The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) exposed “alarming gaps” in noise-damage management, noting that 75% of workplaces lacked employees with the basic knowledge to maintain their hearing protection gear.
The HSE identifies significant failings in the UK
The HSE’s campaign identified significant failings across UK workplaces, particularly concerning employee training and equipment management for hearing protection.
The inspections found that one in four workplaces had noise levels requiring mandatory hearing protection, placing a crucial and legal responsibility on employers to ensure proper provision and management of protective equipment.
However, the implementation of these safeguards showed concerning deficiencies.
Critical Failings in Knowledge and Training
The inspection results highlight a severe lack of awareness among employees in high-noise environments.
More than 75% of employees at these high-noise workplaces lacked essential knowledge about:
- Safely storing their hearing protection.
- Checking the equipment for damage.
- Reporting equipment faults to employers.
- Two-thirds (63%) had not received guidance on the critical importance of wearing protection continuously during exposure to harmful noise levels.
Training deficiencies were even more pronounced when it came to correct usage. A staggering 80% of employees received no instruction on proper wearing techniques, including:
- Avoiding interference from accessories like hats and hoods.
- Keeping hair clear of earmuffs.
- Ensuring the protection’s compatibility with other personal protective equipment (PPE), such as hard hats and eye protection.
A Dangerous Oversight: Warning Signals
A massive 95% of employers had failed to verify whether workers wearing hearing protection could still detect vital warning signals, including fire alarms and vehicle reversing alerts.
This oversight places workers at risk not only of hearing damage but of severe injury or fatality from other workplace hazards.
HSE’s Principal Specialist Inspector affirms the severity of these findings.
Chris Steel, HSE’s Principal Specialist Inspector, stressed the gravity of the findings. “The gaps that we found in implementation are serious,” he said. “They place an added risk to workers of excessive exposure to noise when they may believe they are being protected.”
He issued a direct challenge to employers: “If your defence against workplace noise is to give your workers hearing protection, then you need to check that it works. How confident are you that the hearing protection you have supplied is in good order, is being worn when it should be, how it should be, and that it is not stopping your workers from hearing warning signals?”
HSE Promotes the CUFF System for Better Protection
To help employers assess and improve the effectiveness of their hearing protection programmes, the HSE is promoting the CUFF checking system. This simple acronym provides a framework for regular assessment:
- Condition: Checking the equipment’s integrity and ensuring it is not damaged.
- Use: Verifying it is being properly deployed when needed.
- Fit the ear: Confirming the equipment is being worn correctly.
- Fit for purpose: Ensuring the protection specification is appropriate for the noise levels.
HSE specialists will be delivering guidance at industry events and webinars to provide practical advice on implementing effective hearing protection programmes and using the CUFF system to safeguard workers from permanent, noise-induced hearing damage.
Frequently asked questions:
What is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss?
Induced Hearing Loss (‘NIHL’) is a hearing impairment resulting from exposure to loud noise and often results from years of unprotected exposure. Many people who suffer from NIHL also suffer from tinnitus, which is a ringing or buzzing type of sound heard in the ears or head and can be incredibly distressing and debilitating.
Exposure to noise at work is commonplace, especially amongst manufacturing and heavy industry sectors such as in steelworks, on construction sites, highway maintenance and factory work.
What are the symptoms of noise-induced hearing Loss?
Noise damages your ears gradually over years of exposure. NIHL is usually first noticed by family members or friends who pick up on you asking them to repeat themselves or who make comments about the volume of the television or radio. NIHL also makes it difficult to decipher what others are saying when there are a number of people talking at once or there is a lot of background noise.
Many people with NIHL also suffer from tinnitus, which is an unwanted sound that can be heard in your ears or head, and usually takes the form of a ringing, buzzing, whistling or whooshing sound.
Common causes of noise-induced hearing loss in the Military
We often see Military Personnel suffering from noise-induced hearing loss after being exposed to the following situations:
- Exposure to loud noises during combat or training exercises.
- Lack of adequate hearing protection or failure to provide effective protective gear.
- Regular proximity to noisy machinery, weapons, aircraft, or other sources of excessive noise.
Could my employer be liable for compensation?
Employers have a duty of care to protect you from noise exposure. If you’ve worked in noisy environments and suffer from hearing loss, your employers (present and past) could be liable for compensation.
What is my claim worth?
The value of your claim depends on many factors, including the severity of your symptoms. It’s not uncommon for claims to be worth in excess of £10,000.00.
Why should you use Oakwood Solicitors Ltd?
Oakwood Solicitors Ltd agrees to work on your Industrial Disease claim on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis. If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not be expected to pay us a penny. If you are successful in your claim, we take a percentage of the compensation, meaning that the only time we will receive money is if we have brought your claim to a fruitful conclusion.
You will have a dedicated advisor who will see your claim through from start to finish, assisting you in the event of any queries or issues you may have.
If it is preferable to you, we are able to assign a female advisor to carry out your claim. Your case handler will also continue to provide regular updates until the conclusion of your claim, ensuring the process is as stress-free and effortless as possible.
“Serious gaps” found in protecting workers from excessive noise.
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Claims.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
If yourself or a loved one has suffered as a result of excessive noise exposure, get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation.
Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page or call us on 0113 200 9720.
Liam Hill is a Solicitor and Deputy Head of the Industrial Disease Team, having trained and qualified at Oakwood Solicitors. Liam joined us in 2013 after successfully completing the Legal Practice C…
Noise Induced Hearing Loss and Tinnitus – Frequently Asked Questions
Noise Induced Hearing Loss and Tinnitus are conditions that can be the result of many years of exposure to loud noise. Here we answer some frequently asked questions about claims made for these tw…
View
Noise Induced Hearing Loss – What is NIHL?
What is NIHL, or Noise Induced Hearing Loss? Our team answers three of the most common questions about Noise induced Hearing Loss, its symptoms, and whether your employer could be responsible in t…
View
