Continuous and impulsive noise attenuation performance of passive level dependent earplugs

Abstract

Level dependent hearing protectors, earplugs and earmuffs, have advanced in technology due to the needs of military personnel and others to reduce the risk of hearing damage from impulsive noise. These hearing protectors were developed to preserve ambient listening capabilities therefore improving situational awareness while reducing the risk of noise induced hearing loss by attenuating both continuous and impulsive noise. Four commercially available passive level dependent earplugs were assessed for both continuous noise attenuation and impulsive insertion loss performance. The continuous noise attenuation results were collected using American National Standard Institute (ANSI) S12.6-2008 Methods for Measuring the Real-Ear Attenuation of Hearing Protectors while the impulsive insertion loss results were collected using ANSI S12.42-2010 Methods for the Measurement of Insertion Loss of Hearing Protection Devices in Continuous or Impulsive Noise Using Microphone-in-Real-Ear (MIRE) or Acoustic Test Fixture Procedures. The presentation will include the passive noise attenuation performance of level dependent earplugs for both continuous and impulsive noise. The impulsive insertion loss results for these particular hearing protectors will be applied to impulsive noise damage risk criteria for an estimate of allowable impulsive noise exposure.