Many people don’t realise how common hearing loss at work is or that their workplace is too loud. Hearing loss is a cumulative injury, which means that every time you don’t wear the correct hearing protection then the damage gets a little worse.
All working environments should know the decibel levels of all the machines in each area of the buildings. You can test the decibel level of any machine with a decibel meter. If it does fall outside the legal range for noise levels, then the employer should conduct an evaluation and proceed accordingly.
The main responsibilities for an employer are to regularly measure noise levels and to provide the correct hearing protection, conduct evaluations on the adequacy of the hearing protectors and provide training for employees on using the hearing protection adequately.
There are a few different ways to help reduce the damage that noise can do on your ears at work, such as maintaining and lubricating the machinery regularly, choosing quieter equipment and setting up sound barriers if possible. You should also try limiting the operation of noisy machines to when less workers will become exposed, limiting individual worker times at a noisy machine, and providing a quiet area for employees to take a break.
Another solution to hearing safety at work is providing the correct hearing protection. Ear defenders and ear plugs are designed to protect the wearer from loud noises. Ear defenders go over the ear for general industrial use and protection or specialised high noise protection.
Hearing protection should be issued to employees where extra protection is needed above what has been achieved using noise control or as a short-term measure while other methods of controlling noise are being developed. You should not use hearing protection as an alternative to controlling noise by technical and organisational means. For more advice visit the HSE website here.
Back to blog
