This guidance explains the noise action and limit values, when hearing protection must be worn and what workers exposed to noise are told.
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Further guidance on noise at work and hearing protection:
This guidance document is supplied with the TT-7-15 Noise Awareness training talk - click through to that page to purchase. If you have an alphaZ Subscription just click on Download Files on the training talk page. The training talk is also included in the ISO 45001 Toolkit and the integrated toolkits that include it.
If you'd like hands-on help preparing your noise risk assessment and hearing protection arrangements, our remote support services provide direct expert input from our team, by the day, by project, or on an ongoing basis.
Noise Awareness Guidance
A general guidance document on noise at work, for employees who may be exposed to loud noise. It explains how noise damages hearing, the daily exposure action and limit values, when hearing protection is provided and must be worn, and the information and training the company gives.
Topics Covered
- Noise at work - what managing noise can involve, from noise assessment and hearing protection to health surveillance, and the duty to reduce the risk
- Noise-induced hearing loss - how hearing loss develops over time or from sudden loud noise, signs such as tinnitus, and its effect on daily life
- How the ear works - the outer, middle and inner ear, and how loud noise damages the hair cells in the cochlea for good
- Exposure and action values - daily personal noise exposure, with a table of the lower and upper exposure action values and the exposure limit value
- Personal hearing protection - when hearing protection is made available or must be worn, hearing protection zones, and training in its use and care
- Training and information - what employees exposed at or above the lower exposure action value are told, from likely exposure to health surveillance
Who Is It For?
All employees who may be exposed to loud noise at work, particularly anyone working in or entering a hearing protection zone.
Included in the ISO 45001 Toolkit
This guidance is supplied with the TT-7-15 Noise Awareness training talk, which is part of the ISO 45001 Toolkit and the integrated toolkits that include it.
Using the Guidance
Issue it at induction and to anyone starting work in a noisy area, and go through it with the matching training talk. Record who has received it, for example on the training matrix.
Action Values and Limit Values
The guidance sets out the lower and upper exposure action values and the exposure limit value in a simple table, giving both the daily or weekly exposure and the peak sound pressure. It explains that the action values take no account of hearing protection worn, while the limit values do, and what the lower and upper action values mean for providing and wearing hearing protection.
Adapting the Guidance
Edit the guidance to match your own arrangements - where your hearing protection zones are, how to get hearing protection and report defects, and the health surveillance you have in place.
Related Documents
Other documents that work alongside this guidance:
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