⏱️ Estimated reading time: 13 min
Key Takeaways
How loud are power tools? Most sit between 85 and 110 dB(A) at the operator’s ear, and a petrol chainsaw can pass 115 dB(A). One woodworker who put a meter beside his mitre saw logged 103 dB and followed it with a row of exclamation marks, which is about the right reaction. The number means little until you know how fast it uses up a day’s noise dose.
This chart gives each common tool a typical level in dB(A), the time to reach the 85 dB(A) daily dose on the UK’s 3 dB exchange rate, and the matching HSE protection band. Most charts online are American and use a gentler 5 dB rule, so their times run longer than UK law allows.
At Bollsen, we are a family-owned hearing protection company founded in 2016, trusted by 1,000,000+ people, and we make a reusable work earplug called WorkPRO. For job-by-job advice on choosing and wearing earplugs for work under UK noise rules, from site tools to warehouse aisles, start at our workplace hub.
How loud are power tools in decibels?
Power tools typically run at 85–110 dB(A) at the operator’s ear, from a drill at around 87–91 dB(A) and a circular saw at 94–98 dB(A) to an angle grinder cutting thin steel at up to 115 dB(A) and a petrol chainsaw at 100–120 dB(A).
The chart uses ranges because the same tool changes level with load, material and speed. Times assume continuous running with no hearing protection, and are rounded.
| Tool or machine | Typical level at the ear, dB(A) | Time to the 85 dB(A) daily dose (3 dB rule) | HSE protection band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dental handpiece (high-pitched) | 70–85 | 8 h or more | Below the HSE bands; a 24 dB plug can over-protect |
| Forklift, operator or aisle | about 85 | about 8 h | SNR 20 or less |
| Battery chainsaw | 81–90 | 8 h or more to 2 h 30 min | SNR 20 or less to 20–30 |
| Drill or drill driver | 87–91 | 5 h to 2 h | SNR 20 or less to 20–30 |
| Salon hair dryer | about 90 | 2 h 30 min | SNR 20–30 |
| Petrol mower | 90–95 | 2 h 30 min to 48 min | SNR 20–30 |
| Compressor | 90–95 | 2 h 30 min to 48 min | SNR 20–30 |
| Angle grinder, grinding | 90–95 | 2 h 30 min to 48 min | SNR 20–30 |
| Orbital sander | 87–98 | 5 h to 24 min | SNR 20–30 to 25–35 |
| Circular saw | 94–98 | 1 h to 24 min | SNR 25–35 |
| Hammer drill on masonry | up to 100 | 15 min at 100 | SNR 25–35 |
| Router (rises with speed) | 92–103 | 1 h 35 min to 7.5 min | SNR 20–30; above 100, under ear defenders |
| Strimmer or brushcutter | 95–105 | 48 min to 5 min | SNR 25–35; above 100, under ear defenders |
| Mitre saw | about 103 | 7.5 min | SNR 30+: earplugs under ear defenders |
| Air saw or air chisel | about 107 | 3 min | SNR 30+: earplugs under ear defenders |
| Petrol cut-off saw or concrete breaker | 100–110 | 15 min to 90 s | SNR 30+: earplugs under ear defenders |
| Angle grinder, cutting thin steel | 110–115 | 90 s to 30 s | SNR 30+: earplugs under ear defenders |
| Petrol chainsaw | 100–120 | 15 min to under 10 s | SNR 30+: earplugs under ear defenders |
| Nail gun or cartridge tool | impulse, peak in dB(C) | not a dB(A) dose; peak limits 135 / 137 / 140 dB(C) | Impulse: ear defenders on top |
The protection band column follows HSE’s hearing protection guidance, which suggests SNR 20 or less at 85–90 dB(A), 20–30 at 90–95, 25–35 at 95–100 and 30 or more above 100 dB(A). Choosing a rating is its own question, and our guide to how much hearing protection do I need works through each level, including the risk of over-protection.
Saws, routers and sanders get a closer look in our guide to earplugs for power tools and woodworking. Mowers, strimmers and chainsaws are covered in hearing protection for mowing and landscaping, and the forklift row in earplugs for warehouse workers. Hammer drills, cut-off saws, breakers and nail guns are site kit, covered in earplugs for construction workers.
The high-pitched dental handpiece row is covered in our expert review of earplugs for dentists. Our children’s noise guide explains what 85 dB sounds like with everyday sounds. Riders can also check how loud motorcycle wind noise is.
How loud is a chainsaw?
A petrol chainsaw typically measures 100–120 dB(A) at the operator’s ear, with felling cuts measured at around 100–102 dB(A) and cross-cutting higher, while a battery chainsaw usually sits at 81–90 dB(A). At 100 dB(A) the UK daily dose is gone in 15 minutes, and at 110 dB(A) it takes about 90 seconds.
Every petrol saw sits at or above HSE’s 100 dB(A) line, where the suggested protection is SNR 30 or more. In practice that means double hearing protection, earplugs worn under ear defenders, which many UK arborists describe adopting for big saws after years of defenders alone. A battery saw at 81–90 dB(A) falls in bands a single protector covers.
How loud is an angle grinder?
An angle grinder measures about 90–95 dB(A) during typical grinding but can reach 110–115 dB(A) when cutting thin sheet steel, and WorkSafe Victoria’s grinder guidance puts the full range at 90–115 dB(A). That 20 dB spread is why one grinder appears twice in the chart.
Disc size matters too. The same guidance reports that a 125 mm grinder runs 6–10 dB quieter than a 228 mm model, and low-noise discs can take off up to 8 dB more. HSE’s vehicle-repair guidance puts grinders and orbital sanders at around 97 dB(A), where 30 minutes is a full day’s dose.
How long can you use a 100 dB tool before you reach the daily noise dose?
