Noise Problems? You Need PPE Right?

When organisations think that they have a noise problem there’s any easy fix right? Just get some hearing defence and the problem goes away, or so some think but that is a really bad idea.

Firstly you need to identify whether you do or do not really have a problem. There are a number of low cost noise sampling machines on the market; these give a decent guide as to whether there is a noise problem. There is an even more simple approach – if you can’t reasonably hear a normal conversation at a distance of 2 meters then you may have a problem with noise. If you use any of these techniques to eliminate the need for further action I would recommend that you record these measurements and that you repeat them periodically.

If there is any indication that you do have a noise problem you should first try to eliminate it. Unfortunately this often means stopping the noisy activity, which is often unreasonable. Maybe you could reduce the noise by buying new machinery, which may be quieter (safer) by design, perhaps improving maintenance of equipment could reduce the noise too. Consider the possibility of moving noisy processes out of the work areas containing the most people or even placing them in sound booths. Sometimes it is not just the level of noise that we expose people to that causes the problem but the amount of time that they are exposed for. Perhaps task rotation could help to reduce the risk of noise induced hearing loss.

PPE, in this case hearing defence, is a weak control. It relies on people understanding the problem, the limitations of the hearing defence and how and when it must be worn. Also, when we issue hearing defence we are relying on people to wear it. There are a number of versions of the hierarchy of risk control. PPE is at or near to the bottom on just about all of them, there's a reason for that.

If you must rely on hearing defence to protect people at work from your noise issues you will first need to identify the nature and extent of the problem. Commission a noise survey to identify the levels and frequencies of your noise. You will need the resultant report to identify the appropriate level and type of protection. Different types of hearing defence work better at certain frequencies than others, some are more appropriate in certain environments or for certain activities.

If you select hearing defence on the basis that anything is better than nothing you should bear in mind that the PPE that you buy may be excellent protection in some circumstances but not necessarily yours and over attenuation (too much protection) can be even more dangerous than no protection at all.

Having settled on PPE as your chosen control you will need to confirm that it is affective. Knowing that your hearing defence is the correct type for your noise doesn’t mean that it is working, perhaps people do not wear it or maybe they don’t wear it correctly. I have even seen cans with their foam inserts removed, so the wearer could hear the radio and chat with their colleagues. Medical surveillance (audiometric testing) is the solution.

Noise is just one of many of the problems that we need to control in the workplace. If you would like to know about more of the hazardsthat we need to consider take a look at this link.