Le 24 June 2022

Noise in the metalworking workshop: What hearing protection to adopt?

Did you know that noise exposure can lead to permanent hearing loss? It is important to wear hearing protection in noisy environments. In this blog article, we will address noise exposure in the metalworking workshop and what you can do to protect your hearing when working.

Table of Contents:

Causes and noise levels in the metalworking workshop
What hearing protection?

Earplugs
Noise-canceling headphones or ear defenders

The importance of hearing protection

Causes and noise levels in the metalworking workshop

The noise you face in a metalworking workshop is measured in decibels. The higher the decibel level, the more dangerous the noise. In this environment, it is mainly caused by three factors:

• The more or less significant noise related to the machine's speed.

• The noise of the tool in operation.

• The surrounding noise from the workshop, other machines, workers, etc.

In a metalworking workshop, the average sound level is 95 decibels. That's about as loud as an ambulance siren and four times louder than a normal conversation. In a restaurant, the average sound level is 85 decibels - about as loud as power tools in operation.

Other parameters also influence the harmfulness of noise on hearing:

A high-pitched sound is more dangerous than a low-pitched sound
An unpredictable and sudden sound is more dangerous than a gradually appearing sound.

What hearing protection?

As previously stated, noise levels in a metalworking workshop are around 95 decibels. You will need hearing protection if you are exposed for extended periods to levels above 85 decibels.

If you are equipped with hearing protection, the perception of decibels will be reduced and will allow you to decrease the risk of developing a hearing disorder or even partial or total loss. Hearing protections are available in many different types and sizes, so it is important to choose the right type of protection suited to your needs.

Earplugs

Earplugs are the most practical hearing protection. Thanks to their low cost, they thus allow protecting people for a short period (temporary workers, substitutes, customers, visitors, etc.). Some of them are reusable, but there are also single-use ones.

One of the advantages of earplugs is that they require no maintenance and are affordable in terms of initial cost. However, these hearing protections quickly become expensive. They represent a large volume of generated waste, at a rate of two pairs per day per person.

With this type of protection, the sound volume is partially reduced. Due to their mass-produced design, they have a standard format that does not correspond to everyone's morphological requirements, which does not ensure completely effective protection.

Find our selection of earplugs from the biggest brands in the field.

Noise-canceling headphones or ear defenders

Unlike earplugs, noise-canceling headphones are truly effective. They will considerably reduce noise for the wearer.

There are different types of noise-canceling headphones with different decibel protection depending on your work environment.

It should be noted that noise-canceling headphones with strong protection will completely isolate you. The wearer can find themselves immersed in "a bubble", cutting them off from external noises. This aspect can prove problematic, particularly when communicating with their team or during warning signals such as an alarm or horn for example.

Discover our noise-canceling headphones available right now.

The importance of hearing protection

Noise has harmful consequences on our hearing. You've probably heard it repeated as a child "turn down the sound if you don't want to go deaf" and it's true.

What is less highlighted is that noise can have harmful repercussions on our body and health (sleep quality, stress, etc.).

Noise trauma is the second leading cause of deafness after natural wear of the auditory system. This makes it the leading occupational disease in France.

It is therefore essential to protect your hearing, this is not to be taken lightly, but we are constantly exposed to noise. Whether at home or at work, at a more or less high level, if you do not protect your ears when in contact with high decibels, the wear of your hearing will happen more quickly over the years.

Regardless of the type of hearing protection you decide to choose, it is essential to protect your hearing so as not to suffer daily from the aggression that noise represents.

If you would like more information on this subject, visit the OSHA website on occupational health and safety standards.

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