NOISE SAFETY ARTICLES
A blog of articles and general information on all things relating to noise assessments or noise surveys at work, or managing employee noise exposure risks.
Advice and information on occupational noise assessments and general tips for managing noise safety risks at work.
Noise assessments ● Hearing protection ● Health surveillance ● Noise Training
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Why workplace hearing testing (health surveillance for hearing) is broken
Why the UK’s hearing health surveillance system as required by the HSE in L108 is no longer fit for purpose, and why I stopped providing workplace hearing tests.
Types of noise meter - hand-held, wearable or area meters in a noise assessment?
There are two basic types of noise meter, hand-held and wearable, (also called dosimeters or dosimeters). Wearables have a use but care is needed with them, especially if they are going to be used as the primary means of gathering data in a noise assessment.
The employer’s obligations for noise safety
Employers must manage noise risks in their workplace, but what they need to do depends on how loud it is. This describes what is needed depending on the findings of a noise assessment.
How to choose the right hearing protection
A need for hearing protection is a common outcome of a noise assessment or a noise survey but how do you choose the right hearing protection for your noise risk, especially as 'strongest is best' is usually not the case.
How long should a noise assessment take?
A common question is how long a noise assessment will take on a site. It is influenced by a few things such as variation in work on the site, production cycles and number of people present. These are the factors influencing how long a noise assessment takes place on the day.
Best hearing protection for riding a motorbike?
Noise levels can be very high when riding a motorbike - easily in the mid-90s dB(A) which can damage hearing. Ear plugs need to be enough to remove some of the noise but not isolate you from traffic, and they need to be soft and not painful under the helmet. These are some recommendations.
Over-protection - what are the issues?
Over-protection often comes from well-meaning employers buying the strongest hearing protection they can find - hearing protection with the highest SNR. They mean well but it often actually increases risk and for the employer, means more of the money they spend on hearing protection is wasted.
How often does hearing testing have to be done?
One of the key elements of a noise assessment is identifying who needs to be included in what the HSE call ‘health surveillance’, a slightly Orwellian way of saying ‘hearing testing’. It has to be repeated and this is a guide to how often.
Can disclaimers or GP letters be used to not wear hearing protection?
Often people offer to sign a disclaimer saying they accept the risk of hearing damage from not wearing protection, or they produce a letter from a doctor saying they do not have to wear it, but both are no good.
Do forklift drivers have to wear hearing protection?
There is no exemption from the need to wear hearing protection for forklift drivers. High noise will have the same impact on them as on any other person. Their hearing will still be damaged by noise.
What do the hearing test result categories mean?
Part of a noise assessment is to identify who needs to be included in a hearing testing programme, and the HSE specify the result categories to be used. This is what the categories are and what they mean.
Are medical exemptions possible from a need to wear hearing protection?
It is common to hear someone claim a medical exemption from the need to wear hearing protection at work, sometimes backed up with a note or letter from a GP, or sometimes self-claimed, but are medical exemptions from the need to wear hearing protection possible?
When to repeat a noise assessment
A noise assessment does need to be reviewed or repeated from scratch sometimes, but you don’t always have to get someone in to do it. This is guidance on when to review a noise assessment or get a new noise assessment done.
Hearing aids and hearing protection in high noise areas
One of the fairly common issues in a noise assessment concerns people who wear hearing aids but who also work in a high noise area so fall into the requirements for hearing protection to be worn.
How do you know if you need a noise assessment?
Now that is a good question, the Noise Regs require an employer to do a noise assessment if they think there is a noise risk, but how do you know you have a noise risk without doing a noise assessment…?
Noise risk assessment vs Noise assessment vs Noise Survey
Noise survey vs noise assessment vs noise risk assessment - what do they all mean, what is the difference between them and what do employers need to have in place?
Can music headphones be used at work?
Can someone use noise cancelling headphones in place of hearing protection in a high noise environment? Short answer is no, not if there is a noise risk as they are not certified as hearing protection.
What to do if someone refuses to wear hearing protection.
In a noise assessment, it is common to hear a comment along the lines of ‘we’ve given them hearing protection and told them to wear it, so what else can we do’, but that is not the end of the employer’s obligations for hearing protection.
Noise levels in an office
A common question which comes up on noise assessments is what classes a dangerous noise in an office environment, with people asking what the safe levels are for noise in offices. The issue is often more about distracting noise rather than dangerous noise.
Risks to pregnant women and unborn babies from high noise
A client recently asked me if pregnant women are OK to work in an environment with a noise level which is considered ‘high’, so over 85 dB(A), or whether the noise can cause risk to either the pregnancy or foetus. That was an interesting one so I looked into it further.