The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 are the sister regulations to the vibration Regulations of the same year, and for outdoor trades they usually apply to the same tools, the same operators and the same working day. A chainsaw, a blower or a disc cutter is a hand-arm vibration source and a noise source simultaneously, typically loud enough that unprotected exposure is measured in minutes. Yet where vibration management has become systematised, noise is still widely handled as "ear defenders are in the van", which is not what the Regulations say.
This guide sets out the noise framework in the same plain terms as our vibration Regulations guide: the values, the duties attached to each, and the parts that catch employers out. Noise-induced hearing loss shares the property that makes vibration injury so unforgiving: it is permanent, it is cumulative, and it is entirely preventable.
The Values: Two Action Levels and a Limit
The noise Regulations use three thresholds rather than two, each expressed as a daily or weekly personal exposure in dB(A), paired with a peak sound pressure value in dB(C) that catches sudden loud impacts such as cartridge tools or hammer blows.
Action Values
- Lower exposure action value: 80 dB(A) daily or weekly exposure, or 135 dB(C) peak. At this level, employers must assess the risk, provide information and training, and make hearing protection available to any worker who asks for it
- Upper exposure action value: 85 dB(A), or 137 dB(C) peak. At this level the duties harden: exposure must be reduced by organisational and technical means other than hearing protection so far as reasonably practicable, hearing protection becomes mandatory where the risk remains, hearing protection zones must be marked and enforced, and health surveillance is required for those regularly exposed
Limit Value
- Exposure limit value: 87 dB(A), or 140 dB(C) peak, which must not be exceeded
- The limit value has one crucial difference from everything else in this guide: it is measured at the ear, taking account of the attenuation hearing protection provides. The action values, by contrast, are assessed without protection
- In practice this means a worker in effective, properly worn protection can work at noise levels well above 87 dB(A) at the tool while remaining under the limit at the ear
The Regulations allow weekly rather than daily averaging where daily exposure varies markedly, a structural cousin of the narrow weekly provision in the vibration Regulations, and similarly not an everyday operating mode.
A Sense of Scale
Decibels are logarithmic, which defeats intuition, so two rules of thumb from HSE guidance are worth internalising. First, the shout test: if you have to raise your voice to hold a normal conversation with someone about two metres away, the level is probably around 85 dB(A) and the upper action value is in play. Second, the three-decibel rule: every 3 dB increase doubles the sound energy, halving the time it takes to accumulate the same dose. A tool at 88 dB(A) delivers in four hours what one at 85 dB(A) delivers in eight; at the 105 to 115 dB(A) a petrol chainsaw produces, the unprotected daily allowance collapses to minutes. This is why hearing protection appears in the PPE section of every one of our equipment check guides, and why "the ear defenders were in the van" is the noise equivalent of a blunt chain.
The Duties, In Order
The structure will be familiar from the vibration Regulations. First, assess: identify who is exposed, from what equipment and activities, at what levels, using measurement or reliable data that represents the equipment as actually used. Second, control at source: the legal preference is to reduce noise by elimination, equipment selection, maintenance and work organisation before reaching for protection, and above the upper action value this becomes an explicit duty. Quieter equipment purchasing, silencer and casing maintenance, and simply reducing the number of people near the noise all count. Third, protect what remains: provide suitable hearing protection, on request above the lower action value and enforced above the upper, and maintain it, because a cracked ear defender seal or stretched headband quietly deletes the attenuation the limit value calculation assumes. Suitability cuts both ways, though: the HSE warns against over-protection, because defenders that bring the level at the ear below about 70 dB(A) isolate the wearer from shouts, alarms, and approaching machines, so the aim is enough attenuation for the tool in hand, not the maximum attenuation in the catalogue. Fourth, surveil: regular hearing checks, audiometry, for workers regularly exposed above the upper action value, catching the early, high-frequency losses before they reach conversation. And throughout, inform and train: workers should know the levels their equipment produces, what the protection is for, and that tinnitus and difficulty following conversation in background noise are early warnings to report, not signs of age to accept.
Where It Meets the Working Day
For a grounds, arboricultural or construction team, the practical consequence is that noise belongs in the same per-equipment, per-operator frame as vibration. Each machine has a noise character that changes with condition, a failing silencer or worn casing raises it, and each operator's day accumulates across everything they use. Hearing protection zones translate too: a fixed workshop or yard gets signed in the familiar way, but for mobile outdoor work the zone travels with the machine, so anyone within the working area of a running saw, blower, or chipper wears protection regardless of who is holding it, with labels on the equipment and briefing standing in for signs on a wall. The record-keeping logic is identical as well: assessments, the data behind them, protection provision, and surveillance outcomes all need an evidence trail that survives longer than a site cabin folder.
Noise in Toolminder
Toolminder records noise assessment data per asset, dB(A) and dB(C) readings with field calibration checks before and after measurement, so each machine's real noise levels live on its record alongside its vibration magnitude, and noise checks can be scheduled into the same service programmes as everything else. The same assets, tags and operators that carry your vibration and pre-use compliance carry your noise evidence too. Contact Earlsmere about noise assessment for your fleet alongside vibration testing.
HSE Resources
- Noise at work: the HSE's noise hub, including guidance for employers and workers
- L108, Controlling noise at work, is the full guidance on the Regulations
The vibration half of the same working day is covered in The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, explained.
Important Notice
This guide is intended as general guidance only and does not constitute legal, safety, or compliance advice. It summarises legislation and HSE guidance in plain English and does not replace the legislation itself, statutory obligations, or professional advice on your organisation's specific circumstances. Organisations are responsible for their own risk assessments, procedures and compliance with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and related HSE guidance. Earlsmere Limited accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this guide.