Articles and 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 or managing noise safety risks at work.
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.
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.
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.
Can ear plugs cause tinnitus?
Can wearing ear plugs cause tinnitus when worn all day in a factory?
Do ear plugs cause infections?
Sometimes people will say using ear plugs causes them to get ear infections, but do ear plugs actually cause infections?
Can noise cancelling headphones be used as hearing protection?
Can someone use noise cancelling headphones in place of hearing protection in a high noise environment?
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.