Effectiveness of Different Ear Protectors in Protecting the Employee from Overexposure in Industrial Environments

Abstract

Several different ear protectors were selected for evaluation. In order to rate the protection ability of each protector, 1000 different octave-band noise spectrums were selected, representing different types of industrial environments. The effective protection provided was then determined by using the “published” attenuation data and comparing then allowed exposure times using the 90-dBA and 85-dBA criteria and the CHABA damage risk contours for broad-band and pure-tone environments. The preliminary results of these analyses will be presented.