Top 10 Tips for Protecting Your Employee’s Hearing at Work

Employers have a responsibility by law to protect the hearing of their employees by eliminating or reducing risks from exposure to noise.

The complexity of the actions required will depend on the level of risk, but the steps you should take to protect your employees are very similar – keep reading to learn more!

1. Determine whether you have a noise problem in your workplace

If any of the below statements apply to the noise in your workplace, you likely have a noise issue:

It is intrusive for most of the working day e.g. a consistently busy road, crowded environment etc.
It is created by impacts (e.g. pneumatic impact tools, hammering etc.), or explosive sources
Employees use noisy machinery or powered tools for over half an hour per day
It is common in your industry e.g. construction, foundries, engineering etc.
It causes your employees to have to raise their voices to have a normal conversation when about 2 m apart for at least part of the day

2. Assess the risks

Once you’ve identified that noise is a problem in your workplace, you should assess the risks to determine if further action is needed and what controls you will need to implement.

Your risk assessment should cover:

Where the risk may come from and who is likely to be affected
An estimate of employee exposure
Actions required to ensure you are compliant with the law, such as providing hearing protection
The identification of any employees who need to be provided with health surveillance

When estimating employee exposure, you should take into account:

Work they do, or are likely to do, as part of their role
The way work is carried out
Variability from one day to the next

3. Provide health surveillance

If your risk assessment has shown that health surveillance is required, you must provide it for all your employees who are at risk of hearing damage.

In the context of hearing damage, heath surveillance would usually include conducting and sharing the results of regular hearing checks with the employee, the keeping of health records, and ensuring a doctor examines employees when hearing damage is identified.

4. Reduce noise if possible

The best way protect workers from the risk of noise exposure, is to eliminate or reduce the noise. Ways this could potentially be achieved include:

Changing to a quieter process
Using quieter equipment
Implementing engineering controls, such as fitting silencers or reducing drop heights
Change the trajectory of the noise through the use of enclosures, barriers and screens, or by moving sources of noise away from workers
Change the layout of the workplace
Limit the amount of time spent in noisy areas

5. Provide hearing protection if necessary

Hearing protection should be introduced either while you are waiting on other noise control methods to be implemented, or as extra protection on top of noise control. It should not be your only control against hearing loss risks.

By law, you must provide hearing protectors if noise exposure is between the lower and upper exposure action values, and ensure that they are used properly.

6. Choose appropriate hearing protection

Hearing protection should be suitable for the work environment, compatible with other PPE (such as hard hats or eye protection), and provide enough protection – the target should be to get noise levels below 85 dB at the ear at least.

7. Maintain hearing protection properly

Again, this is a requirement by law. Hearing PPE must be kept clean, undamaged, and unmodified.

8. Provide training for your employees

Users must be instructed on correct fitting and use of hearing protection, including:

Why, when and where the hearing protection must be used
How to fit the PPE, and how to wear it in conjunction with other equipment
Avoiding potential interference from other clothing or accessories
Storing the equipment correctly
Caring for and checking the equipment
Reporting damage and acquiring replacements

9. Carry out checks

After your employees have received their hearing protection training, it’s important that you ensure they continue to use it properly. Spot checks are a great way to make sure that rules are being followed – you might also consider including the requirement to wear hearing protection in your safety policy.

10. Consult employees

It is important that employees understand the risks they may be exposed to. Where they are exposed above the lower exposure action values you should at least tell them:

The likely noise exposure and the risks of this
How you are controlling risks and exposures
Where and how to obtain hearing protection
How to report defective hearing protection and noise-control equipment
What their duties are under the Noise Regulations 2005
How they can do their part to minimise risks
Your health surveillance systems

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