Who is at risk from loud noise?

A wide range of workplaces and industries involve exposure to loud and prolonged noise:

• workshops
• sawmills
• foundries
• canning or bottling plants
• pubs, clubs, live music venues and discos.
• textile manufacture
• farm work and forestry
• construction and road building
• call centres
• classroom teaching
• demolition or road repair
• woodworking
• plastics processing
• engineering
• general fabrication
• forging, pressing or stamping
• paper or board making

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) lists examples of tools, processes and equipment that can cause hearing loss:

• hammering
• drop forging
• pneumatic impact tools etc
• drills
• chainsaws
• explosive sources such as cartridge-operated tools or detonators, or guns

But the list is by no means exhaustive eg telephones can also cause problems.