Can music headphones be used at work?
Can standard music headphones be used at work in a noisy job in place of hearing protection?
Key points: Using music headphones as hearing protection at work
If there is noise risk then an employer has to provide hearing protection and monitor and enforce its use.
‘Hearing protection’ means a product certified to EN 352 and all hearing protection must meet this standard.
Most standard music headphones, even if noise cancelling, are not certified to this and are not hearing protection. Under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 they cannot be used as hearing protection.
Apple AirPods Pro 3 are certified to EN 352 and carry SNR ratings. Employers can choose to allow these.
For most headphones, the noise cancelling reduces external noise but the headphones will add it back again, and more.
Hearing protection with Bluetooth is different - it is certified as hearing protection and has internal playback volume limits. Those are OK to use.
GPs or HR cannot over-rule this and cannot permit non-EN 352 certified music headphones to be used, even if noise cancelling, and even if for ‘medical reasons’.
When I refer to ‘headphones’ that applies equally to in-ear bud types, over-ear or bone conduction styles.
If you have no noise risk
If you have no noise risk in somewhere such as an office then crack on as there is nothing stopping them being used there. I do sometimes see companies who choose to ban them there as well, usually on the grounds of ‘you can’t hear the fire alarm when wearing them’. I don’t see any reason for this to be an issue though as you can easily check if people can still hear things like fire alarms, and there is no law saying they can’t be used.
They are also a little dodgy in places like warehouses where there may be no noise risk but there are vehicles such as forklifts whizzing around so I would caution against standard music headphones there too.
All the following comments pertain to jobs which do have a noise risk, and it is not all negative, there are suggested solutions as well.
Hearing protection needs to be EN 352 certified
Employers have a legal duty to provide hearing protection which is certified as hearing protection under a branch of EN 352, and carries a CE or UKCA mark confirming it has been assessed as hearing protection. It will have performance figures such as an SNR value.
This is an absolute duty: GPs, HR or anyone else cannot exempt someone from wearing hearing protection in a high noise area, nor can they say it is OK to wear non-certified noise cancelling music headphones.
If music playing headphones do not have EN 352 certification then it is not allowed for them to be used in a high noise workplace.
There is a simple rule here - if you can’t lay your hands on a certified SNR figure for a product, then it is not hearing protection. Sony, Bose, etc. do not have a claimed SNR figure for any of their products, and Apple only have it for the AirPods Pro 3, not the rest of their range.
Apple AirPods Pro 3 as hearing protection
AirPods Pro 3 are certified for use as hearing protection at work in the UK.
The AirPods Pro 2, Air Pods Pro, or the AirPods through to AirPods 4 (no ‘Pro’) are not certified as hearing protection in the UK.
Note on AirPods Pro 2: Apple’s website says they also have the hearing protection function but this is the USA and other select territories only, this does not include the UK or EU. It is available in the UK as a function in the UK but is not EN 352 certified. If you Google it, the AI often says they are certified for use here - the AI is wrong. This is the Data Sheet for AirPods Pro 2 which does not list the UK or EU.
AirPods Pro 3 SNR ratings
The level of protection depends on the mode the AirPods Pro 3 are in:
| AirPods Pro 3 mode | SNR | Assumed protection |
|---|---|---|
| Passive (noise cancellation off) | 18 dB | 14 dB |
| Transparency mode | 14 dB | 10 dB |
| Adaptive Audio (right slider position) | 15 dB | 11 dB |
| Adaptive Audio (default position) | 26 dB | 22 dB |
| Adaptive Audio (left slider position) | 29 dB | 25 dB |
| Noise Cancellation mode | 29 dB | 25 dB |
SNR figures are as published by Apple, see Data Sheet link below. Assumed Protection is the level of noise reduction under the ear after making the 4 dB allowance as required by the HSE in L108.
