Noise and Vibration Questions
CITB noise and vibration questions test whether you know when noise or vibration needs action and how you are protected, and the right answer usually reduces the noise or vibration at source before handing out protection.
Some questions give a figure, such as 85 dB(A) or 2.5 m/s² A(8), and ask what it is or what it triggers. Others describe a breaker, a grinder or a cut-off saw and ask what to do first, or what tingling fingers might mean. Our questions are built on the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, with HSE guidance on both. A common trap: ear defenders and anti-vibration gloves look like the answer, but the law puts reducing the risk at source first. Take the timed quiz below, then read the 10 sample questions further down, each with a worked explanation. Practise noise and vibration before your Operatives health, safety and environment test or a Specialist test.
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The timed noise and vibration quiz draws from our full noise and vibration set and explains every answer. The quiz is free: 1 quiz every 7 days without an account, or 30 a day with a free account. A paid plan gives you unlimited quizzes.
Free practice quiz
Noise and Vibration practice quiz (timed)
- questions
- 20
- questions
- minutes
- 30
- minutes
- to pass (90%)
- 18
- to pass (90%)
Ready when you are
Find a quiet 30 minutes. The clock starts when you press start, and you see your score the moment you submit.
- Answers and explanations are shown at the end, with every question to review.
- A fresh set of questions every attempt, drawn from our Noise and Vibration set.
- About 90 seconds a question, against about 54 in the real test, so there is time to think.
- Every answer comes with a worked explanation.
How do CITB noise and vibration questions usually ask it?
Noise and vibration questions usually give a figure, a noisy job or a vibrating tool, then ask which value applies, what the employer must do or what a symptom means.
| Question pattern | What it looks like, in our words | What the right answer usually does |
|---|---|---|
| Action and limit values | A figure is given and you name it, or an exposure is given and you say which duties apply | Matches the figure to the right value. For daily noise, 80 dB(A) is the lower action value, 85 dB(A) the upper action value and 87 dB(A) the limit. For hand-arm vibration, 2.5 m/s² A(8) is the action value and 5 m/s² A(8) the limit |
| Hearing protection | Someone works near a breaker or a saw, and you choose what the employer must do about hearing protection | Reduces noise at source first. Protectors must be available on request from the lower action value, and provided where noise cannot be brought below the upper action value by other means |
| Vibrating tools and symptoms | A worker uses a breaker or grinder for long spells, or reports tingling or numb fingers | Picks a lower-vibration tool or a different method, and treats tingling, numbness or fingertips going white as early signs of hand-arm vibration syndrome |
Which law and guidance are noise and vibration questions based on?
Our noise and vibration questions are built mainly on the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, with HSE guidance for practical controls, hearing protection and the signs of vibration damage.
| Law or guidance | What the questions take from it |
|---|---|
| Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 | The action values and limit values (regulation 4), assessing the risk (regulation 5), eliminating noise at source or reducing it (regulation 6), hearing protectors and hearing protection zones (regulation 7), hearing checks (regulation 9) and training (regulation 10) |
| Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 | The hand-arm and whole-body vibration values (regulation 4), assessing the risk (regulation 5), eliminating vibration at source or reducing it (regulation 6) and health surveillance (regulation 7) |
| HSE L108, Controlling noise at work (third edition, 2021) | Guidance on the Noise Regulations: assessing risk, practical noise control, choosing and using hearing protection, and health surveillance |
| HSE INDG362, Noise at work: A brief guide to controlling the risks (2012) | What employers must do, how to assess and control noise, hearing protection and health surveillance |
| HSE guidance on hand-arm vibration | Other ways of doing the job, choosing lower-vibration tools, limiting time on the tool, keeping workers warm and dry, and the early signs of damage to the hands |
Ear defenders are personal protective equipment, and choosing and wearing PPE has its own set in PPE Questions.
Noise and vibration sample questions with worked explanations
Here are 10 noise and vibration practice questions, each with the answer and a worked explanation.
Sample question 1 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
When must the employer actually provide hearing protection rather than offer it?
- Where any employee asks for it, at any noise level at all
- Only during work that lasts longer than four hours in a shift
- Only after the exposure limit value has been exceeded on site
- Where the employer cannot reduce noise below the upper action valueCorrect answer
Why D: Regulation 7(2) requires provision where the employer is unable by other means to reduce exposure below an upper exposure action value.
Sample question 2 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
What is the daily exposure limit value for whole body vibration?
- 0.5 metres per second squared A(8), the action value figure
- 5 metres per second squared A(8), a hand-arm figure
- 2.5 metres per second squared A(8), a hand-arm figure
- 1.15 metres per second squared A(8), which must not be exceededCorrect answer
Why D: Regulation 4(2)(a) sets the whole body daily exposure limit value at 1.15 m/s squared A(8).
Sample question 3 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
Whole body vibration is most commonly a risk for which workers?
- Operatives using breakers, grinders and other hand tools
- Drivers and operators of plant and site vehiclesCorrect answer
- Workers using cartridge operated fixing tools indoors
- Workers who spend most of the shift on foot on the site
Why B: Whole body vibration is transmitted through a seat or floor, so it affects plant and vehicle operators. Hand tools transmit hand-arm vibration instead.
