North West News
Keeping you in the loop whilst protecting your business from HSE enforcements in the North West.
Formal Improvement Notice
In May 2022, a packing company in Salford was served an Improvement Notice after HSE found employees exposed to above 85 dB with no hearing health surveillance in place.
The Notice required full compliance within 60 days.
Fined £24K
In March 2026, a skip hire company in Burnley was fined £24,000 at Blackburn Magistrates ' Court after a worker was crushed by a plant and suffered partial hearing loss.
The HSE investigation found no risk assessment and no segregation between vehicles and pedestrians.
Swipe to see more reviews ⋙
Protect Your Team
Avoid HSE Fines
Stay Compliant
Workplace Hearing Tests in the North West.
HSE hearing health surveillance for employers across Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Warrington, Bolton and Blackburn.
The North West combines large-scale chemical manufacturing, food and drink production, and plastics processing. Noise is a common hazard across these sectors, with extrusion lines, injection moulding machines, and high-speed packaging equipment all producing levels that require formal hearing surveillance.
What HSE Found in Manufacturing 2025/2026
HSE manufacturing prosecutions (2025) - 53
Total fines levied (2025) - £7.7 million
Fee for Intervention (Per Hour) - £163
Average fine per prosecution - £146,000
Free - Confidential - Instant
The Pioneer Making Workplace Hearing Tests Simple
Mark Ashmore (RHAD, MIOA) revolutionised UK workplace hearing surveillance with 30 years' experience in the hearing arena serving and more recently on British Standards committees for hearing protection (PH/7) and acoustics hearing committee(EH/1).
Realising that take up of hearing health surveillance was hampered by cost, accessibility and logistic concerns Mark created something radical: the UK's first self-service audiometric testing system that anyone can use.
His patented "Turn-up & Test" solution:
-
Sends a complete testing kit to your workplace
-
Designed to enable a nominated individual within your company to run tests with minimal training – the test is intuitive
-
Works 24/7 - perfect for night shifts, weekends, new starters
-
Includes expert review - Mark's team personally reviews every single test result
-
Delivers instant compliance - UKCA certified, MHRA registered, fully HSE compliant
The calibrated headset connects to any computer. Your staff follow simple on-screen instructions. Results are emailed instantly. Mark's team reviews everything and provides HSE-compliant documentation.
What Our Lovely Clients Say
3 February 2026
"Doing our annual hearing tests this way saved quite a lot of money this year. I scheduled the tests one month in advance, but one of the guys was sick on the day.
I still had the headset when he came back to work and got the job done with minimum fuss and no extra cost. Highly recommended."
Bruce Blackman
Complete Tree Care
31 January 2026
"The hearing test kit is very simple to set up and use.
Being able to administer the test ourselves was a great help at reducing the downtime of staff and fitted nicely into our working day.
Mark is always on hand to help with any issues, would highly recommend."
Karl Foster
Boward Tree Surgery
2 February 2026
"Working with Hear 4 The Long Term has given Encore a greater flexibility for delivering hearing tests to employees.
Getting a baseline for new employees can be done with ease and the equipment can be transported within our three production facilities. We no longer have to rely on set days to deliver hearing tests in bulk.
I would recommend Hear 4 The Long Term to any employer having to deliver hearing tests to employees."
Rob Hickey
The Encore Group
3 February 2026
"Having worked with Hear 4 The Long Term on their website and digital strategy, we've seen first-hand how Mark Ashmore's service stands apart in the UK workplace hearing test market.
As an HCPC-registered audiologist with decades of experience, Mark has built a system that makes occupational hearing testing more accessible and significantly more cost-effective than traditional mobile audiometry providers.
H4TLT covers everything from baseline hearing tests and HSE hearing surveillance to earplug fit testing — all with qualified audiologist oversight and full regulatory compliance. If you're looking for the best value workplace hearing tests in the UK, this is it."
Dan Cartwright
Scopesite Digital Studios
4 February 2026
"I'm delighted to be working with Mark on a major music hearing protection project in the public sector. His products are an important part of the risk mitigation and ongoing management of the work being delivered."
Giles Morgan
Nimrod CS & Palmyra
It's Your Turn Now, Try The Compliance Check Below
Establish compliant hearing baselines for every new starter. Pre-calibrated headset connects to any PC enabling your nominated individual to run the test for every new starter at induction. Fully compliant with Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. Results instantly documented for HSE records.
Verify your hearing protection actually works. Test confirms each employee's earplugs deliver the required attenuation - no more guessing if PPE is effective. The test takes less than five minutes and immediately identifies where effectiveness is reduced due to poor insertion. Pass/fail results prove effectiveness and protect against industrial deafness claims.
Your complete workplace audiometric hearing health surveillance solution. Patented 'Turn-up & Test' system needs no qualifications or audiologist involvement. Test night shifts, weekends, remote sites - whenever suits your operation. UKCA marked, MHRA registered. The only self-service system that guarantees HSE compliance.
Not Sure Which Test You Need?
Our free quick compliance check identifies exactly what testing your workplace requires. Results display straight away - no waiting, no email sign-up, no sales pressure.
Just clear guidance to help you keep your workers safe.
All responses are confidential and never shared outside H4TLT.
FAQ Section
Many industries within the North West require workplace hearing tests.
Any employer with workers exposed to noise at or above 85 dB(A) must provide hearing health surveillance under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. In the North West, this commonly applies to chemical manufacturing, food and drink production, plastics and rubber processing, packaging operations, and general engineering. Manchester, Warrington, and the industrial belt across Lancashire have significant concentrations of these noise-intensive sectors.
Equipment sent on-site, no need for an audiologist to visit.
No. Traditional mobile audiometry services charge day rates of £1,000 to £1,700 because they send a van and a technician. Hear 4 The Long Term sends a pre-calibrated headset instead. Your nominated person runs the test, and every result is reviewed by Mark Ashmore, an HCPC-registered audiologist with over 30 years' experience. For North West chemical and food manufacturers running continuous processing, this means testing happens around your production schedule rather than the other way around.
Hear 4 The Long Term are the cheapest in the United Kingdom
HSE hearing surveillance starts from £10 per test. Earplug fit testing starts from £3 per test. Baseline hearing tests for new starters start from £9 per test. These prices are the same nationwide with no regional surcharges, no travel fees, and no minimum bookings. Use the Compliance Checker for an exact quote based on your workforce size.
Improvement notice followed by fines.
HSE will typically serve an Improvement Notice requiring you to implement hearing health surveillance within a set timeframe, usually 2 to 3 months. You will also be billed under Fee for Intervention at £163 per hour for every hour the inspector spends on your case. If the breach is serious or workers have already suffered hearing damage, HSE can prosecute. Fines for health and safety offences are unlimited in both Magistrates' and Crown Courts.
Yes, on several occasions
In May 2022, P. and A. Packing in Salford was served an Improvement Notice after HSE found employees exposed above 85 dB without hearing health surveillance. In March 2026, Sheridan Skips in Burnley was prosecuted and fined £24,000 at Blackburn Magistrates after a worker was crushed with resulting partial hearing loss. Northern Counties Millboard in Colne was fined £65,000 after employees were found exposed above 85 dB without surveillance. The North West has a significant HSE enforcement presence across its manufacturing base.
Areas We Cover
Hear 4 The Long Term provides workplace hearing tests to employers across the North West, including:
Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Warrington, Bolton, Blackburn and surrounding areas.
Since our testing is delivered online through a self-service platform, there are no travel charges and no minimum booking requirements. If you have a computer and an internet connection, you can test.