Noise is everywhere except you live in seclusion. Exposed to some of dangerous noise can do harm to our hearing permanently. People are paying more attention to hearing protection. This year, in smart wear, even Apple introduced an all day noise detection app for Apple Watch to help people take care of hearing. But if you must stay and work in the area exposed by high volume of noise, you need to pick the suitable hearing protection equipment.
1. Make Sure How Much Noise Reduction You Need
Noise exposure limit NIOSH1 recommends is 85 dBA2(A-weighted decibels). You can use apps like NIOSH Sound Level Meter or Apple Watch Noise App to measure dBA. If the noise exposure is 100dBA, you need to wear noise reduction equipment of more than 15dB. Most earplugs, earmuffs or earbands have higher noise reduction rating than 15dB. These ratings are measured by standard wearing in labs, so make sure follow hearing protector instruction manual and wear them correctly.
If exposed to extreme noise level over 100dBA, use double protection like earplugs plugs earmuffs.
2. Considering Exposed Environment and Things to Do
Do you need to wear other head-level PPE3?
Use one set safety helmet earmuffs while helmet is needed.
Do you stay in hot or cold worksite?
Foam Earplugs or moldable silicone earplugs can be used in hot environment.
Earmuffs cushions will get hard and become ineffective while staying cold.
Do you keep hands clean while staying in noisy place?
Foam earplugs need to be rolled down with fingers to insert in ear canals. So choose other concrete protection if you cannot keep hands clean or do not have convenient washing equipment.
Do you need to communicate or hear clearly?
In most cases, use proper noise reduction rating hearing protection won’t block the speech. But if it does, use radio or electronic earmuffs to get real-time communication and noise blocking at the same time.
3. Choose Most Comfortable and Efficient
If you choose foam earplugs, rebound time and touching feeling in ear canals is important. We recommend 30 seconds rebound time after rolled down because it makes less pressure in ears and can be fit quickly.
If you choose earmuffs, cushion material, tightness and weight can be important. Light weight and less pressure is great for long time wearing. Material of earmuffs cushion decides the touching feeling and breathability.
Appendix
- NIOSH : The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
- dBA : A-weighted decibels, abbreviated dBA, or dBa, or dB(a), are an expression of the relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by the human ear. In the A-weighted system, the decibel values of sounds at low frequencies are reduced, compared with unweighted decibels, in which no correction is made for audio frequency.
- PPE : Personal Protective Equipment