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Noise At Work

Hearing can be damaged by very loud noises or by noises that are too loud and maintained over a period of time.

In 2005 the Government introduced new regulations, in accordance with European legislation, to protect employees from hearing loss caused by loud noise in their workplace. To comply with these regulations every employer must take steps to protect their employees and the first step is to carry out a workplace noise assessment.

What is Noise Induced Hearing Loss?

Inside the ear there are small, hair-like cells that ‘detect’ the sounds we hear and turn them into electrical signals that the brain can understand. These tiny cells are damaged by the cumulative effect of excessive noise energy over a period of time and eventually they die. When this happens it is known as Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Once these cells have died the damage cannot be rectified by the use of hearing aids, medication or medical intervention. The hearing loss is permanent and cannot be reversed.

In many cases NIHL manifests itself as a gradual loss of hearing. However, in some cases, it leads to a condition caused by damaged cells within the ear ‘misfiring’, causing a whistle or ringing sound heard only by the sufferer. This is known as tinnitus; its effects are also permanent and affect the sufferer 24 hours a day.

How is it caused?

NIHL is caused in two ways. Cumulative damage is caused by prolonged exposure over time to excessive noise levels. Instantaneous damage is caused by exposure to short duration, very high noise levels such as gunfire or the noise generated by heavy impact machinery. The damage is similar but cumulative damage is less easily recognised by the sufferer.

What Should I Do?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) require companies to take the following steps to reduce instances of NIHL:

• Measure – Quantify the noise exposure of your employee
• Mitigate – Take all reasonable steps to reduce the noise exposure of your employees by either reducing the noise levels in their workplace, or reducing the amount of time they are in that workplace.
• Protect – After taking steps to mitigate, then look at the use of personal hearing protection for your employees.
• Monitor – Monitor the health and noise exposure of your employees over time to try and identify any damage early.

What will we do?

We will ensure that your company has done all it can to ensure it has fulfilled all its obligations to its employees. Our approach is detailed and comprehensive providing your organisation with the tools it needs to protect its staff.

Our Approach

Many consultants will assess the noise exposure of your employees. Our approach assesses the needs of your business and your employees and provides you with a solution that is truly tailored to your noise issues.

The assessment of workplace noise is important; get it wrong and you may find that you have not only exposed your staff to an increased risk of hearing damage, you have also exposed your company to the risk of enforcement action by the Health and Safety Executive and fines by the courts.

Dragonfly Acoustics have extensive experience in assessing noise in the workplace, including sites as diverse as oil rigs, ships, concert arenas, large manufacturing sites and small specialist workshops.

In More Detail

Firstly we do the following to assess the situation:

1. We take noise measurements at the operator positions of all relevant items of plant or equipment operating within the area being assessed. We include both average noise levels and peak noise levels.

2. We interview each relevant employee (or they complete a short questionnaire). This is to quantify what noises they are typically exposed to during a normal working day.

3. We calculate their noise exposure over a normal working day or week - whichever is appropriate.

As a principle it is always preferable to reduce the noise level so, having assessed the situation, our next step is to identify any noise control measures that can be put in place, taking account of all the practical and operational needs of the company. If appropriate such recommendations could include fitting an acoustic enclosure to a noisy machine or moving it to a location where its noise affects fewer people.

When all noise control measures have been thoroughly examined for effectiveness and practicality we then consider and recommend any appropriate hearing protection for staff.

Again, practicality is important; if safety equipment hampers the work in hand it is human nature to consider it dispensable so our recommendations take careful account of the practicalities of use of hearing protection in addition to its cost. We will provide you with guidance on the types of hearing protection that will best suit your staff and their performance enabling you to procure a suitable brand most cost effectively.

All the information contained on this page is available to download as a PDF file below.

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