Noise at Work for UK Trade Businesses — The Regulations, Hearing Protection and Avoiding Hearing Loss (2026)

The Law — Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

The key legislation is the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The regulations place a duty on employers to assess the risks to their employees from noise at work, and to take action to reduce that exposure. It is not enough to hand out ear defenders and hope for the best — you have to actively assess, control and review noise risks.

The duty applies to anyone who employs people. If you have even one employee or labourer on the books, you are responsible for protecting their hearing. But the regulations also apply to the self-employed in respect of their own work — and even where the strict letter of the regulations on self-employed work is debated, the wider Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and basic common sense mean a sole trader should protect their own hearing exactly as they would an employee's. Your hearing is your livelihood. Lose it and you lose the ability to communicate on site, hear reversing alarms and work safely — quite apart from the personal cost.

The Action Values and the Exposure Limit

This is the technical heart of the regulations, and it's worth getting the figures exactly right because they decide what you legally have to do. The regulations set three thresholds, measured as a daily or weekly average exposure in A-weighted decibels (dB(A)) plus a separate peak sound pressure measured in C-weighted decibels (dB(C)) for sudden, sharp noises like nail guns and cartridge tools.

Lower Exposure Action Value

The lower exposure action value is a daily or weekly personal exposure of 80 dB(A), or a peak sound pressure of 135 dB(C). Once exposure reaches this level, you must provide your workers with information and training about the risks, and you must make hearing protection available on request. At this stage protection does not have to be worn, but it has to be there for anyone who wants it.

Upper Exposure Action Value

The upper exposure action value is a daily or weekly personal exposure of 85 dB(A), or a peak sound pressure of 137 dB(C). This is the threshold that matters most in the trades, because so much common kit pushes past it. At this level you must take active steps to reduce noise exposure through control measures, designate and mark hearing protection zones, and hearing protection must be provided and worn — it is no longer optional.

Exposure Limit Value

The exposure limit value is a daily or weekly personal exposure of 87 dB(A), or a peak sound pressure of 140 dB(C). This is a hard ceiling that must not be exceeded. Crucially, the exposure limit takes account of the protection your hearing protection provides — so the noise reaching the ear inside the defenders must stay below 87 dB(A), even if the noise in the room is much higher.

A practical rule of thumb: if you have to raise your voice to have a normal conversation with someone roughly two metres away, the noise is likely to be around 85 dB and you are probably at or above the upper action value. A great deal of everyday trade equipment — angle grinders, disc cutters, breakers, circular saws, routers, planers and nail guns — comfortably exceeds these levels, often producing 95 to 110 dB(A) at the operator's ear. It does not take long at those levels to clock up a damaging daily dose.

The Hierarchy of Control — Hearing Protection Comes Last

The single biggest mistake trade firms make is treating ear defenders as the first and only answer. The regulations are clear that hearing protection is the last resort, not the first fix. You are expected to work down a hierarchy of control before you reach for the ear muffs:

• Eliminate or reduce noise at source. Choose quieter tools and methods — buy low-noise, low-vibration kit where it exists, use a brushless tool rated for lower output, bolt or block instead of breaking, and keep equipment well maintained. A worn bearing or a blunt blade can add several decibels. Damping panels and anti-vibration mounts on machinery cut noise too.
• Engineering controls. Where the noise can't be eliminated, contain it — acoustic enclosures around fixed machinery, screens and barriers between a noisy process and the rest of the team, and sound-absorbing materials in workshops.
• Limit exposure time and rotate jobs. Because the action values are based on a daily dose, reducing how long anyone spends in the noise reduces their exposure. Job rotation, scheduling the noisiest cutting for short bursts, and keeping non-essential staff out of the noisy area all help.
• Hearing protection — last. Only after you have done what is reasonably practicable above do you rely on hearing protection to close the remaining gap.

Hearing Protection Done Right

Hearing protection only works if it's the right protection, in good condition, and actually worn for the whole time someone is in the noise. Getting any of those wrong undermines the lot.

