Once noise at work averages 85 decibels over an eight-hour day, OSHA requires US employers to run a Hearing Conservation Program: noise monitoring, free annual hearing tests, free hearing protection, training and recordkeeping.
Industrial and factory workers face some of the most consistent, well-documented noise-induced tinnitus risk of any occupation, and in the US some of the clearest legal protections, yet many workers in loud environments do not know the specifics of what their employer has to provide. In Great Britain the equivalent law is the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, which start at a lower level; that is covered in its own section below.
CDC/NIOSH data makes the scale concrete. A NIOSH analysis of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey found that among US workers who have ever been exposed to occupational noise, 15% report tinnitus, compared with 5% of workers never exposed — a three-fold difference — and 23% report hearing difficulty, against 7%. NIOSH estimates that about 27 million US workers are exposed to hazardous noise at work each year, making this one of the most common preventable occupational health risks in the country, not a niche concern limited to a few especially loud industries. An earlier NIOSH analysis, of national survey data from 1999–2004, put the figure at 22 million, or 17% of workers, counting noise at their current job so loud that they had to raise their voice to be heard.
The US thresholds that trigger obligations
OSHA's noise standard sets three key numbers, and the distinction between them matters:
- 85 decibels, averaged over an 8-hour workday — the "action level." Once workplace noise reaches this, OSHA requires the employer to implement a formal Hearing Conservation Program, not just make hearing protection available.
- 90 decibels, averaged over 8 hours — the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL), the point at which noise control measures become mandatory, not just monitoring and protection.
- 140 decibels peak — the separate threshold for sudden, impulsive noise (a stamping press, a metal impact) rather than sustained sound, treated differently from continuous exposure because a single impulse at this level can cause immediate damage.
A factory floor that sounds "loud but not deafening" can easily sit above 85 dB averaged over a shift. That threshold is lower than most people intuitively expect: NIDCD puts normal conversation at 60 to 70 dBA.
What a Hearing Conservation Program has to include
Once the 85 dB action level is triggered, OSHA requires specific, concrete elements, not just a general safety reminder:
- Noise monitoring, to measure the exposure levels workers face rather than estimate them
- Annual hearing tests (audiometric testing), provided at no cost to the employee, with a baseline test for comparison over time
- Hearing protection provided at no cost, in a variety of options so workers can find protection that fits and works for their specific job tasks
- Training, covering how noise damages hearing, how to use the protection correctly, and the purpose of the annual hearing tests
- Recordkeeping, since hearing test results need to be tracked over time to catch a "standard threshold shift" (a defined, meaningful decline) before it becomes severe
If your workplace has consistently loud machinery and you have not been offered annual hearing tests or free hearing protection, that is worth raising directly. These are not optional employer courtesies once the noise threshold is met; they are specific, enforceable requirements.
Why annual testing matters beyond compliance
The annual audiogram is designed to catch a standard threshold shift (STS) early, before someone notices hearing loss or tinnitus subjectively. Since noise-induced hearing loss is gradual and the brain adapts to slow change, workers often do not notice it happening; the annual test is often the first objective sign that something is changing, at a point where further protection can still stop it progressing. How to read your audiogram explains what the results show, including the notch that noise damage tends to leave.
In the UK: the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005
In Great Britain the governing law is the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, which came into force for most industries on 6 April 2006, and on 6 April 2008 for the music and entertainment sectors. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) describes their aim as protecting workers from noise at work that could cost them their hearing or leave them with tinnitus. They replaced the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 and require employers to act at noise levels 5 dB(A) lower than the old rules did.
The regulations set three tiers. Each is a daily or weekly personal noise exposure, paired with a peak level for impulse noise:
- Lower exposure action values: 80 dB(A), or a peak of 135 dB(C). The employer must assess the risk to workers' health, provide information and training, and make hearing protection available to anyone who asks for it.
- Upper exposure action values: 85 dB(A), or a peak of 137 dB(C). The employer must put in place a programme of organisational and technical measures to reduce exposure (handing out hearing protection does not count towards this), provide hearing protection to exposed workers, and mark hearing protection zones that nobody enters without it.
- Exposure limit values: 87 dB(A), or a peak of 140 dB(C). Workers must not be exposed above this. Unlike the two action values, the limit takes account of the protection that hearing protectors give, so it is a ceiling on what reaches the ear. If it is exceeded, the employer must reduce exposure immediately, find out why it happened and change its measures to stop it happening again.
Hearing checks. The 2005 regulations introduced health surveillance for hearing. HSE's guidance is that it must be provided for workers likely to be regularly exposed above the upper exposure action values, or at risk for any other reason, for example because they already have hearing loss or are particularly sensitive to damage. Checks ideally start before exposure, to give a baseline, and then usually run annually for the first two years and every three years after that, more often if a problem is found or the risk is high. You are entitled to see your own health record. If a check finds hearing damage, the employer must arrange for a doctor to examine you, and if the damage is likely to be noise-related, review its risk assessment and controls, consider moving you to quieter work, and keep up the surveillance.
Two differences from the US rules are worth noticing. The UK's first obligations start 5 dB lower, at 80 dB(A) rather than 85 dB. And UK hearing checks are not necessarily yearly: after the first two years, HSE's usual interval is three years, where OSHA requires an annual audiogram.
What to do if you're already experiencing tinnitus
If you work in a loud industrial setting and have noticed new or worsening tinnitus, report it through your workplace's safety channels as well as seeing an audiologist independently — both for your own hearing test history and because a documented pattern matters if a disability or workers' compensation claim becomes relevant later (tinnitus disability claims covers how this can factor into VA and other claims). If the tinnitus is affecting your work itself, workplace accommodations for tinnitus covers the adjustments worth asking for.
Practical steps beyond what's provided
- Use the hearing protection provided, and get it properly fitted — the best protection available does nothing if it is not worn consistently during exposure. Choosing earplugs covers fit and types.
- Ask about your noise monitoring or risk assessment results specifically, rather than assuming your job "must be fine" if no one has raised concerns
- Keep your own copy of every hearing test result, so you have a personal record independent of the employer's files if you change jobs or need documentation later