Abstract
In a work environment, in addition to noise, people may be exposed to other harmful factors. Therefore, they wear both hearing protectors and other personal protective equipment (OPPE). Incorrect use of such a combination may increase the risk of hearing loss. The aim of this study was to determine whether the simultaneous use of earmuffs and other personal protective equipment could affect the effectiveness of hearing protection. The study was carried out under laboratory conditions using an acoustic test fixture. This fixture replicated the anatomical shapes of the head and the pinnae, and was also equipped with ear simulators. The study was carried out for five models of earmuffs and eight models of other personal protection equipment. We found that a change in the sound pressure level (SPL) under the earmuffs when using a full face respirator could reach up to 40 dB. On the other hand, the use of a half respirator had practically no adverse impact on the efficiency of hearing protection. In the selection process, it is recommended to consider safety spectacles equipped with thin temples, and half respirators equipped with band adjustment elements positioned on the facial part, rather than the back, of the user’s head.
Highlights
The reduction of exposure to noise in the workplace is possible by means of engineering measures, for example, by introducing acoustic treatments, soundproof booths, and administrative methods.These include rotating employees between workplaces with different noise conditions or limiting the time of exposure to noise
The selection of hearing protectors consists in calculating the A-weighted sound level under them based on the values of noise parameters present in the workplace and sound attenuation provided by the hearing protectors [1]
other personal protective equipment (OPPE), full face respirators have the greatest impact on the sound pressure level (SPL) under the earmuffs
Summary
The reduction of exposure to noise in the workplace is possible by means of engineering measures, for example, by introducing acoustic treatments, soundproof booths, and administrative methods.These include rotating employees between workplaces with different noise conditions or limiting the time of exposure to noise. The reduction of exposure to noise in the workplace is possible by means of engineering measures, for example, by introducing acoustic treatments, soundproof booths, and administrative methods. There is a difference between the assumed effectiveness of hearing protection resulting from the use of hearing protectors based on the sound attenuation values depicted in the user manual and the effectiveness of protection occurring under real conditions [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Workers often do not pay due attention to the correct placement of hearing protectors [14,15] (this applies mainly to earplugs) They use old, worn-out hearing protectors, whose effectiveness is limited [16,17,18]. Public Health 2019, 16, 1477; doi:10.3390/ijerph16091477 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
