Testing and rating of hearing protector devices - A real headache

Authors

  • Alberto Behar Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Willy Wong Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada

Keywords:

Audition, Canadian standards associations, Editorial changes, Hearing conservation program, Hearing protectors, Noise levels, Noisy environment, Occupational hearing, Technical committees

Abstract

Z94.2 is up for review by the Subcommittee SC1 of the Occupational Hearing Conservation Technical Committee S304 of the Canadian Standards Association. The work involves editorial changes as well as updating of the text. The rating of the HPDs, on the other hand, provides a simple way for the calculation of the noise level of the protected ear. It is the parameter used by the safety personnel to choose a protector for a given noisy environment. Another very important HPD property is the comfort experienced by the user. Results from Method A are supposed to represent an optimum fitting scenario that could be accomplished by a motivated and proficient user. Method B, on the other hand, is meant to approximate realistic results for workers in hearing conservation programs. The second option will be to include the existing NRR as rating. NRR was never included in the Z94.2 because of the overly optimistic and unrealistic results.

Additional Files

Published

2011-09-01

How to Cite

1.
Behar A, Wong W. Testing and rating of hearing protector devices - A real headache. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2011 Sep. 1 [cited 2024 Dec. 7];39(3):104-5. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2432

Issue

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada