While hearing loss associated with excessive noise is a major issue in many industries, over-protection from noise may also cause difficulties - particularly with communication and hearing warning signals.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSA) says that hearing protection which reduces the level of noise to below 70 decibels, should be avoided.
Not only can this cause communication issues, but it can also lead to employees feeling isolated from their environment, and therefore potential safety risks. It will also increase the likelihood that employees will remove hearing protection in certain circumstances to enable them to hear better, leading to renewed issues with noise at work.
Hearing Protection Calculator
The table gives an indication of the protector factor that is likely to be suitable for different levels of noise - the noise level during a particular work task, not the daily personal noise exposure. The table is based on the single number rating (SNR) value provided with a hearing protection device.
It is essential that employees are given the correct level of protection, whatever their work environment. A lack of protective measures will not keep people safe or meet legal obligations, but over-protection can increase risks from other hazards in the workplace, such as moving vehicles.
Hearing protection calculators provide an accurate way of selecting hearing protection suitable to the noise frequency measured in the workplace. By entering the noise measurements, they analyse the data to distinguish the suitability of hearing protection.
Would you like personalised guidance on choosing the right protection for your needs? If so, please complete the enquiry form and we will be in touch to provide you with expert advice and recommendations.
Our experts can offer you risk assessment support and advice on site surveys, whilst Arco Professional Safety Services can provide high-quality training to ensure you are fully compliant.
Learn how to protect employees from noise and manage the risk by identifying hazards, conducting a risk assessment, and implementing the most appropriate solution.
Have a look at the potential hazards and risks (including noise-induced hearing loss) that can come from unchecked noise levels at work - and how overprotection can be a hazard too.
Find out more about the real impact of hearing loss and how noise-induced hearing loss is a major issue in the workplace with our noise at work industry statistics.
