Router noise hearing protection UK: what 95 dB means

You are halfway along the groove. The router is loud, the pass will be over in a few minutes, and the ear defenders are still on a hook by the door. Router noise hearing protection UK practice is decided in that minute: wear it while the cutter is in the wood, then sort out who the 80 dB rules bind.

Axminster prints a manufacturer declaration for one corded DeWalt, the 230 V DWE625KT: 95.1 dB(A) sound pressure, 106.1 dB(A) sound power, and an uncertainty K of 2.5 dB. That is the maker’s test figure for that model. A kitchen or a garage is a different reading, and we did not meter a bench for this page. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 set action values at 80 and 85 dB(A), and a limit of 87 dB(A) at the ear.

Feed and depth are on the how to use page. The ten bodies are on the DeWalt router comparison. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This page was checked in October 2026.

In short

Wear hearing protection for the time the cutter is spinning, including a pass you expect to finish quickly. At work, 80 dB(A) is the lower action value, 85 dB(A) is the upper, and 87 dB(A) is the limit at the ear, where protection counts only for that limit. The 95.1 dB(A) figure is Axminster’s print of the declaration for the corded DWE625KT. Palm listings in our comparison publish no decibel number.

The action values, and who they bind

Regulation 4 of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 sets the numbers used at work. The lower exposure action values are a daily or weekly personal noise exposure of 80 dB(A) and a peak sound pressure of 135 dB(C). The upper exposure action values are 85 dB(A) and a peak of 137 dB(C). The exposure limit values are 87 dB(A) and a peak of 140 dB(C). Hearing protection the employer provides may be counted for the limit. The 80 and 85 dB action values are worked out as if the ear were bare.

Those duties sit with an employer, and with a self-employed joiner whose routing is the work. A householder rounding a door on a Saturday is outside that employment duty. The cutter beside your head is still loud. If you employ joiners, a declared level around 95 dB(A) is a reason to look at the day or the week. A five-minute excuse is a thin version of that look.

At the lower action value, hearing protection has to be available. At the upper action value it has to be worn, and exposure has to be reduced where that is reasonably practicable. The 87 dB(A) cap is applied at the ear after protection, so the 85 dB duty remains on the record. We have no peak reading in dB(C) for any router in this set. HSE report RR1223 treats woodworking as a noisy industry. It is not the source of a router decibel level on this page.

A declared 95.1 dB(A) on one corded DeWalt

Axminster prints the manufacturer declaration for the corded 230 V DeWalt DWE625KT: 95.1 dB(A) sound pressure, 106.1 dB(A) sound power, and K of 2.5 dB. Sound power is the energy the machine emits. Sound pressure is the level under the test method. Your ear, a hard wall and the cutter you fitted sit outside that sheet. K of 2.5 dB is the stated uncertainty on the declaration.

Take 95.1 dB(A) as if it never varied, and convert running time to an eight-hour equivalent. About 15 minutes reaches 80 dB(A), about 47 minutes reaches 85 dB(A), and about 74 minutes reaches 87 dB(A). A five-minute pass lands near 75 dB(A). A rise of about 3 dB doubles sound power, and about 10 dB multiplies it by ten, so a level around 95 dB beside the cutter is a different quantity from 85 dB spread across a shift. Those sums collapse when the real level differs, and we did not measure yours.

Several shallow passes add motor time that one swipe along a door edge does not. The plunge and trim page separates a short edge from a cut that starts in the face of a board. The DWE625KT is absent from the ten amazon.co.uk listings in our comparison. The DeWalt in that set is the cordless DCW620B at £324.98 tool only, 4.7 from 175 reviews, with no decibel line. The declaration and that listing are two machines.

What the palm listings leave out

None of the ten listings prints a sound pressure level, a sound power level or a K value. An empty cell means the seller stated no router decibel level. The top pick is the TOPWAY 18 V palm router at £49.99, 1.74 kg, 4.3 from 47 reviews, fixed base, battery not included. The bullet claims 1/4 inch, 6 mm and 8 mm collets, three different shanks. They give no decibel figure.

The L1NXIXI at £54.99 is the palm tool a UK review calls noisy, with no number on that remark. The listing claims 800 W, a weight of 1.71 kg, and up to 30,000 rpm in the spec, while one bullet says 33,000 rpm. “Noisy” means the buyer noticed the sound. An rpm line is a speed claim until someone states it in dB(A). The other palm bodies are third-party trimmers with a claimed DeWalt pack fit. Which pack the titles mean is on the 18V XR page.

A light motor can still be loud, because it sits near your head. Wear the protection you would choose for a long housing on the one-minute round-over as well. If you employ someone on that palm tool, the blank cell is a hole in the assessment, and the defenders still go on before the switch.

What to wear on a long cut

Put hearing protection on before the switch, and leave it on until the cutter has stopped. Ear defenders, or plugs sold as hearing protection with a stated SNR, are the kit made for this. Music earbuds are a different product. The SNR on the packet is a laboratory rating. Glasses, a cap, hair under the cushion or a high headband open a leak, and that leak is why the packet number often fails to arrive at your ear.

At work, protection is counted for the 87 dB(A) limit and left out of the 80 and 85 dB(A) action values. Choosing an SNR so the ear stays under the limit belongs in an assessment, with a measured level or a competent estimate from the declaration and the hours. This page will not name an SNR for every router and every room.

A blunt bit or a slow feed keeps the motor in the wood for longer, so the defenders stay on for the finishing pass. Lifting one cup to talk, with the bit still buried, opens that ear. An extractor is a second motor. We did not measure one beside a router, so there is no combined figure. Use the hood anyway. Fine dust and hearing are separate controls, and a mask does not stand in for defenders.

Claims to leave off the page

The sheet supports one sentence: 95.1 dB(A) sound pressure for the corded 230 V DWE625KT, with 106.1 dB(A) sound power and K of 2.5 dB. A kitchen figure needs a meter in the kitchen, because hard walls can raise what you hear. Asked how loud a cordless plunge router is, when the listing has a blank noise line, the answer on this set is that blank.

That five-minute pass can sit under the lower action value on its own. Further passes and other tools make the rest of the day. At home, the employer’s duty does not land on a householder cutting a shelf. The minutes beside your head are still why the defenders come off the hook. A blank palm listing means the noise is unspecified, and a review that says “noisy” has no unit you can put in a dose. Defenders do not erase 95 dB from an employer’s action values. For a workshop, read regulation 4 and the HSE guidance, and measure the job you run.