Article 6
Personal protection 1. If the risks arising from exposure to noise cannot be prevented by other means, appropriate, properly fitting individual hearing protectors shall be made available to workers and used by them in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive 89/656/EEC of 30 November 1989 on the minimum health and safety requirements for the use by workers of personal protective equipment at the workplace (third individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)(14) and Article 13(2) of Directive 89/391/EEC and under the conditions set out below: (a) where noise exposure exceeds the lower exposure action values, the employer shall make individual hearing protectors available to workers; (b) where noise exposure matches or exceeds the upper exposure action values, individual hearing protectors shall be used; (c) the individual hearing protectors shall be so selected as to eliminate the risk to hearing or to reduce the risk to a minimum. 2. The employer shall make every effort to ensure the wearing of hearing protectors and shall be responsible for checking the effectiveness of the measures taken in compliance with this Article.