Conquer the OHST Exam 2025 – Master Your Path to Safety Success!

Personal protective equipment (PPE) plays a critical role in noise exposure control, particularly when other methods of reducing noise are insufficient or impractical. In this context, PPE is considered a last resort for protection against excessive noise levels.

The primary strategy for controlling noise exposure involves sources of engineering controls, administrative controls, and proper work practices that can help reduce noise at the source or limit exposure time. However, when these strategies cannot adequately mitigate the effects of noise, PPE, such as earplugs or earmuffs, can be employed to provide an additional layer of safety.

While PPE is essential in protecting workers from the hazards of excessive noise, relying solely on it without implementing other controls is not the preferred approach. Therefore, it is viewed as a supplementary method rather than the primary means of control for noise exposure. Hence, recognizing the role of PPE as a safety measure of last resort aligns with the hierarchy of controls in occupational safety.