Sample question 4 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
Which is the correct order of noise exposure values, lowest to highest?
- 80 dB(A), then 85 dB(A), then 87 dB(A) as the limitCorrect answer
- 85 dB(A), then 87 dB(A), then 90 dB(A) as the limit
- 87 dB(A), then 85 dB(A), then 80 dB(A) as the limit
- 80 dB(A), then 87 dB(A), then 135 dB(A) as the limit
Why A: Lower action value 80 dB(A), upper action value 85 dB(A), exposure limit value 87 dB(A). The C-weighted peaks run 135, 137 and 140 dB alongside them.
Sample question 5 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
A worker says hearing aids will sort out any hearing loss later on. What does HSE say?
- Hearing aids will fully restore any hearing lost to noise at work
- Noise-induced hearing loss can be cured with an operation
- Lost hearing returns after a few years away from noise
- Hearing aids cannot fully make up for lost natural hearingCorrect answer
Why D: HSE says once hearing has gone it will not come back, there is no cure, and hearing aids cannot fully compensate for the loss of natural hearing.
Sample question 6 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
Why does HSE suggest limiting vehicle reversing on site as a noise control?
- Reversing vehicles must sound their horns
- Reversing causes more vibration in the ground
- Reversing alarms add to the total noise on siteCorrect answer
- Engines run louder in reverse than going forward
Why C: HSE lists limiting vehicle reversing as a way to reduce site noise, because reversing alarms add to the total noise on a site.
Sample question 7 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
Which is correct advice on fitting earplugs?
- Fit them loosely so they are easy to take out
- Fit them right into the ear canal, with clean handsCorrect answer
- Rest them across the entrance to the ear canal
- Share reusable plugs with others to save on stock
Why B: HSE's pocket card says earplugs go right in the ear canal, not just across it, that hands should be clean before fitting, and that earplugs should not be shared.
Sample question 8 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
Your employer asks you to attend a hearing check as part of health surveillance. What does regulation 9(5) say?
- You must attend in working hours, at the employer's costCorrect answer
- You may attend if you wish, but in your own time
- You must attend and pay half of the cost yourself
- You need not attend unless you have noticed some hearing loss
Why A: Regulation 9(5) requires an employee, when required by the employer, to attend health surveillance during working hours and at the employer's cost.
Sample question 9 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
To cut large holes in brickwork with less vibration, what does HSE suggest?
- A tungsten-tipped bit used with hammer action
- A blunt bit, so the drill runs more slowly
- Any bit, so long as the drill is gripped hard
- A diamond-tipped bit used with rotary actionCorrect answer
Why D: HSE suggests a diamond-tipped hole-cutting bit with rotary action rather than a tungsten-tipped bit that needs rotary and hammer action.
Sample question 10 · Noise & Vibration (HAVS)
Why can an awkward working posture increase hand-arm vibration exposure?
- Awkward postures cut the time the tool is used for
- It makes no difference, as the tool's rating is what counts
- More force is needed, so more vibration passes into the handsCorrect answer
- The tool's motor runs a lot faster when it is held at an angle
Why C: HSE says an awkward posture can increase the force needed to apply and control tools, which increases the vibration passing into the hand and arm.
Which noise and vibration answers catch people out?
The traps are answers that wait for the limit value before acting, reach for ear defenders first, and trust gloves to stop vibration.
Duties start at the action values. Once daily noise exposure reaches the lower action value of 80 dB(A), the employer must assess the risk, make hearing protectors available on request and give information and training. At the upper action value of 85 dB(A), the employer must also run a programme of organisational and technical measures to cut exposure, and hearing protectors do not count towards it. The limit value of 87 dB(A) must not be exceeded, and it is the only one of the three that takes account of the protection hearing protectors give.
Hearing protection comes after reducing the noise. The Noise Regulations require the risk to be eliminated at source or, where that is not reasonably practicable, reduced as low as reasonably practicable. HSE says hearing protection should not be used as an alternative to controlling noise by technical and organisational means. It also warns against protectors that bring the level at the ear below 70 dB, because workers then struggle to talk to each other and hear warnings.
Anti-vibration gloves are a weak answer. HSE says gloves can keep hands warm but should not be relied on to protect workers from vibration. The better answers change the job: a breaker attachment on an excavator in place of a hand-held breaker, the lowest-vibration tool that can do the work, and rotas that cut the time anyone spends on a high-vibration tool.
Where does noise and vibration sit in the CITB test?
Noise and vibration are part of the core knowledge you practise for the CITB Operatives test. The Specialist tests include the core questions too, so the same knowledge counts there.
Noise and vibration FAQs
What is the difference between an action value and a limit value?
An action value is the level at which the employer must start taking set steps, such as assessing the risk and reducing exposure. A limit value is the level that must not be exceeded. For daily noise the action values are 80 dB(A) and 85 dB(A), and the limit value is 87 dB(A).
Are these the real CITB test questions?
No. These are practice questions written for this site, each tied to the law or HSE guidance it tests; CITB does not publish its test questions.