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Field investigation of real-world attenuation provided by insert-type hearing proteetors

Lindkvist, Jenny and Sandberg, Linda (2002) AUD414 20021
Logopedics, Phoniatrics and Audiology
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to see how much attenuation the hearing protection device (HPD)
wearer gets using an insert-type HPD at work in real-world situations and to see if there is a
relation between how the wearer puts his HPD in place and the surrounding noise leveL
Five different companies were selected and aU together there were 43 participants. The test
subjects work in such an environment that the use of hearing protectors was considered
necessary.
To determine the effectiveness of earplugs as they are worn in the workplace, portable
equipment was used. The Real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT) method was used to
determine the subjects' binaural threshold levels, with and without the HPDs inserted. The
difference... (More)
The purpose of this study is to see how much attenuation the hearing protection device (HPD)
wearer gets using an insert-type HPD at work in real-world situations and to see if there is a
relation between how the wearer puts his HPD in place and the surrounding noise leveL
Five different companies were selected and aU together there were 43 participants. The test
subjects work in such an environment that the use of hearing protectors was considered
necessary.
To determine the effectiveness of earplugs as they are worn in the workplace, portable
equipment was used. The Real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT) method was used to
determine the subjects' binaural threshold levels, with and without the HPDs inserted. The
difference between these two results is a measure of the attenuation. The test frequencies span
between 250 Hz to 8000 Hz. To see if there was any relation between the sound levels and
how the test subjects inserted their hearing protectors there was also done a sound level
measurement. The HML-method was used to establish each subject's attenuation. This
method is based on three attenuation values, H, MandL (High, Medium and Low).
When the attenuation is put in relation to the sound level one can see that the attenuation
appears to increase with the sound level. Our results imply that those exposed to high sound
levels are more careful when applying their earplugs, which corresponds to our hypothesis
that was: Users who work in a noisy environment would be more cautious how the HPDs are
used than HPD wearers who work in a less noisy environment.
When overprotection is defined according to European standard EN 458, e.g. < 70 dB( A)
inside the HPD, 33 out of 43 (77%) of our test subjects are overprotected.
Estimation of the surrounding sound level is difficult. Our results show that the HPD wearer
himself cannot determine whether the sound level is at a dangerous level or not.
Our study indicates that there is a need on the market for an earplug that only provides an
attenuation of approximately 10 dB for those who work in the borderline of 85 dB( A). (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lindkvist, Jenny and Sandberg, Linda
supervisor
organization
course
AUD414 20021
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
language
English
id
2968852
date added to LUP
2012-08-07 20:53:54
date last changed
2012-08-07 20:53:54
@misc{2968852,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this study is to see how much attenuation the hearing protection device (HPD)
wearer gets using an insert-type HPD at work in real-world situations and to see if there is a
relation between how the wearer puts his HPD in place and the surrounding noise leveL
Five different companies were selected and aU together there were 43 participants. The test
subjects work in such an environment that the use of hearing protectors was considered
necessary.
To determine the effectiveness of earplugs as they are worn in the workplace, portable
equipment was used. The Real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT) method was used to
determine the subjects' binaural threshold levels, with and without the HPDs inserted. The
difference between these two results is a measure of the attenuation. The test frequencies span
between 250 Hz to 8000 Hz. To see if there was any relation between the sound levels and
how the test subjects inserted their hearing protectors there was also done a sound level
measurement. The HML-method was used to establish each subject's attenuation. This
method is based on three attenuation values, H, MandL (High, Medium and Low).
When the attenuation is put in relation to the sound level one can see that the attenuation
appears to increase with the sound level. Our results imply that those exposed to high sound
levels are more careful when applying their earplugs, which corresponds to our hypothesis
that was: Users who work in a noisy environment would be more cautious how the HPDs are
used than HPD wearers who work in a less noisy environment.
When overprotection is defined according to European standard EN 458, e.g. < 70 dB( A)
inside the HPD, 33 out of 43 (77%) of our test subjects are overprotected.
Estimation of the surrounding sound level is difficult. Our results show that the HPD wearer
himself cannot determine whether the sound level is at a dangerous level or not.
Our study indicates that there is a need on the market for an earplug that only provides an
attenuation of approximately 10 dB for those who work in the borderline of 85 dB( A).}},
  author       = {{Lindkvist, Jenny and Sandberg, Linda}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Field investigation of real-world attenuation provided by insert-type hearing proteetors}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}