– Study by Howard Leight Acoustical Laboratory evaluates factors affecting earplug performance
– Shows one-third of workers achieved higher attenuation than published SLC80s

Dingley, Australia – June 17, 2009– A recent field attenuation study conducted by the Howard Leight Acoustical Laboratory on the performance of hearing protection devices showed that individual, one-on-one training was the most significant factor in predicting good earplug performance. The study, which was conducted on over 100 workers at eight different facilities, showed that fully one third of workers achieved attenuation higher than published Sound Level Conversion Ratings (SLC80) for their earplugs, and that another third achieved attenuation within 5 dB of those ratings. Only the remaining third had attenuation that was more than 5 dB below published SLC80s.

“This reinforces the need for individual fit testing of earplugs,” said Brad Witt, MA, CCC-A, Director of Hearing Conservation for Sperian Hearing Protection, LLC, and a principal author of the study. “No generalised rating scheme for hearing protectors can be effective without knowing how much attenuation individual workers actually attain. If a safety manager were to supply earplugs based on the assumption that all earplugs only achieve half of their published attenuation in the field, then clearly two-thirds of the workers in this study would be seriously overprotected, since they are achieving much higher protection than 50%.”

In this study, workers were tested during their standard work shifts. They were not pre-screened, and were tested with their own earplugs that they routinely wear on the job, with no modifications. The tested earplugs were from four different hearing protection device manufacturers, and workers received no training or coaching as part of the test. The workers were simply asked to insert the earplugs as they normally did on the job. No feedback or correction was offered if they fit the earplug incorrectly.

According to Witt, the purpose of the study was to identify factors which contributed to good earplug fit, and hence, good attenuation in use. “A variety of personal as well as program factors were evaluated to determine which factors would correlate the best to a good earplug fit among these 100 workers,” he said. Factors evaluated included: gender; age; years working in a hazardous noise environment; ear canal size; familiarity with hearing protection devices; model of product used; amount of group training received; amount of individual training received; and enforcement.

Of all these factors, said Witt, “only one stood out as having a strong correlation: one-on-one training. That is, the more often a worker had received Individual Training in the proper use of hearing protectors, the higher the probability of a good fit.” The same could not be said for Group Training, according to Witt. “It appeared to make no difference at all whether a worker had attended zero, five or ten group training sessions in hearing protection, when measuring good attenuation in the field.”

“Field testing of hearing protectors bridges the gap between the laboratory estimates of attenuation and the real-world attenuation achieved by workers as they normally wear their protectors,” said Ben Elsey, Hearing Conservation Specialist for Sperian Protection Australia Pty Ltd. “This test confirmed the value of individual, one-on-one training, and the importance of new technologies like VeriPRO™, recently introduced by Howard Leight.”

Developed in conjunction with the House Ear Institute (www.hei.org), VeriPRO measures real-world attenuation of unmodified earplugs and can be used as a means to improve individual employee training and enhance the overall effectiveness of hearing conservation programs. “VeriPRO makes it easy to get an accurate, real-world assessment of employees’ earplug fit, which is essential to achieving adequate attenuation,” said Elsey, “and provides an excellent tool to improve individual training.”

VeriPRO consists of software and an optimised headset, and utilises a three-part process to determine the effectiveness of an employee’s earplug fit over a range of frequencies. ” VeriPRO benefits both safety managers and employees alike,” said Elsey. “For the safety manager, it fulfils regulatory requirements for training with documented results. For employees, VeriPRO demonstrates the importance of hearing protection in the workplace, and helps employees select and compare protectors to find the best choice for their ears and specific applications.”

About Howard Leight
Howard Leight/Sperian Hearing Protection, LLC is a leading global provider of passive and intelligent hearing protection solutions, and champion of progressive Hearing Conservation Programs. For over 30 years, Howard Leight has pursued the prevention of occupational hearing loss through innovation in hearing protection design, technology, performance and comfort, and the promotion of hearing safety education. Leading solutions include the highest attenuating Max® single-use earplug; patented Air Flow Control™ technology for optimal earmuff attenuation; QuietDose™ personal in-ear dosimetry; and the industry-changing VeriPRO® earplug fit testing system. Visit: www.howardleight.com.

With nearly 6000 employees worldwide, Sperian Protection is resolutely geared towards international markets. The world leader in personal protective equipment (hearing, eye, respiratory and fall protection, gloves, clothing and footwear), the Group offers innovative products adapted to high-risk environments so that all workers in the manufacturing and services industries can work with confidence. Sperian Protection is listed on Euronext’s Eurolist and on the SBF120.

For additional information, contact:
Sperian Protection Australia Pty Ltd
43 Garden Boulevard
Dingley
VICTORIA 3172
Phone 1300 139 166
Fax 1300 362 491
BDeal@SperianProtection.com
rbessette@SperianProtection.com
http://www.howardleight.com

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Tags: earplug performance, field attenuation study, hearing conservation programs, hearing protection solutions, howard leight, sperien protection