Hearing protection in childcare

In spring 2025, childcare organisation Babilou, known among others for BLOS Kinderopvang, announced a trial with hearing protection for staff. According to Kek Mama, which based its report on RTL Nieuws, childcare workers deal every day with noise that often hovers around 80 decibels. The trial was due to start at the end of April at three locations. Besides earplugs, the organisation also wanted to test acoustic wall panels and a different arrangement of activities there.

Swedish research also shows that working with young children takes a toll on the ears. In a 2018 study by the University of Gothenburg, 4,718 women working in Swedish preschools filled in a questionnaire. Of them, 71% suffered from sound-induced auditory fatigue, compared with 32% in a comparison group. Almost half, 46%, had difficulty understanding speech, compared with 26%.

Whether it is really too loud in your groups only becomes clear from a measurement. Kinderopvang Werkt! offers a first test. If you can have a normal conversation with a colleague at a distance of one metre, the noise is probably below 80 dB(A). If you have to raise your voice, find out how loud it is.

With noise, it is not just how loud it is that counts, but also how long you hear it. According to Kinderopvang Werkt!, the maximum exposure time per day halves with every 3 dB(A) added.

• 80 dB(A), up to 8 hours a day
• 83 dB(A), up to 4 hours a day
• 86 dB(A), up to 2 hours a day
• 89 dB(A), up to 1 hour a day

Hearing protection is not the first step. Under the Dutch health and safety rules, the employer first tackles noise at the source. In childcare, those are the measures from the cards above, such as sound-absorbing panels, rugs, quieter toys and a daily rhythm with busy and quiet moments. Kinderopvang Werkt! also mentions an acoustic traffic light. It is linked to a sound level meter and uses colours to show how loud it is, so everyone can see when it is getting too much.

Not everyone is happy with earplugs in the group. Gjalt Jellesma, chair of BOinK, the Dutch association of parents in childcare, said in a response to the Babilou trial that the association is in principle against earplugs, because you would miss children who speak softly. He argues for better acoustics. That concern is justified for earplugs that block everything. That is why in childcare you choose a light filter, alongside measures in the room and not instead of them.

Audibling works with interchangeable filters from Dynamic Ear Company. For childcare, the DR series is suitable, which the manufacturer designed for general use. According to Dynamic Ear, ordinary industrial earplugs often attenuate too much where it is not needed, which makes speech sound dull. The filter material of the DR series ventilates. According to the manufacturer, that reduces the blocked-up feeling and irritation in the ear canal.

• DR 5, SNR 7 dB. Attenuates high frequencies by 9 dB and mid frequencies by 3 dB. The lightest filter, for when you mainly want to take the shrill edge off.
• DR 10, SNR 9 dB. Attenuates high frequencies by 11 dB and mid frequencies by 5 dB. A good start for an ordinary day in the group.
• DR 15, SNR 16 dB. Attenuates high frequencies by 16 dB and mid frequencies by 13 dB. For the busiest moments, such as a full playroom.

Which variant suits depends on the measurement and on how you experience the noise. Because the filter is interchangeable, you can later put a lighter or stronger filter in the same custom earplugs. The values come from the Dynamic Ear Company datasheet. In custom earplugs, the attenuation can differ depending on the fit. You can compare all filters, including the stronger DR 20, on the filter page.

Looking for them for yourself? The Earplugs for the office come with a DR filter with 9 dB as standard, the Earplugs for general use with a DR filter with 16 dB.

In the group, you want to hear a toddler quietly asking something, a baby waking up and a colleague calling you. So more attenuation is not better here. Do not choose stronger than necessary.

A DR 10 attenuates the mid frequencies by only 5 dB and the high frequencies by 11 dB. That keeps a voice close by easy to follow, while high, shrill sounds are attenuated a bit more. If you want to hear voices as naturally as possible, the DM filter is an alternative. It attenuates more evenly across high, mid and low frequencies.

If you talk and sing all day, you notice with earplugs in that your own voice sounds hollow and loud. That is called the occlusion effect. According to the manufacturer, the ventilating filter of the DR series reduces it. Take your custom earplugs out when it is quiet, for example while reading aloud or when the children are asleep. Custom earplugs are quick to put in and take out.

A childcare organisation has the same duties as any other employer. Arboportaal, the Dutch government's website on healthy and safe working, lists them.

• Map the noise in the RI&E. Kinderopvang Werkt! refers to the Risicomonitor for this. The measuring itself is work for a specialist, such as an occupational hygienist.
• Tackle noise at the source first, for example with sound insulation, a different way of working or shorter exposure.
• If daily exposure goes above 80 dB(A), you provide hearing protectors. According to Kinderopvang Werkt!, that must be free of charge.
• If daily exposure goes above 85 dB(A), employees are required to wear hearing protection. The employer then also takes technical and organisational measures.
• The limit value is 87 dB(A), measured in the ear and so with the hearing protection taken into account. If it goes above that, the noise must be reduced immediately.
• Give employees enough information about the dangers of noise.
• Employees are entitled to a hearing test to check whether the measures are working.

According to Arboportaal, noise is extra harmful for young people and pregnant employees. For them, the Working Conditions Decree has a separate ban on working above the limit values.

You can read all about the rules in what the Working Conditions Act says about hearing protection at work. How to make sure colleagues actually put their protection in is covered in how to make sure employees actually wear their hearing protection.

If 10 or more employees want custom earplugs, our specialists take the ear impressions at your site. We agree the date with you. Taking an impression takes 10 to 15 minutes per person on average. The custom earplugs are ready about three weeks after the ear impressions are taken, marked for each employee and with a case.

If there are fewer than 10 of you, or someone is not there on the day itself, they have their ear impressions taken at a partner hearing centre. You can read how long the whole process takes in how long it takes to make custom earplugs.

Choose a colour for each employee from clear, black, white, green, red and blue, or a custom colour by arrangement. That way nobody accidentally picks up a colleague's earplugs. From 10 pairs, the custom earplugs can carry your organisation's logo. For fewer pairs, you choose a standard logo from our range. Our logo print is patent pending.

• Kek Mama, Kinderopvang biedt oordoppen aan voor medewerkers (1 April 2025), based on RTL Nieuws (in Dutch)
• Kinderopvang Werkt!, Checklist geluidshinder in de kinderopvang (in Dutch)
• Kinderopvang Werkt!, Richtlijnen verlichting, binnenklimaat en geluid (2022) (in Dutch)
• Arboportaal, Wat zegt de wet over lawaai op het werk? (in Dutch)
• University of Gothenburg, news item on hearing problems among preschool staff (25 June 2018)
• Dynamic Ear Company, DR series datasheet