New Hearing Protection Regulations Explained

Reclassification of hearing protection legislation (EU 2016/425) effective 21 April 2019

One of the biggest risks people face in many workplaces is hearing damage. This is recognised in the new European regulation on personal protective equipment. The new legislation (link) primarily adds a number of extra obligations.

The requirement that an employee must be offered hearing protection when the average daily exposure reaches 85 decibels (A) remains in force. On top of that, the employer is also obliged to make sure the employee actually wears their hearing protectors.

New hearing protection regulations

Under the new regulation, hearing protection now falls into category III, which is also the highest risk category for PPE. This means the EU is taking the danger of irreversible hearing damage in the workplace seriously, which in our view is entirely justified.

The current Dutch Commodities Act Decree on PPE is being phased out

The legislation applies directly from Europe and therefore does not need to be transposed into national law by the member states. This means that the current Dutch Commodities Act Decree on PPE will disappear entirely as a result.

Changes in the new legislation for employers

• Hearing protectors must be tested for a proper seal when first put into use, and every 2 years thereafter, by means of a leak test. If this is not possible, the hearing protectors must be replaced every 4 years.

• All checks and fittings must be recorded by us.

We at Audinc welcome this new legislation and are working to implement all the new rules. It will benefit quality and will give custom earplugs a more prominent place among the other PPE, which we believe is essential.