Abstract
In industry, noise can cause damage to hearing. However, it can also cause a range of non-auditory effects. In industrial environments noise can be reduced by purchasing quiet equipment, locating noisy equipment away from workers, ensuring appropriate vibration isolation is used, enclosing noisy equipment where necessary, attenuating noise through ducts and louvres, and by providing adequate shelter from noisy environments. Although noise in office environments does not generally pose a risk of hearing damage, there are a range of factors to consider that may reduce the non-auditory effects of noise on health. This article gives some guidance on how to set and achieve appropriate noise criteria.