Noise at work - a safety issue worth shouting about

Every day, more than 1million employees in Great Britain are exposed to noise which puts their hearing at risk. As a result, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports that some 29,000 people annually suffer from deafness, ringing in the ears or other ear conditions caused by excessive noise at work.

When it comes to protecting worker hearing, prevention is everything. But as well as managerial responsibilities, workers have a vital role to play in protecting their own hearing. So an effective hearing protection programme really does rely on educating, raising and reinforcing awareness of the dangers of noise exposure, backed up by high comfort, effective and appropriate hearing protection. Clearly the provision of hearing protection should be seen as a last line of defence, where all other practical measures to reduce exposure to noise have been reviewed and actioned.

Because prevention is the key to safeguarding hearing, workers need to understand the real risk that unprotected noise exposure can bring. For workers in high noise environments, such as processing or manufacturing plants, they are likely to be more understanding of the need for hearing protection because their environment is obviously excessively loud. But for environments where loud noise is only encountered periodically, or where it is not obviously excessively noisy, the need to explain, educate and reinforce the message of hearing protection is vital.

Ultimately, because there are no obvious signs of damage until its too late this creates a difficult challenge for many safety managers. How do you ask people to protect against something they often cannot - or are highly unlikely to see - feel or hear the impact of, until after the event?

It is rare that a single noise such as an explosion takes place which could leave someone with instant hearing damage. Instead Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) most commonly creeps up on workers over time, with each exposure slowly damaging the microscopic hairs in the ears that are responsible for our hearing. The damage done is irreversible and will affect working, family and social life, for the rest of their life.

Hearing protection should not block out all sound, but instead protect against excessive noise by bringing levels back into safe hearing ranges below the first action level of 80-85 decibels.

Comfort and practicality here is king. If an earplug or ear defender is comfortable and unintrusive, this enables people to get on with their work efficiently and stays in place for long periods without needing adjustment. Workers are far more inclined to keep it on for the required length of time. Conversely, uncomfortable hearing protection will irritate and increase the chances of it being removed, significantly increasing risk of hearing damage. It should also integrate with other PPE provided, such as hard hats, eye/face protection and clothing.

What is an SNR?

Independent laboratories (Notified Test Authorities), test hearing protection products to determine their SNR value. SNR is a Single Number Rating system enabling managers to compare noise attenuation levels offered by different hearing protectors. The higher the SNR number, the higher the level of protection provided. It's important to remember that the SNR value is a rough average.

Other considerations must also be taken into account, namely how loud the noise is and how long the worker is exposed to it.

The HSE says noise levels above 105dB can damage hearing if endured for more than 15 minutes each week. But lower levels, such as between 80 and 90dB can also cause permanent damage if exposure is long and frequent enough. To ensure the right hearing protection is specified and supplied carry out workplace noise measurement activities to identify the noise levels in specific areas across all working areas where noise is encountered.

Beware over protection

Over protection is an issue for safety managers and something they really need to be aware of. On the surface you wouldn’t think going for more protection than you need for the user would be too much of an issue, but it can have a negative impact on hearing protection programmes.

Instead go for the highest possible levels of protection required for specific environments. The danger of over protection is that you can cut off and alienate a worker, increasing their risk of removing hearing protection in an attempt to re-connect with their environment.