Hearing Protection with Caswells: The Great Big Hearing Test
At Caswells, we are passionate about providing the highest quality protective equipment for your workforce. This January, we want to draw your attention to The Great Big Hearing Test and explain how Caswells can help you to meet your obligations to safeguard your staff and their hearing.
What is The Great Big Hearing Test?
Launched by Boots Hearingcare for 2025, The Great Big Hearing Test is an awareness month that encourages anyone who notices hearing changes or loss to book a hearing test. According to research cited in the campaign, one in six British people will wait for over a decade to test their hearing after first noticing a decline. To combat this, Boots Hearingcare offer free hearing tests which can be completed in only 15 minutes, and they are raising awareness about hearing loss throughout January.
Hearing Protection: Employer Obligations
Caswells are supporting this vital cause in workplaces across the UK by highlighting your legal responsibilities as an employer, and explaining how you can meet them. The rules around hearing protection and noise levels in the workplace are governed by The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, which apply to all industry sectors.
· If noise in the workplace reaches 80 decibels (average daily/weekly exposure), an employer is required to provide training and information to their workers about avoiding hearing loss. Most alarm clocks produce around 80 decibels.
· If the noise in the workplace reaches 85 decibels (average daily/weekly exposure), employers are expected to provide hearing protection equipment and introduce hearing protection zones. 85 decibels can be comparable to the noise produced by a blender.
· Average daily/weekly exposure to noise in the workplace should not exceed 87 decibels, which can factor in the reduction in noise that hearing protection provides. At this level of noise, the decibels produced are similar to those produced by a motorcycle.
Hearing Protection with Caswells
At Caswells, we stock almost 80 different products designed to provide hearing protection in the workplace! Our catalogue includes both disposable and reusable ear plugs, ear defenders, and even an ear plug fit testing kit. These products can be filtered by SNR rating (Single Number Rating, which represents how many decibels the equipment can reduce noise by) to help you choose exactly the right fit for your people and your environment. Remember, if your workplace exceeds 85 decibels on a daily or weekly average, you are legally obligated to provide protective equipment. Hearing loss can be irreversible and devastating, and The Great Big Hearing Test provides the perfect opportunity to check that your staff are adequately safeguarded.
You can browse our entire collection of hearing protection here or contact the Caswells sales team here and they will be happy to help you.
Source:
· https://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/regulations.htm
· https://www.bootshearingcare.com/lifestyle/big-hearing-test/
