single figure which tells you how strong a hearing protector is. SNR ranges from ≈16 dB at the lowest to 39 dB at the highest.
Never use NRR, that is American and is only for people who think cheese can be squirted out of a can.
Never buy the strongest hearing 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.
There is a point where stronger hearing protection gives lesser compliance and an increase in risk.
Cheap doesn’t always mean nasty, it just won’t last as long
Hearing protection varies in price but price isn’t a guide to how strong 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.
3M’s Optime muffs are built to shrug off the zombie apocalypse, while the BBED can be a little more fragile.
SNR attenuation bands and their suitable noise levels
As a rough guide, these are the good hearing protection SNR values to aim for when your noise levels fall into these bands.
Hearing protector search tools
As there is a large amount of hearing protection on the market, it can be hard to choose specific makes and models to use at work. These tools give you some advice on which ones to choose for your noise risk.
Appropriate hearing protection search tool
This has around 145 different types of hearing protection. Enter your noise risk and this will list the ones which are appropriate, or show which are under-protecting or over-protecting.SNR checking tool
If you enter the SNR of a hearing protector in this, it will tell you what noise level it is most suitable for.SNR and noise level checking tool
This one lets you check a specific protector by entering your noise level and your chosen protector’s SNR, and it will tell you whether it is suitable or not.
Appropriate hearing protection search tool
This tool allows you to enter the known noise level - using average dB(C) - and it will give you the names some suitable hearing protectors for your noise risk along with the noise level you can expect people to hear under the protector.
You can filter it by type and the note in each specifies more detail such as whether it is detectable (so food-industry safe) or helmet-mounted. Again, to stress, to use SNR in this way you need to have the average dB(C) noise data from your noise assessment, not dB(A) and especially not the peak dB(C).
The abbreviations
Muff (hel) - a helmet-mounted ear muff, one which clips on to a hard hat.
Muff (music) - an ear muff which has Bluetooth (or less commonly these days, an aux connection) for music playback.
Plug (banded) - has soft plug-style ends which typically sit on the ear canal rather than inside it, connected by a hard plastic band.
Plug (detect) - a metal detectable ear plug so classed as ‘food safe’.
Plug (cord) - where the two plugs have a soft cord connecting them.
Plug (var) - come in several styles such as corded or uncorded.
Plug (music) - like the muffs, a plug which has Bluetooth for music playback.
Individual SNR checking tools
This tool allows you to enter a specific SNR level and it will tell you what kind of average noise level this is suitable for. This tool is based on the wearer experiencing a noise level of 75 dB under the protector - this tool targets the 'perfect' level rathr than a wider band.
This tool allows you to enter your actual noise level and the SNR of a specific hearing protector and it will calculate whether this protector is suitable for your noise risk. This one uses the slightly wider bandings in the boxes above rather than just targeting an individual level.
Both of these tools let you check general hearing protection needs based on SNR. There are also other methods called HML and Octave Band but the HSE list SNR in L108 as a suitable method, and as it is the simplest to use and comes out with the same answer anyway, I would always recommend using SNR.
Recommended types of hearing protectors for use at work
As there is a bewildering array of hearing protection on the market, if you aren’t sure which to choose these are the ones I would recommend for each of the SNR bands.
Loop Engage 2 plugs (SNR 16): Reusable, comfy and you can hear speech clearly.
Site SEP200 banded plugs (SNR 16): From Screwfix, low SNR, good for on-off situations.
Loop Experience 2 plugs (SNR 17): Reusable, not isolating, comfy.
Skytec Sota DO23 (SNR 19) Detectable plugs for the food industry but can be used anywhere.
JSP Soundstopper banded plugs (SNR 20): Another good low-SNR banded plug.
As far as I am aware, there are no muffs which fall into this bracket.
Moldex Mellows plugs (SNR 21): Disposable, comfy and a good SNR for most places. Good ones to go for.
Ultimate Industrial EP103X muff (SNR 21): Low cost and a nice low SNR, one of the lowest SNR muffs.
Uvex Whisper plugs (SNR 22): Reusable and also have a detectable version for the food industry.
E-A-R Caps (SNR 24): Banded plugs, again good where the hearing protection need is on/off.
Peltor Optime I muff (SNR 26): Reasonably low SNR, available in several formats, very robust in daily use.
Portwest PW40 muff (SNR 27): Cheaper than chips but a decent choice.
Delta Plus Interlagos 2 muff (SNR 29): Good build quality and comfy.
Apple AirPods Pro 3 (SNR 29): Yes indeed, certified as proper hearing protection, SNRs 14 to 29 dB.
Moldex Rockets plugs (SNR 30): Reusable so can last quite a long time.
E-A-R Classic plugs (SNR 31): The yellow foam tube ones, been around for yonks but still do the job.
Peltor Optime II muff (SNR 31): Like all Peltors, cracking build quality, assuming people don’t lose them.
Skytec Sota RP15 plugs (SNR 32): Detectable, for food industries with a very high noise level.
Honeywell Laser Lite plugs (SNR 35): Disposable foam ones, the ones which look like pear drops, comfy.
Moldex M6 muff (SNR 35): A little pricey but comfy and very effective.
Delta Plus ConicDE plugs (SNR 36): Detectable so suitable for the food industry but need a high noise.
