Methods of Estimating Effective A-Weighted Sound Pressure Levels When Hearing Protectors Are Worn

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ahroon W ; Behar A ; Berger EH ; Casali JG ; Dixon-Ernst C ; Gauger D ; Hager L ; Madison TK ; McKinley R ; Michael K ; Mozo BT ; Murphy, William J. ; Ohlin D ; Witt B
• Description:
  This standard specifies three methods, in ascending order of complexity of use and potential accuracy, for the estimation of the sound pressure levels that are effective when a hearing protector is worn. The application of the procedures in turn requires an estimate of the real-ear attenuation of the device for groups of users and an estimate of the noise levels to which the users are exposed. The simplest method is the Noise Level Reduction Statistic for use with A-weighting (NRSA) that can be directly subtracted from an A-weighted sound level or sound exposure estimate. A more accurate procedure is the Noise Level Reduction Statistic, Graphical (NRSG) that requires measurements of both the A- and C-weighted sound levels or exposures, and the application of a set of graphical data. Potentially the most accurate approach is the octave-band method utilizing the octave-band real-ear attenuation and noise measurement data. Each of the simplified ratings, the NRSA and NRSG, is to be computed at both the 80th and 20th percentiles to reflect the range of performance to be expected based on the variation in the attenuation data. There is an informative Microsoft Excel workbook provided with this American National Standard, which is entirely informative and provided for the convenience of the user. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Hearing-protection Noise-exposure Noise-frequencies Noise-levels Noise-protection Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Sound Standards
• Publisher:
  Acoustical Society of America
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-27
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032947
• Citation:
  ANSI/ASA S12.68-2007, Melville, NY: Acoustical Society of America, 2007 Aug; :1-27
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Methods of estimating effective a-weighted sound pressure levels when hearing protectors are worn, ANSI/ASA S12.68-2007
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0df645a2d8388d8d5dcb9032ef70e7ad6db32b0a14bdf53d461ab2bfea16d974195e8fc2941a0b0a238b38619d32c1a9333af9724adbce9b8bfb87805b43557a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188703/cdc_188703_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.85 MB ]