Every year 30 million people are exposed to hazardous noise on the job, and thousands suffer from preventable work-related hearing loss. Now, some innovative technology comes to the rescue and helps protect workers in noisy environments.
For example, at 3M’s Hutchinson, Minnesota, facility, a 2012 Safe-in-Sound award winner, workers undergo annual fit testing, using 3M’s own E-A-Rfit™ Validation System. Like respirator fit testing, testing for hearing protection helps ensure that devices are in place and working properly.
The system includes tools for:
- Auditing
- Fitting
- Training
- Managing a testing program
The software establishes a baseline value for workers and helps identify those whose current protection might be inadequate.
E-A-Rfit takes the guesswork out of using hearing protection. Noise exposure data are entered, and the system identifies the most appropriate hearing protection.
Employees are then trained to properly insert the hearing protectors, and the fit is tested using a microphone that measures the noise outside and inside the earplug. The microphone is attached to a computer, which calculates a personal attenuation rating (PAR). This is the degree to which the individual is being protected by a particular earplug.
The goal is to achieve a 20 dB noise reduction.
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Communication in High-Noise Environments
A new development at Honeywell Safety Products is aimed at workers who must communicate while wearing hearing protection.
QUIETPRO® is a Honeywell device that allows users to communicate without compromising listening quality even in high-noise environments. According to Peggy Costabile, director of global marketing at Honeywell, users can speak at a normal level and be heard without picking up environmental noises or compromising speech quality.
The device uses an in-ear headset and a microphone placed inside the ear tip, which eliminates the ambient sounds typical of external microphones. The loudness adjusts as the user walks around the workplace—as the environment gets louder, the system dampens the noise to a safe level.
QUIETPRO features an innovative internal fit testing system. Once the device is inserted and the system turned on, it performs quick calibrations to check for proper fit. The user is alerted if protection is inadequate.
Honeywell has also created an in-ear dosimetry system that monitors noise exposure during the shift and indicates if the user is being overexposed. A series of flashing lights indicates to the wearer, and to the safety manager monitoring the system, that there is an exposure problem.
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OSHA and Hearing Conservation
OSHA’s required hearing conservation program (29 CFR 1910.95) kicks in when workers are exposed to a time weighted average noise level of 85 dB or higher over an 8-hour shift.
If you have to shout to be heard by another person 3 feet from you, the noise level is probably above 85 dB.
The program requires employers to measure noise levels, train employees, provide free annual hearing exams and hearing protection, and conduct evaluations of the adequacy of the protection.
Engineering or administrative controls are required when exposure exceeds the permissible exposure limit, 90 dB.
NIOSH recommends that all worker exposures be controlled below a level equivalent to 85 dB for 8 hours. The institute also recommends a 3 dB exchange rate, which means that every increase by 3 dB doubles the amount of noise and halves the recommended exposure time. OSHA’s exchange rate is 5 dB.