NIHL is a type of hearing loss, caused when someone is exposed to loud noise at work.
Hearing loss caused by work is preventable, but, once your hearing has gone it won't improve or come back. Its effect can be gradual over time where someone is regularly exposed to loud noise, however, damage can also be sudden when someone is exposed to extremely loud noises.
Noise at work can interfere with communications and make warnings harder to hear. It can also reduce people’s awareness of their surroundings. These issues can lead to safety risks – putting people at risk of injury or death.
The aim of the Noise Regulations is to ensure that workers' hearing is protected from excessive noise at their place of work, which could cause them to lose their hearing and/or to suffer from tinnitus (permanent ringing in the ears).
You should:
take action to reduce the noise exposure
provide your employees with personal hearing protection
Other duties under the Regulations include the need to:
make sure the legal limits on noise exposure are not exceeded
maintain equipment you provide to control noise risks
provide employees affected by noise with appropriate information, instruction and training
carry out health surveillance
What are the legal limits on noise?
Noise levels are measured in decibels (dB). The level at which you must provide hearing protection and hearing protection zones is 85 dB(A) and the level at which you must assess the risk to workers' health and provide them with information and training is 80 dB(A).
It is important to remember that sound is measured on a logarithmic scale, not a linear scale. This means that if the noise source is doubled, the noise level only goes up 3 dB. Small increases in decibel level represent an enormous increase in noise level and risk.
What industries are affected by noise?
Many industries can potentially expose their employees to high levels of noise. These include, but are not limited to:
food and drink manufacturing
agriculture
arboriculture
forestry
aviation
construction
motor vehicle repair
manufacturing
engineering
quarrying
waste processing
gardening
When am I at risk of developing NIHL?
do you have to raise your voice to have a conversation when standing approximately two meters from others?
do you use powered tools or machinery that generate loud noise?
do you work in an environment that has equipment that generates loud noise?
have you noticed a ringing or buzzing noise in your ears when you are removed from a noisy work environment?
If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you and your employees are likely to be at an increased risk of developing NIHL.
Symptoms and early signs of hearing loss
There are many signs that can indicate that you are suffering from NIHL. These include:
conversations become difficult or impossible to follow and understand
your family complain about the television being too loud
you have trouble using the telephone
you find it difficult to catch sounds like 't', 'd' and 's', so you confuse similar words
permanent tinnitus (ringing, whistling, buzzing or humming in the ears) can also be a symptom
Generally hearing loss is gradual. By the time you notice it, significant damage may have already occurred. You need to prevent hearing loss before it happens. You can also suffer instant damage from very loud or explosive noises.
How can I control noise in the workplace?
As an employer, you must assess and identify measures to eliminate or reduce the risks from exposure to noise so that you can protect the hearing of your employees. Where the risks are low, the actions you take may be simple and inexpensive, but where the risks are high, you should manage them using a prioritised noise-control action plan. Where required, ensure that:
hearing protection is provided and used correctly
any other controls are properly used
you provide information, Instruction, training and health surveillance
Risk assessment
Your risk assessment will have produced information on the risks and an action plan for controlling noise. Use this information to:
tackle the immediate risk, for example by providing hearing protection - this will protect your employees whilst you decide how to reduce noise levels
identify what is possible to control noise, how much reduction could be achieved and what is reasonably practicable
establish priorities for action and a timetable (for example, consider where there could be immediate benefits, what changes may need to be phased in over a longer period of time and the number of people exposed to the noise in each case)
assign responsibilities to different people who can deliver the various parts of the plan
ensure the work on noise control is carried out
check that what you have done has worked
Review what you are doing if anything changes which may affect the noise exposures where you work.
How do I reduce noise?
There are many ways of reducing noise and noise exposure - often a combination of methods works best. Firstly, think about how to remove the loud noise altogether. If that is not possible, do all you can to control the noise at source, consider redesigning the workplace and reorganising working patterns. Take measures to protect individual workers if you need to. Consider the following:
use a different, quieter process or quieter equipment
can you separate the person from the noise?
can you enclose the piece of equipment that is emitting the noise?
can you do the work in some other quieter way?
can you replace whatever is causing the noise with something that is less noisy?
can you place noise dampening material on surrounding surfaces to prevent reverberation?
introduce a low-noise purchasing policy for machinery and equipment
When should hearing protection be used?
Hearing protection should be issued to employees:
where extra protection is needed above what has been achieved using noise control
as a short-term measure while other methods of controlling noise are being developed
You should not use hearing protection as an alternative to controlling noise by technical and organisational means.
Hearing protection that reduces the noise level at the ear to below 70 dB should be avoided, as this over-protection may cause difficulties with communication and hearing warning signals. Users may become isolated from their environment, leading to safety risks. The wearer may have a tendency to remove the hearing protection and therefore risk damage to their hearing. Discuss with your supplier, the most suitable types of hearing protection for your work environment.
When is health surveillance required?
Hearing loss from work activities usually occurs gradually and the Control of Noise at Work Regulations require that employers provide health surveillance in certain circumstances.
Health surveillance is required for all employees regularly and frequently exposed to noise which is above the upper Exposure Action Value (EAV) of 85 dB(A) and for individuals at greater or additional risk if exposed between the lower (80dB(A)) and upper EAVs (85dB(A)).
The purpose of surveillance is to identify ill health early and to ensure that your controls are working. Health surveillance is not a control measure and is not a substitute for controlling noise at source:
health surveillance is required when a risk assessment indicates a risk to health
if there is no risk, there is no need for health surveillance
provision of hearing protection does not remove the requirement for health surveillance
The purpose of health surveillance is to check if the noise reducing control measures are working properly.
The following publication provides clear guidance on where health surveillance is required:
When health surveillance is required, hearing needs to be checked before the individual is exposed to the noisy environment or as soon as possible after initial exposure. This will establish a baseline that can be used for comparison in the future.
Initial baseline testing would be followed by a series of regular tests. These would usually be annually for the first two years and once every three years thereafter.
Where an abnormality in hearing has been detected or the risk of hearing damage is high, testing may be more frequent.
Do employees need to attend health surveillance appointments?
a competent adviser should oversee the programme - this will usually be by a suitably qualified occupational health professional
the competent adviser does not have to be the person who performs the tests
the person performing the tests should be suitably trained (see L108)
the audiogram should be assessed for the possible presence of NIHL
where NIHL is newly identified or progressive, the individual should be referred for medical assessment by an appropriately trained doctor
employees should not be referred for medical assessment where hearing loss is due to the normal ageing process or is not connected to work
all individuals must understand the importance of the full and proper use of hearing protection and this should be reinforced where abnormal hearing is identified