• Match the protection to the noise. Choose protectors with the right SNR (Single Number Rating) or attenuation for the noise levels you actually face. Check the manufacturer's figures against your noise levels rather than buying the highest number on the shelf.
• Don't over-protect. Too much attenuation is a real problem — if defenders cut so much sound that the wearer can't hear speech, reversing alarms or warning shouts, they become a hazard. Aim to bring the noise at the ear down to a safe level (typically the 70–80 dB(A) range), not to total silence.
• Keep it usable and worn. Earmuffs with perished seals or earplugs that are dirty or the wrong size don't protect. Inspect and replace them. Comfortable, well-fitting protection that people will actually keep on beats high-spec kit that gets pushed off one ear.
• Wear it 100% of the time. This is the one most people get wrong. Hearing protection only delivers its rating if it is worn for the entire period of exposure. Take a 33 dB protector off for just a few minutes in a noisy environment and the real-world protection collapses dramatically — even a short gap wipes out most of the benefit.

Noise Risk Assessment

If your work is likely to expose anyone at or above the lower action value, you need a noise risk assessment. For most trades that's a given the moment power tools come out. The assessment doesn't have to be a bureaucratic monster — it has to be suitable and sufficient, and it should cover:

• Who is exposed to noise — employees, labourers, and anyone else nearby.
• What they are exposed to — which tools and processes, and the noise levels involved.
• For how long — the daily and weekly exposure pattern, since the dose depends on duration as well as level.
• What controls are in place and what more is reasonably practicable — quieter kit, enclosures, exposure limits and hearing protection.

Manufacturers' data sheets give you a starting point for tool noise levels, but they often understate real-site exposure. If you are unsure whether you are over the action values, you may need someone competent to take proper measurements with a calibrated sound level meter or noise dosimeter. Review the assessment regularly, and whenever something changes — new tools, new processes, a new team member or a complaint that the noise has got worse.

Health Surveillance

Where employees are regularly exposed to noise above the upper exposure action value of 85 dB(A) — or where they are at risk for any other reason — you must provide health surveillance. In practice this means regular hearing checks (audiometry) carried out by a competent provider, typically annually for the first couple of years and then at suitable intervals after that.

The point of audiometry is early warning: it picks up the first signs of damage while there is still time to act and prevent it getting worse. You must keep individual health records, act on the results (for example by improving controls or moving someone away from the noise if early loss is detected), and make sure workers understand the results. Health surveillance is a legal requirement above the upper action value, not a nice-to-have.

Practical Takeaways for a Small Trade Firm

You don't need a noise consultant on retainer to do this properly. For most small trade businesses and sole traders, getting the basics right covers the vast majority of the risk:

• Buy quieter tools. When you replace kit, make noise output one of your buying criteria. Lower-noise, low-vibration tools protect your hearing and your hands at the same time.
• Maintain guards and silencers. Keep blades sharp, bearings good, and any fitted silencers, dampers and exhaust kit in place and working. Worn, badly maintained tools are noisier.
• Supply and enforce hearing protection. Provide the right protectors, keep spares in the van, and make wearing them a non-negotiable rule in the noisy zones — including for yourself.
• Train your staff. Make sure everyone understands why it matters, how to fit protection properly, and that it has to stay on the whole time.
• Do a simple assessment. Write down who's exposed, to what, for how long and what you're doing about it. Keep it on file and review it.
• Protect your own hearing as the boss. The owner is usually the one who's spent the most years around the noisiest tools. Lead by example — if you skip the ear defenders, your team will too.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what noise level must I wear hearing protection?

Hearing protection must be provided and worn once exposure reaches the upper exposure action value — a daily or weekly average of 85 dB(A), or a peak of 137 dB(C). Below that, at the lower action value of 80 dB(A), protection only has to be made available on request. As a rough guide, if you have to raise your voice to talk to someone two metres away, you're likely at or above 85 dB and protection should be worn.

Do sole traders have to follow the noise regulations?

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 place the main duties on employers protecting their employees, but the self-employed are also covered in respect of their own work, and the wider Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 applies regardless. In short, a sole trader should manage their own noise exposure exactly as they would an employee's — your hearing is permanent and irreplaceable, so the sensible answer is yes, follow the regulations.

What are the action values for noise at work?

There are three thresholds. The lower exposure action value is 80 dB(A) (peak 135 dB(C)), at which you provide information and training and make protection available. The upper exposure action value is 85 dB(A) (peak 137 dB(C)), at which you must control exposure, designate hearing protection zones, and protection must be worn. The exposure limit value is 87 dB(A) (peak 140 dB(C)) and must not be exceeded once the effect of hearing protection is taken into account.