Noise

About 170 000 people in Britain suffer deafness, tinnitus or other ear conditions as a result of exposure to too much noise at work. Hearing loss caused by work is preventable, but once your hearing has gone it won't come back. By law, as an employer, you must manage the risks of exposure to noise. There are many practical, cost-effective ways of protecting yourself and your workers.

What employers must do

Assess the risks to your workers from noise at work.
Take action to reduce the noise exposure that produces those risks.
Provide your employees with hearing protection if you cannot reduce noise exposure in another way.
Make sure the legal limits on noise exposure are not exceeded.
Provide your employees with information, instruction and training.
Carry out health surveillance where there is a risk to health.

Does this affect my business?

You will probably need to take some action if any of the following apply to
you or your workers:

You're surrounded by intrusive noise for most of the working day. Examples of intrusive noise from everyday life are a busy street and a vacuum cleaner.
You have to raise your voice to be heard by someone just two metres away for at least part of the day.
You use noisy powered tools or machinery for more than half an hour a day.
You work in a noisy industry such as construction, road repair, engineering or manufacturing.
Your work causes impacts such as hammering, drop forging, pneumatic impact tools etc.
You work with explosive sources such as cartridge-operated tools or detonators, or guns.