Anyone who is being actively exposed to over 70dB of noise is at risk of damaging their hearing; as well as any burst of noise 120dB or louder can cause immediate permanent damage to your ears. For reference, the average human conversation is around 60dB. Therefore any workplace that exceeds 60dB-70dB of noise should be taking active precautions to protect their employees hearing.
This includes occupations such as a teacher with a loud class of thirty, all the way to a construction worker who may be exposed to over 120dB of noise each day.
Those whom are self-employed and are being exposed to noise must supply themselves, as well as all of their workers with the proper hearing protection and follow Alberta’s guides on exposure in the workplace.