Health and Safety A-Z
Topic: Noise in the Workplace
Summary:
Noise is one of the most common workplace hazards. Over time, if worker exposure to noise from machinery, processes, and equipment is not properly eliminated or controlled, it may cause permanent hearing loss, a leading cause of occupational disease in Ontario workplaces. Lower sound levels, such as that found in classrooms, dining halls and offices, can be annoying, stressful, and interfere with communication.
Exposure to high levels of noise in the workplace may also create physical and psychological stress, reduce productivity, interfere with communication, and contribute to accidents and injuries by making it difficult to hear moving equipment, other workers, and warning signals.
There is no cure for noise-induced hearing loss; however, it can be prevented by eliminating or controlling noise exposures.
Sound levels can often be reduced through engineered controls. Noisy equipment, for example, could be located in a separate room or isolated in a cabinet. Carpet (and some rolled floor coverings) tends to be much quieter than hard tile or ceramic floors.
Louder environments (those averaging 85 dB or more over an 8-hour work day) that don’t suit engineered or other, similar controls, require personal protective equipment (ear plugs or ear muffs) and a hearing protection program.
Hearing protection devices shall be selected having regard to:
- sound levels to which a worker is exposed;
- the attenuation provided by the device;
- the manufacturer's information about the use and limitations of the device;
If you do not follow the instructions for use, care, and maintenance, then the hearing protection device will be less effective.
Workers who are likely to be exposed to loud noise in the workplace are required to complete Trent University's Hearing Conservation and Noise Induced Hearing Loss eLearning module available through VIP.
For More Information See:
Regulation | A guide to the Noise Regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act
Additional Resources:
Don’t Let Noise Steal Your Hearing, IHSA
Last Revised: August 2024