As you can see, the level of external noise protection depends on what mode the AirPods Pro 3 are in, but as a minimum the SNR is 14 dB in Transparency mode, the one which actively lets external noise through, increasing to an impressive SNR of 29 dB in full Noise Cancellation mode.
Apple’s Data Sheet on the AirPods Pro 3 can be viewed here and this includes the full HML and Octave Band data.
Thank you to George who emailed me the Technical Data Sheet for the AirPods Pro 3.
What employers need to do if AirPods Pro 3 are used at work
As the AirPods Pro 3 are EN 352:2020 certified and have SNRs it means they can be used at work, but that does introduce some management controls employers would need to have in place.
Check the model being used
As this is only the AirPods Pro 3, employers would need to have checked and confirmed the model of AirPods being used by employees.
Hearing protection mode must be on
The hearing protection function only works when it is turned on for the AirPods Pro 3. This is turned on by default but employers would need to have a system to routinely check it has not been turned off.
Why would someone turn it off? Because Hearing Protection mode reduces the maximum volume the AirPods Pro 3 will play back at. It limits the playback volume of the AirPods Pro 3 to 82 dB(A) and people may be tempted to disable that to enable louder playback. If they do that and get hearing damage then that would be one for the employer’s legal teams to fight over if a claim comes in, I wouldn’t like to guess which way that would go.
Make sure the noise cancellation mode is suitable for the noise risk
The variable SNR levels mean an employer cannot be quite sure which level of protection someone is receiving. In Noise Cancellation mode the AirPods Pro 3 are good for an all-day average noise level of up to 104 dB(A), higher than is the case in most workplaces.
Personally though, I would recommending employers assume the lowest level of noise attenuation, so 14 dB. In reality that is good for average noise of up to 89 dB(A) all day, still good enough for a lot of workplaces.
Employers could use the higher SNR if they wish but would then again need to have systems in place to routinely check employees are using the Noise Cancellation mode and not a lesser one.
Providing the assumed level of protection is enough for the noise risk, they are OK to use.
Must be fitted properly
The same caveats apply to AirPods Pro 3 as hearing protection as also apply to a lot of other active hearing protection, in that they are not good for high-level impact noise such as shooting and to get the stated SNR they have to be fitted properly, same as all ear plugs.
If employers are happy to have these controls in place then Apple AirPods Pro 3 can be used as hearing protection, but those management systems must be robust.
Other types of noise cancelling standard headphones
The information below applies to all the other headphones which are not EN 352 certified.
Headphones under ear muffs, or bone conduction alongside ear plugs.
This cannot be permitted.
If you have an ear muff which is knocking say 30 dB off the ambient noise but the person then wears ear buds under the muff, those buds will add that 30 dB, and a lot more, back in.
The same applies to bone conduction styles. An ear plug will knock the ambient noise down a lot but then bone conduction adds it back in again. Bone conduction has exactly the same impact on hearing as ‘normal’ headphones, both damage the cochlea. Noise cancelling removes noise, then music adds it back.
People don’t tend to wear headphones quietly, nobody does. As a noise-nerd I am more aware of noise risks than most, but if I switch from my Sony XM5 or AirPods Pro 2 headphones (which don’t have the hearing protection function) to my ISOTunes hearing protection which has volume-limited music playback, the ISOTunes sound incredibly quiet. ISOTunes are hearing protection first and foremost so the music playback is limited to below 85 dB(A) meaning they can be used at work.
That means if the noise-cancelling reduces external noise levels by 25 dB then the music playback in standard headphones without a hearing protection mode will add that noise back in again plus a lot more, and if they are wearing them all day every day at work their hearing will be damaged.
Bone conduction are no different, they will still add noise back in even if hearing protection is worn.
As a follow-on from that, if someone has worn non-EN 352 certified music headphones in a high noise area instead of hearing protection, under UK law the employer now has a liability for any music-induced hearing loss they may suffer.