At 100 dB(A) you reach the UK 85 dB(A) daily dose in about 15 minutes, because under the 3 dB exchange rate every 3 dB increase halves the allowed time. The ladder runs 85 dB(A) for 8 hours, 88 for 4 hours, 91 for 2 hours, 94 for 1 hour, 97 for 30 minutes and 100 for 15 minutes.
That daily figure is your daily personal noise exposure, written LEP,d, which averages a working day’s noise across 8 hours. Under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, employers must offer hearing protection when exposure reaches 80 dB(A), enforce its use at 85 dB(A) and in hearing protection zones, and keep exposure at the ear, allowing for the protection worn, below a limit of 87 dB(A). HSE’s summary of the Noise Regulations also lists peak values of 135, 137 and 140 dB(C) for impulse noise.
As HSE puts it, every 3 dB doubles the noise. The lower 80 dB(A) action value arrives in roughly a third of each chart time, so a steady 85 dB(A) reaches it in about 2 hours 30 minutes.
DIY threads often say a job only takes a few minutes. At 106 dB(A), a few minutes is about 4, and that is the whole day’s dose. Music through headphones adds its own sound on top; as one woodworker put it, the tools are louder than the music anyway.
US charts use OSHA’s 5 dB exchange rate and a 90 dB limit, so they show longer times. Readers under American rules can read what OSHA standards are for background, but every time in this chart follows UK law.
Why does the same tool measure 10–20 dB differently?
The same tool can measure 10–20 dB apart because its level depends on load, the workpiece, disc size, speed and power source, and on whether a figure is sound pressure at the ear or sound power.
NIOSH measurements found loaded tools average 4.1 dB(A) louder than when running free, and thin sheet metal can add up to 15 dB over a grinder’s declared value. In one workshop thread, a router climbed from 70 dB at 8,000 rpm to 102 dB at 25,000 rpm.
Manuals often print two numbers. LpA is sound pressure at the operator’s position and matches this chart, while LWA is the sound power the tool emits and always reads higher.
How do you find the noise level of your own tool?
The quickest source is the declared noise emission in your tool’s manual or declaration of conformity: look for the LpA figure in dB(A), measured to EN 62841, with an uncertainty of about ±3 dB(A).
Read that figure as a floor rather than a ceiling, because the test runs a set task and real work is often louder. HSE’s free noise exposure calculator then turns levels and hours into a daily LEP,d. It also shows what halving tool time does, which is to cut exposure by about 3 dB.
When is a 24 dB earplug enough, and when do you need ear defenders on top?
A 24 dB earplug covers the chart’s 90–100 dB(A) rows on its own, and anything above 100 dB(A) needs earplugs worn under ear defenders. SNR 24 sits inside HSE’s 20–30 band for 90–95 dB(A) and just under the 25–35 band for 95–100 dB(A), so a good fit matters most at the top of that range.
Our WorkPRO earplugs (SNR 24 dB, £29.95) are German-tested, independently certified 24 dB, rated H 24 / M 21 / L 19 to EN 352-2, and made from hypoallergenic two-lamella silicone in high-vis yellow. They are low-profile so ear defenders fit over them, and they cover the drill, sander, circular saw, compressor and mower rows alone. Like any passive earplug they make everything roughly 24 dB quieter, and a loud warning stays audible because it is loud, not because a filter passes it through.
For an angle grinder on steel, a petrol chainsaw, a cut-off saw, a breaker or anything else above 100 dB(A), WorkPRO is low-profile and goes under ear defenders. Below about 85 dB(A), in a forklift aisle or a dental surgery, a 24 dB plug can over-protect, and HSE advises against bringing the level at the ear below 70 dB. Earplugs are one control in an employer’s noise plan, after quieter tools and shorter exposure.
What about nail guns and other impulse tools?
Nail guns, cartridge-operated tools and breakers make impulse noise, short peaks measured in dB(C), so a dB(A) average understates them and they are judged against peak values of 135, 137 and 140 dB(C) instead.
That is why the nail-gun row has no dose time and no earplug rating. A single-number rating describes continuous noise, so impulse work calls for ear defenders on top of earplugs, chosen through the employer’s noise assessment.
Noise damage to hearing builds slowly and is permanent, and HSE’s occupational deafness statistics estimate around 15,000 workers with work-related hearing problems on average across 2022/23 to 2024/25. If you notice ringing or a change in your hearing after noisy work, speak to your GP or occupational health.
Find your tool, read across to the time, and compare it with how long you actually run it in a day. Anything above 100 dB(A) needs two layers, and for the 90–100 dB(A) rows where most workshop and garden tools sit, a 24 dB earplug you keep in all day is the practical answer. Our 40-day money-back guarantee lets you try WorkPRO on a real job first.
His connection to hearing protection stems from personal experience with sound sensitivity during live events and work in noisy environments, an issue that made him more aware of the long-term risks of unmanaged noise exposure. Today, as both a communicator and a user of BOLLSEN products, he is passionate about raising awareness around the importance of proactive hearing care.
At BOLLSEN, he develops data-driven marketing campaigns, writes SEO-focused articles, and manages communication channels that connect customers with practical knowledge about hearing protection. His work ensures that BOLLSEN’s message—prioritizing health, performance, and sustainability reaches a global audience in an engaging and trustworthy way.
Passionate about writing since childhood, Timotej combines creativity with a strong analytical approach, continuously testing new ideas in digital marketing, performance advertising, and social media. He believes in learning through innovation and collaboration, balancing leadership with openness to new perspectives.
Beyond his professional role, Timotej is committed to a healthy lifestyle and finds inspiration in fitness, sports, and quality time with friends. His personal passion for well-being aligns with BOLLSEN’s core values, making his work not only a career but also a cause he deeply believes in.