Covered specifically by the The Noise at Work Regulations 1989. EN352 - is the minimum requirement under current European legislation for ear defenders and ear plugs and the various parts are EN 352-1:2002 Ear-Muffs, EN 352-2:2002 Ear-plugs, EN 352-3:2002 Ear-muffs attached to an industrial safety helmet, EN 352-4:2001 Level-dependent ear-muffs, EN 352-5:2002 Active noise reduction ear-muffs, EN 352-6:2002 Ear-muffs with electrical audio input, EN 352-7:2002 Level-dependent ear-plugs, and EN 352-8:2008 Entertainment audio ear-muffs
When should actions against noise take place?
From April 2006 the new European Directive 2003/10/EC lays down minimum requirements for the protection of workers from risks to their health and safety arising or likely to arise from exposure to noise and in particular the risk to hearing. The lower exposure action value is at a daily personal level of 80 dB(A) during 8 hours. At this level hearing protectors must be made available to workers. The upper exposure action level is at 85 dB(A) where hearing protectors must be worn. The third level, called exposure limit value, is at 87 dB(A) and under no circumstances shall the exposure of the worker exceed this limit. If you are exposed to any of the above exposure levels without wearing hearing protection, there is a great risk that you may suffer permanent hearing damage. Because of individual differences, some people are more sensitive to noise than others.
Noise attenuation It is important that the hearing protection used provide enough attenuation to protect the hearing. But it is also important that it doesn't give too high attenuation so you get overprotected. Overprotection can prevent you from hearing your workmates, alarms and other important signals. It is recommend that the sound level under the hearing protector to be between 70 - 80 dB. To be able to calculate attenuation you must know which noise level (quoted in dB(A)) you are exposed to as well as the characteristics of the noise (H = high frequency (treble), M = medium frequency or L = low frequency (base)). You must also know the attenuation values (H, M and L) of the product, which are found in the user information provided with the product.
Example: Work situation Cutting of chip board with a circular saw
Noise level 105 dB(A)Characteristics H = high frequency noise
Selected product Sordin FM Pro with sound attenuation H = 30 dB or in a hard hat area helmet mounted leftRight medium H=29 dB
Sound level under the ear muff is 105 - 30 = 75 dB(A) (76 on hard hat )which is in between the recommended levels, therefore a suitable product.
Work situation Cutting of chip board with a circular saw 
