Noise at Work: Protecting Crew, Not Just the Neighbours

In this guide:The rules · Exposure · Controlling it · For crew · Picks · FAQ

Most conversations about noise in this industry are about the venue limiter and the neighbours. That is a licensing matter, and it is covered in noise limiters in UK venues.

A separate set of rules covers the people at work in the room: the engineer, the crew, the bar staff and the band. Hearing damage is cumulative, permanent and completely preventable, and it is the occupational injury this trade actually suffers from.

What the regulations require

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 place duties on employers to assess and control noise exposure. They set out action values based on daily or weekly personal exposure and on peak sound pressure, at which specific duties are triggered.

In broad terms, and this is a summary rather than the regulation.

• At a lower action value, the employer must provide information, training and hearing protection on request, and make health surveillance available where there is risk.
• At an upper action value, the employer must reduce exposure by means other than protection so far as is reasonably practicable, mark hearing protection zones, and ensure protection is used.
• There are exposure limit values which must not be exceeded, taking account of the protection worn.

There is dedicated guidance for the music and entertainment sectors, which recognises that the noise is the product rather than an unwanted by-product, and describes practical control measures for venues and productions.

Why exposure, not loudness, is the measure

The regulations work on exposure, which is loudness combined with time. That is why a short, very loud exposure and a long, moderately loud one can be equivalent, and why the engineer standing at the desk for eight hours may be at more risk than the audience who came for ninety minutes.

Practically, this means two things. Reducing the level helps, and so does reducing the time. Rotating crew away from the loudest positions, taking breaks out of the room, and not running the PA at show level through a four-hour soundcheck are all legitimate controls.

Controls that work in a live environment

Working down the hierarchy, from most to least effective.

• **Design the system so it does not need to be as loud.** More, smaller sources placed closer to the audience produce a better result at a lower level than one loud pair at the front, which is also the basis of the advice in PA systems for small venues.
• **Get the stage volume down.** In-ear monitoring instead of wedges removes a large amount of the level on stage, which lowers the level needed out front. See in-ear monitor systems.
• **Move people out of the hot spots.** Nobody needs to stand in front of a wedge or beside a sub for an entire show.
• **Limit the time.** Soundcheck at a working level, not at show level.
• **Hearing protection.** Musicians’ filtered earplugs attenuate roughly evenly across the spectrum, so the mix still sounds like a mix. Foam plugs kill the top and make people take them out.

The habit worth building

The engineers who still have their hearing at fifty are the ones who protected it at twenty. Filtered plugs in the pocket, in-ears rather than wedges wherever possible, and a working level at soundcheck are cheap habits that pay for decades.

Hearing damage does not announce itself. It arrives as tinnitus one morning, and it does not go away.

Frequently asked questions

Do the noise regulations apply to live music?

Yes. There is dedicated guidance for the music and entertainment sectors precisely because the noise is the product, and it describes how the duties are met in that context.

Are earplugs enough on their own?

They are the last line, not the first. The regulations expect exposure to be reduced by other means so far as is reasonably practicable, with protection on top of that rather than instead of it.

What sort of earplugs should crew use?

Filtered musicians’ plugs, which attenuate fairly evenly across the frequency range, so speech and music remain intelligible. Foam plugs remove the top end, which is why people take them out.

Does in-ear monitoring protect hearing?

It can, because it removes stage wedges and lets the performer hear a clear mix at a lower level. It is not automatic: an in-ear mix turned up loud is still loud, so it needs limiting and sensible levels.