Noise at Work, are you protected?

We spoke to Stuart Halliday, a CMIOSH HSE professional, about his experience with Noise at Work. Stuart works with the Mintra team to advise on our Health and Safety courses and ensure that our course content is both compliant with industry standards and relevant to our end users. He gives us some insight into his experience with noise and some tips to help keep workers safe at work.

According to HSE, there are 21,000 workers with work-related hearing problems and there were 55 new claims for work-related deafness in 2018. There has been a steady decline of new claims since 2010.

Stuart shares some of his experiences on Noise at Work:

1. The issue with noise is that there is rarely an immediate injury; rather, there is a build-up of damage over time. We do see employees developing noise-induced hearing loss due to their work exposure. This can be easily prevented by accurately assessing the hazard and ensuring employees wear the hearing protection they are issued.
2. It’s important to develop good noise hygiene habits by ensuring we always wear hearing protection in high noise areas. All employees I would suggest should know the risks associated with high noise.
3. There is a portion of employees within the industry that who have suffered from hearing loss due to workplace noise exposure. This can have significant implications for the individuals as well as causing financial loss and reputational damage to the employers.
4. I have noticed a trend in younger workers who are perhaps setting a good example by being diligent in wearing hearing protection.
5. Your hearing is a precious sense and once damaged it cannot be repaired. Take the time to ensure you are adequately protected. Throw a handful of plugs in your pocket so you always have them available.
6. The industry often operates ageing assets with dated machinery that can produce high noise working environments. It is not always reasonably practicable to change out this equipment so good management and assurance should be gained to ensure noise exposure is as low as is reasonably practicable.

Next Steps

Experience what it is like to live without full hearing here http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/demonstration.htm

The Mintra online course provides the employee with a detailed description of the likely consequences of working in high noise environments and explains what to do to prevent injury.

Learn more about ‘Noise’ by completing the accredited Mintra Noise at Work Training Course.

Mintra partners with industry experts to bring you unique insights and practical guidance on the critical topics affecting you and your sector.

Stuart Halliday, CMIOSH, is a Chartered safety and health practitioner and Offshore Medic. Stuart has over 16 years' experience in the oil and gas industry in various roles and in challenging conditions around the world.