Hearing Conservation for Small to Medium Sized Firms

This is an ekpert view of the problems facing firms with little or no previous experience in the evaluation of daily exposures to noise, hearing conservation and noise control.Practical-advice is given on how to overcome these problems in a cost effective manneL W Hany large firms will already be familiar with the requirements of the Noise at Work Regulations due to come into effect in 1990 and vill he in a position to properly assess the noise exposure of their employees and to set up appropriate hearing conservation programmes by the use of specialists either inside or outside the company.However, what of the small to medium sized firm that_has neither the expertise nor the knowledge to cope with the new situation that the new legislation will presipitate?Such firms will need to grapple with the mysteries of sound pressure levels, pascals, denihels.3dB rules, Leq s and the like before they can finally master all of the intricacies of workshop noise surveys.vorker noise exposure assessments.noise control and hearing conservation.Alternatively, they may feel compelled to call in a consultant to solve their dilemma.However, much can be achieved through simple, clear and concise advice to achieve a start to a cost-effective approach to the problem.This is the object of this paper.