In recent inspections by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 95% of employers failed to verify whether workers wearing hearing protection could still detect vital warning signals, such as fire alarms and vehicle reversing alerts.
Although one in four workplaces had noise levels requiring mandatory hearing protection, the HSE inspections revealed “concerning gaps” in implementation.
HSE said that training deficiencies were “particularly evident”: 80% of employees did not receive instruction on proper wearing techniques, including avoiding interference from hats and hoods, keeping hair clear of earmuffs, or ensuring compatibility with other personal protective equipment such as hard hats and eye protection.
At high-noise workplaces, more than 75% of employees lacked essential knowledge about storing hearing protection, checking for damage, or reporting equipment faults to employers.
Nearly two-thirds (63%) had not received guidance on the critical importance of wearing protection continuously during exposure to harmful noise levels.
Chris Steel, HSE’s principal specialist inspector, said: “The gaps that we found in implementation are serious. They place an added risk to workers of excessive exposure to noise when they may believe they are being protected.
“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?”
To address these issues, HSE is promoting the ‘CUFF’ checking system to help employers assess the effectiveness of hearing protection. The acronym covers Condition (equipment integrity), Use (proper deployment when needed), Fit the ear (correct wearing), and Fit for purpose (appropriate specification).
