Hearing Protection Selection

Workers who need to put their hearing protection on in a hurry or who take off and put on hearing protection many times every day may also appreciate push-to-fit style earplugs that are “ready to wear” and banded hearing protectors that are quick and easy to put on.

Helmet-mounted earmuffs and 3M’s unique Cord Control System (CCS), which allows workers to keep their earplugs conveniently connected to their safety glasses, can also make it easier to comply with hearing protection policies, especially for people who are repeatedly removing and reusing their hearing protection.

Employees who wear hearing protection may also need to wear other types of protection, such as respiratory, eye, face and head protection. Plan for how these different types of PPE will work together and evaluate the selections, to be sure that the required performance of one type of PPE is not compromised by use of another. Adapters to allow earmuffs to attach to hard hats and face shields can be a way to minimize this issue in many cases. When adapters aren’t available or practical, earmuffs with a neck band are a convenient alternative along with banded hearing protectors. Note that interference with the seal of conventional over-the-head earmuffs, such as from safety eyewear, head wear (such as baseball caps or bandanas), or other items might result in several dB loss of attenuation – so ear plugs should also be considered, whether as an alternative or an addition to the ear muffs.

Compatibility with the work being done is also critical. In dirty, dusty situations, washable reusable earplugs may be preferred. In the food industry, metal-detectable earplugs are sometimes required to help employers prevent contamination from earplugs and cords.

Some employees may worry that they won’t be able to hear when they wearing hearing protection. While it’s true that HPD wearers won’t hear as much as they did without hearing protection, in most cases, people with normal hearing will be able to hear well enough with hearing protection if:
 

• the HDPs selected have an appropriate amount of noise reduction for the exposure, and
• they are worn according to the user instructions

For very noisy situations, hearing protectors may allow you to listen at a more comfortable level, much like sun glasses help you see more clearly on a bright sunny day.

When workplace noise reaches 90 dBA and higher, we must shout at each other to communicate. With no hearing protection, your ears cannot easily process the shouting and the noise and the ability to accurately hear conversation is reduced. Your ears are, literally, overloaded with sound. On top of that, you may be experiencing temporary hearing loss, adding to the problem.

This is like going to the beach without sun glasses. Your eyes are overloaded with light making it difficult to see clearly.

When you wear hearing protection, very loud sounds are reduced to a more comfortable level. At this level, your ears are able to process the noise, conversation and important warning sounds more normally with less distortion.

This is like wearing sun glasses at the beach. The shaded lenses bring the light down to a level where your eyes are able to process what you are seeing with less distortion.

However, wearing high attenuation hearing protectors in low-noise situations (below 85 dBA for example) may result in overprotection and cause an undesirable reduction in ability to hear and communicate.

This is similar to wearing dark sunglasses after sundown or on a cloudy day. When the light is at much lower levels, the addition of sunglasses results in overprotection and may make it more difficult to see.

With hearing protection, it comes down to balancing attenuation and situational awareness—the ability to hear what’s going on in the workplace. Level-dependent hearing protectors can help employees who report difficulty detecting important sounds and communicating while wearing HPDs. For those who need to communicate by radio or phone, hearing protectors that connect to external two-way radios, those with built-in radios, and units that pair up to wireless devices make it possible to stay connected and protected at the same time.