ISOTunes Pro plugs (SNR 36): A plug with Bluetooth music playback, good in place of AirPods, etc.
Peltor X5A muffs (SNR 37): Getting towards as strong as hearing protection can be.
E-A-Rsoft FX plugs (SNR 37): About as strong as it gets, disposable, big but soft so comfy to wear.
The hearing protection I use myself
For what it’s worth, I come across a lot of different hearing protection every day but as I buy my own, the hearing protectors I choose to use myself are:
For doing noise assessments, my preferred choice is now the Apple AirPods Pro 3 as they are indeed certified for use as hearing protection in the UK, otherwise the Loop Engage 2 plugs are my other most-used hearing protection.
I also regularly wield a chainsaw with reckless abandon at the weekends and for that I use the Moldex M6 muffs.
As I spend a lot of time in hotels, for the strongest noise attenuation but still being comfy I use the E-A-Rsoft FX plugs for sleeping as I always seem to get the late-night clog dancer doing rehearsals in the room above me.
I also use the Loop Experience 2 plugs on my motorbike as they ‘take the top off’ the noise without being isolating and you can still hear everything around you, which would also apply to workplaces.
Beware of some online sellers
There are a lot of companies selling via places such as Amazon and eBay which have great sounding hearing protection and quite slick sales pages, but everything is not quite as it seems.
Often they make no mention of certification to EN352, and some will say things like ‘25dB of noise reduction’ without actually saying that is a certified SNR of 25 dB.
Others say things like ‘suitable for home, work, shooting, DIY’ but that is not confirmation they are actually certified for use at work.
If they only quote an ‘NRR’ figure but no SNR, don’t buy them.
What to look for when buying hearing protection
FAQ: Common questions relating to hearing protection at work
Sometimes questions come up as employers look into hearing protection at work.
We have some quiet areas and some noisy ones, can we allow people to use hearing protection in the quieter areas?
That’s absolutely fine, they can choose to wear them in quieter areas if they want, there are no blanket prohibitions on that. The only time it may become a problem is in places with things like forklifts whizzing around as you don’t want to stop people hearing those, or if it then meant they can’t hear sounds like fire alarms, but as long as that’s not the case then they can wear them if they wish.
We have hearing protection with a good low SNR but I have one person who really wants the strongest possible protection, are we allowed to do that?
The employer has to ensure the hearing protection they provide by default is suitable for the noise risk, which includes making sure it is not over-protecting (see below). But, if someone actively chooses to have stronger hearing protection than is needed then the issues of non-compliance which arise with over-protection are not going to be a problem, so as long as they can still hear any alarms or vehicles moving around them (if there are any) then it is OK.
We have been told our hearing protection is too strong, surely there is no such thing as too much protection?
As a very rough summary, hearing protection is something of a bell-curve. If it is too weak then there is a lot of risk, if it is spot-on then the risk is controlled, but then when it gets to be too strong people stop wearing it properly to allow more sound through and the risk increases again. As hearing protection gets too strong then generally risk goes up, not down. I have more detail on this here: risks of over-protection.
I have an employee with a letter from his G.P. saying he is exempt from using hearing protection as he has a medical issue with it, is this allowed?
No, a G.P. cannot exempt someone from a need to wear hearing protection in a high-noise area, they do not have the power to over-rule the law. If there is a noise risk then hearing protection is needed and the HSE are very clear in L108 stating that a medical condition does not exempt someone from the need to wear hearing protection if a noise risk is identified.
I have issued hearing protection and told them when to wear it, surely it is up to them to comply now?
No, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 place an equal duty on the employer to monitor usage of hearing protection and to take steps to enforce usage where issues are identified.
I have someone who wants to use noise-cancelling headphones instead of hearing protection, is that OK?
A very common question these days but one with an easy answer - no, almost all models of these cannot be used if there is a noise risk and people need to wear hearing protection. Standard noise-cancelling headphones (in-ear or over-ear) are not certified as hearing protection so cannot be used. If you have hearing protection with Bluetooth music playback then that is fine as they are hearing protection first and foremost. An exception is Apple AirPods Pro 3 which are certified as hearing protection and carry proper SNR levels, so provided they are good enough for the noise risk and management controls are in place these can be used.
You can read more on this here: noise-cancelling headphones as hearing protection.
Do forklift drivers have to wear hearing protection?
Yes, there is no blanket exemption for forklift drivers from the need to wear hearing protection if they are in a high noise area which is a hearing protection zone.
Why can’t we buy hearing protection based on the NRR level?
NRR means Noise Reduction Rating and is a system used in the USA to assess hearing protection. Here in the UK, and in the EU, we use SNR - the Single Number Rating. NRR and SNR are not the same, they are calculated differently and can have quite a difference between their values. NRR has no relevance here and cannot be used.
For transparency, what kickbacks or referral payments do you get for recommending hearing protection?
None. As you can see, there are no links to suppliers on any of the recommended hearing protection named on this website, there is no way for any supplier to know a recommendation was made here if you choose to buy them. This is also why I do not sell hearing protection - the issue of raising a hearing protection problem in a noise assessment but then also selling the solution seems too much of a conflict of interest.
More advice and guidance on specific areas of hearing protection at work
As I have spent over 30 years working in workplace noise safety, I’ve identified some of the common issues and questions which come up with hearing protection and put together short articles giving advice and guidance on them.
