On 13 October 2026, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched a new campaign telling employers not to wait until workers’ hearing is damaged before they act on noise. The message is aimed at today’s workplaces. But for many people, the noise came years ago, and the ringing in the ears or the struggle to follow a conversation in a busy room is already part of daily life.
This guide explains what the HSE said, why noise damage so often goes unnoticed, and what the law says if your hearing has already been harmed by work.
What did the HSE announce in October 2026?
The HSE launched a noise and vibration campaign on 13 October 2026, urging employers to assess noise risks, reduce exposure and protect workers before their health is affected. The campaign is built around three steps:
- Assess: identify who may be exposed and carry out suitable risk assessments.
- Control: reduce noise at source, for example with quieter equipment and better maintenance.
- Protect: where risks remain, provide hearing protection, arrange health surveillance (regular hearing checks) where required, and train workers.
Chris Steel, the HSE’s Principal Specialist Inspector for noise and vibration, said: “Noise and vibration-related ill health is preventable, but the consequences can last a lifetime.”
How many workers are affected by noise at work?
According to the HSE, around 15,000 workers develop hearing problems caused or made worse by work every year, and an estimated one in five workers is exposed to harmful levels of noise at work.
| Figure | Estimate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Workers who develop hearing problems caused or made worse by work each year | Around 15,000 | HSE, 13 October 2026 |
| Workers exposed to harmful levels of noise at work | Around one in five | HSE estimate, 13 October 2026 |
The HSE usually publishes its annual work-related ill health statistics in November. This page will be updated when the 2026 figures are released.
Which jobs carry the highest risk of noise damage?
The HSE’s campaign names construction, manufacturing, agriculture, utilities, waste management, engineering, maintenance, and entertainment and events as sectors where noise is a common hazard. Exposure often comes from tools, machinery and equipment used every day.
Many people with work-related hearing loss did their noisiest work before modern hearing protection was routine: in steelworks and forges, print rooms, ship repair yards, aircraft factories and on building sites. Others were harmed more recently, including call centre staff exposed to sudden loud noises through a headset (known as acoustic shock).
Why does noise damage often go unnoticed for years?
Noise-induced hearing loss usually builds up gradually, so many people do not notice it until it is well established. The HSE says workers are often unaware they are being harmed until symptoms begin to appear, by which time some damage may already be irreversible.
In plain English, noise-induced hearing loss is permanent damage to the delicate hair cells in the inner ear caused by loud sound over time. Tinnitus means hearing ringing, buzzing or hissing that has no outside source. Common signs include:
- turning the television up louder than other people like
- struggling to follow conversations in pubs, restaurants or at family gatherings
- often asking people to repeat themselves
- ringing or buzzing in the ears, especially in a quiet room at night
- difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds such as doorbells or birdsong
Because these changes are gradual, many people put them down to getting older. A hearing test (an audiogram) can show the pattern that doctors associate with noise damage.
If the damage is already done, can you still claim?
In many cases, yes. If an employer failed to protect you from excessive noise and your hearing was damaged as a result, you may be able to claim compensation, even if you left that job decades ago or the company has since closed.
Time limits. Under the Limitation Act 1980 (sections 11 and 14), you usually have three years to start a claim from your “date of knowledge”. That is the date you first knew, or reasonably should have known, that your hearing loss was significant and might be linked to work. For many people, it is the date a doctor or audiologist first connected their hearing problems to noise. In some cases a court can allow a claim outside this period (section 33).
If the employer has closed. Employers have had to hold employers’ liability insurance since the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 came into force on 1 January 1972. If a former employer no longer exists, its insurer may still deal with the claim, and the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) helps trace insurance policies.
What did the law expect from employers, and when?
Employers have been expected to understand the dangers of workplace noise for decades. The 2026 campaign is the latest reminder of long-standing duties.
| Year | What happened | What it meant for employers |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Ministry of Labour published “Noise and the Worker” | Courts have generally treated this as the point by which employers should have known about the risks of noise and acted on them |
| 1990 | The Noise at Work Regulations 1989 came into force on 1 January 1990 | Legal duties to assess noise and provide hearing protection, with action levels of 85 and 90 dB(A) |
| 2006 | The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 came into force on 6 April 2006 (6 April 2008 for music and entertainment) | Lower and upper action values of 80 and 85 dB(A), an exposure limit of 87 dB(A), and health surveillance for workers at risk |
| 2026 | The HSE launched its noise and vibration campaign on 13 October 2026 | A renewed warning: assess, control and protect before damage is done |
dB(A) is the unit used to measure noise as the human ear hears it. Every 3 dB(A) increase roughly doubles the sound energy reaching the ear.
Does it matter if your employer gave you hearing tests?
Hearing checks at work (called health surveillance) are a legal requirement for many employers whose workers are exposed to noise, under regulation 9 of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. Having had hearing tests at work does not, on its own, stop you from claiming.
The quality of those checks matters too. In July 2026 the HSE issued its first ever Prohibition Notice against an occupational health provider, after finding health surveillance carried out by inadequately trained, unqualified and unsupervised staff. It said early signs of noise-induced hearing loss were at risk of going undetected.
How does WE Solicitors help with hearing loss claims?
WE Solicitors has handled industrial deafness and other industrial disease claims for workers across the North of England since 2001. WE Solicitors has acted for clients whose hearing was damaged by years in the printing industry, and in 2026 secured compensation for a Manchester call centre worker with an acoustic shock injury, after a claim that was strongly denied for six years.
Every claim is assessed on its own facts. WE Solicitors arranges the medical evidence, traces former employers and their insurers, and explains each step in plain English. Read more about how hearing loss claims work.
What “no win, no fee” means. If your claim does not succeed, you do not pay WE Solicitors’ legal fees. If it succeeds, part of the compensation may go towards costs. WE Solicitors explains exactly how this works, in writing, before you decide whether to go ahead.
Frequently asked questions
Can you claim for hearing loss after you have retired?
Yes. Many claims are made by retired workers, because the damage often becomes noticeable years later. The three-year time limit usually runs from your date of knowledge, not from the date you left the job.
Does wearing ear defenders some of the time stop a claim?
Not necessarily. A claim may still be possible if hearing protection was unsuitable, not provided for all noisy tasks, poorly maintained, or not properly explained, or if noise was not reduced at source as the law required.
Can you claim for tinnitus?
Tinnitus caused by noise at work can form part of a hearing loss claim, and in some cases can be claimed for on its own. Medical evidence will be needed to link it to your work.
How much is a hearing loss claim worth?
It depends on how much hearing has been lost, whether you have tinnitus, and how it affects your daily life and work. Courts use the Judicial College Guidelines (18th edition, April 2026) as a starting point. A free consultation can give you a view on your own situation.
How can you find out if you have a claim?
If the HSE’s warning has made you think about your own hearing, you can talk it through with WE Solicitors free of charge and with no obligation. Call 0800 294 3065 or use the online contact form.
Sources: HSE, Noise and vibration: HSE warns employers not to wait until the damage is done (13 October 2026); HSE, Work Right noise and vibration campaign (October 2026); HSE, HSE takes landmark enforcement action against occupational health service provider (3 July 2026); Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulations 1, 4 and 9; Noise at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 1; Supreme Court, [2011] UKSC 17 (on the 1963 Ministry of Labour guidance, Noise and the Worker); Limitation Act 1980, section 11; section 14; section 33; Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969; Employers’ Liability Tracing Office; Judicial College Guidelines, 18th edition (April 2026).
