Listen Up – Headphones and the Noise at Work regulations
Most health and safety risks change over time but there is one risk that is changing fast, some might say at the speed of sound, writes Stephen Wheatley a Founder Director of the UK Hearing Conservation Association.
Since the introduction of the Noise at Work Regulations in 2005, responsible employers have taken action to identify processes and activities which could pose a noise risk for their employees.
As a result, most of the obvious sources of noise exposure in work settings have been addressed with mitigation strategies or by mandatory PPE. However, there are emerging noise risks that could be problematic for both employees and their employers. Furthermore, the emerging risks are not in the sectors traditionally seen as hazardous from a noise perspective but are increasingly widespread, where the majority sit in what are considered professional rather than industrial settings.