"Physicians should consider these factors to raise awareness about the combined risk of attending music festivals without using
earplugs while consuming alcohol and/or drugs," the authors write.
Rutlin says simply relying on SNR to determine the attenuation level from an
earplug may mean that many workers do not have the protection levels they require: "With this in mind, Honeywell has developed an intelligent hearing protection system called QUIETPRO, which allows individual users and safety managers to control individual sound exposure levels.
(15) Furthermore, our objective measurements inside the ear of KEMAR (artificial head test fixture) demonstrate that the spectral characteristics of music are indeed altered by these products, regardless of whether the
earplug was the custom or non-custom type.
I can't tolerate normal
earplugs for long, but after about 2 hours shooting the sniper rifle and an AR, I was still not having difficulty wearing them.
This technology means it is possible to definitively establish if an employee needs better protection, improved training or a new type of
earplug."
Development of improved equipment, such as communications
earplugs (a miniature microphone encapsulated by a compressible
earplug, which can be inserted into the ear), improves communication and provides for double protection when combined with circum-aural ear muffs.
By using deep-insert custom
earplugs, the user can achieve a more assured
earplug fit, compared to foam and flanged
earplugs, and thereby achieve a good, consistent hearing-protection level.
Retail
earplug manufacturer McKeon Products of Warren, MI, invented the silicone
earplug in 1962.
In a bid to change the image of
earplugs, students from De Montfort, Coventry and Sheffield Hallam universities have been invited to take part in a competition to come up with more appealing
earplug designs.
Quite often a safety manager will interpret this to mean offering one
earplug, in corded and un-corded styles.
"Everyone's ears are different," she said, "and one
earplug or earmuff style may not be comfortable for the entire workforce.