The employer has them working in a noise risk area and has not enforced the use of proper hearing protection therefore they now have no defence against any issues. If that person puts a claim in for hearing loss saying it has been caused by their job, the employer will be getting the cheque book out as they will more than likely lose a claim even if the loss is actually due to headphone use.
A medical claim of a need to use them.
This was a case I came across on a noise assessment - an employee claimed that they needed to wear their music headphones at work as they got too anxious to work unless they were listening to music. They had Beats headphones in this instance.
However, their claimed need to listen to music to control anxiety still does not mean all music headphones can be used when working in a high noise area. AirPods Pro 3 would be OK assuming the SNR was enough for the noise risk, but not other types.
There ways of dealing with it are:
The employer provides hearing protection which has built-in music playback. (Care is needed here though as then the other 250 people in the factory will make the same claim and that’s a huge bill. I would recommend this is only done with a G.P.’s letter confirming the issue).
They are moved to a non-noise area, if there is one.
They personally get some AirPods Pro 3 and steps are taken to ensure the noise cancelling mode used is enough for the noise risk in their workplace.
They simply get on with work not wearing them. An unpopular opinion I know, but I am old-school enough to believe an employer cannot accommodate every issue and that not everyone is suitable for every job. If it is an issue and there is no other resolution then they need to get a different job as the basic rule remains - if there is a noise risk then hearing protection must be used.
There is more on medical exemptions from hearing protection here but there is no medical claim which can mean normal music headphones are OK to be used in a high noise area.
My recommended solution - it is not all bad news
There are a lot of types of hearing protection out there which do have music and/or radio playback facilities so get those. These hearing protectors are hearing protection first and foremost, not headphones with a hearing protection function. With these, the internal volume playback is limited so they cannot go loud enough to damage hearing but also cannot go loud enough to isolate someone and stop them hearing things like alarms or someone shouting to them.
There is a lot of rubbish on the market so be careful - some of the products on places like Amazon are truly terrible. I tried some Protear muffs with Bluetooth and they were like listening to some 1980s walkman headphones while sitting with a metal bucket on your head.
I use the ISOTunes range and they have a selection of muffs and in-ear plugs, some with an active feature which lets low volume noise through while others have a more basic fixed noise reduction level. 3M and Honeywell also make good products of this type.
I use the ISOTunes Air Defenders a lot but sadly ISOTunes have discontinued these in the UK. They do still have the Link models which are similar, if more expensive. With this type of hearing protector you can still hear everything going on around you so they do not isolate the wearer.
I have also now ordered some AirPods Pro 3 for use in high noise areas as the SNR in noise cancellation mode is more than enough for pretty much all the workplaces I go into.
FAQ: Using music headphones as hearing protection
My AirPods reduce external noise a lot, can I use those?
No, AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro 2 are not certified as hearing protection and cannot be used, same as any non-certified noise cancelling headphones.
This seems a bit petty, what is the difference between my noise cancelling headphones and hearing protection with Bluetooth built-in?
Noise cancelling headphones reduce the external noise but not by an amount which is consistent or certified to the international standard EN 352. They also play back internally at levels far in excess of the noise exposure limits for work and at levels which isolate the wearer from hearing alarms, vehicles, etc.
Hearing protection with Bluetooth functionality are certified as hearing protection and carry and recognised SNR value, as do AirPods Pro 3. Internally, they will not play back at a volume which is loud enough to cause hearing damage or isolate the wearer.
I have some headphones which say they are EN 352 certified and have an SNR but they are not AirPods Pro 3, can I use them?
If you can give the employer something proving the certification and SNR, and if the SNR is suitable for the workplace noise risk, then yes, they can be used.
As a massive favour, if you do have that, it would be great if you could email me and I will add them to the ‘OK to use’ information as I suspect more and more products will get certified in the coming months and years.
More help and advice on hearing protection at work
Article last reviewed and updated June 2026: ISOTunes discontinuing Air Defenders in the UK, Apple AirPods Pro 3 are EN 352 certified.
