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Health & Wellbeing

The noise your workforce cannot unhear

Dominique Stone, senior audiologist at The Hearing Clinic UK, discusses the often-overlooked risks of noise-induced hearing loss across a variety of workplaces.

Opinion
4 min read
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Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common occupational health conditions in the UK. It is also one of the most preventable. For HR teams, that gap between common and preventable is where the responsibility sits.

Most people only associate noise risks with heavy industry: construction sites, offshore platforms, manufacturing floors. The clinical picture is more varied. I regularly assess patients who have spent careers in logistics, hospitality, fitness, retail and food production, all environments where noise rarely makes it onto the risk register, and where hearing loss accumulates quietly across years before anyone notices.

By the time a worker seeks help, the damage is typically permanent, whereas early identification would prevent further deterioration and support rehabilitation. That is a situation that the right workplace measures can help reduce.

What the law requires

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations (2005) are clear and carry teeth. Employers are required to assess the risk to workers from noise, take action to reduce exposure, provide hearing protection where risks cannot be removed at source, and carry out health surveillance where there is a risk to health.

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The thresholds matter. At 80 decibels (dB), employers must assess risk, provide information and training, and supply protection on request. At 85dB, protection must be provided and its use enforced. At 87dB, the legal exposure limit is breached, and it cannot be exceeded even when hearing protection is being worn. These are not aspirational targets. They are legal floors.

For HR teams, this is both a regulatory and a reputational issue.

Where the risks appear

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Equipment and machinery are the most obvious sources. Turbines, compressors, saws, impact tools and heavy plants all routinely operate above safe thresholds. But elevated noise is not limited to industrial settings.

Busy-open plan warehouses and commercial kitchens frequently reach high decibel levels, whilst fitness studios and spin classes can exceed 100dB. Prolonged exposure at these levels, across shifts and across years, causes cumulative damage to the sensory cells in the inner ear. Those cells do not regenerate.

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One of the reasons noise-induced hearing loss is underreported is that it develops gradually. Early symptoms, tinnitus after a long shift, difficulty following conversation in a noisy room, are easy to attribute to tiredness or age. Many workers compensate for years before seeking help, by which point significant deterioration has already occurred.

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What good provision looks like

A hearing health programme does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be consistent. The core elements are straightforward.

Noise risk assessments should cover all work areas, not just those with obvious machinery. Where noise exceeds action levels, control measures should be introduced at source where possible: acoustic screening, equipment maintenance, modified shift patterns in high-noise areas.

Hearing protection must be available, appropriate for the environment and fitted correctly. Disposable foam earplugs are widely issued but frequently misused. Custom-moulded protection, fitted individually, offers better compliance and more reliable performance over time. In environments where communication matters alongside noise reduction, acoustic filters allow workers to hear speech and safety signals while reducing harmful sound levels.

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Health surveillance should include baseline hearing assessments for workers in noise-exposed roles, with ongoing monitoring to identify changes early. Where deterioration is detected, earlier intervention produces better outcomes and demonstrates the employer’s duty of care. The business should also be considering support for employees who already have hearing loss, such as whether any adjustments could improve their working day.

Businesses should also be aware of the UK Government’s Access to Work scheme, which helps people with mental or physical conditions, such as hearing loss, get or stay in work. Many employers are unaware of the funding available for specialist equipment and adjustments.

The business case

Industrial deafness claims remain a significant and ongoing source of employment liability. Many relate to exposure that occurred years or decades ago, in industries that understood the risk and did not act on it adequately. The legal and financial consequences of that inaction are still being settled today.

For HR, the practical question is not whether noise is a risk in your organisation. In most organisations, it is. The question is whether the controls are proportionate, documented and consistently applied. A well-run hearing health programme protects workers, satisfies regulatory requirements and produces a clear audit trail should a claim ever arise. Continued workplace support is essential as hearing aids do not fully restore hearing, so employees may still face challenges in noisy environments.

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Hearing loss may be permanent, but prevention is straightforward when it is built into how an organisation manages its people.

Dominique Stone is senior audiologist at The Hearing Clinic UK

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