Physiologically, hearing is the result of sound waves vibrating the eardrum. The eardrum, inner ear bones, ear snail, the movement of fluid in the snail and the tiny hair cells that transmit sound to the brain are all separate actors of the hearing event. These hair cells are the point where the ear is damaged when exposed to excessive noise. These cells undergo short-term changes to sounds, but if they are exposed to high levels of noise, the hearing will suffer. The ear continues to receive a number of sounds, but loses its ability to distinguish sounds. Occupational hearing loss is usually accompanied by tinnitus. Continuous ringing and buzzing occurs in the ear.

Noise can cause stress other than hearing loss, disrupt communication, or startle workers. Such risks are also part of the overall risk assessment to be undertaken by the employer.

In general, the ear can hear sounds with a frequency between 20 and 20 thousand Hertz per second. The best heard frequency is between 3 and 6 thousand Hertz, which is the human voice.

Noise in working environments is a mixture of frequencies over a wide range. Whispering speeches have 10 decibels, low voice speech 30 decibels, normal speech 50 decibels, busy office space 60 decibels, closely passing heavy vehicle 90 decibels, and a closely ventilated jet has 140 decibels.

In 2013, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security issued a Regulation on the Protection of Employees from Risks Related to Noise. This regulation aims to protect employees from health and safety risks and especially hearing-related risks arising from exposure to noise in the workplace.

When performing noise measurements by accredited laboratories within the framework of personal exposure measurements, the limits and published standards specified in this regulation are complied with.