Demonstrating compliance of noise exposure experienced by British military aircrew with noise legislation in the United Kingdom

Abstract

In 2005, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations were introduced into UK law and imposed two Exposure Limits Values, one for continuous noise and one for impulse noise. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has mandated that the legislation will apply in full throughout the military, and hence, there has been a requirement to understand the types of exposure military operators are exposed to. Military aircrew have historically been exposed to high levels of continuous noise and the more stringent legislation has necessitated enhanced noise mitigation, including the development of new hearing protection technologies. However, in more recent years, military aircrew have become increasingly exposed to weapon firing and the MOD are now addressing the implications of the combined effects of the two different exposures and their impact on compliance with the legislation. In-flight measurement of continuous and impulse noise exposure has been conducted in a range of aircraft and the two exposures assessed for compliance with the legislative criteria. To meet the protection requirements in all platforms, enhanced hearing protection technologies are being developed, including Adaptive Digital Active Noise Reduction and comms processing techniques.