Measurement of impulse peak insertion loss for four hearing protection devices in field conditions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Finan, Donald S. ; Flamme, Gregory A. ; Khan A ; Lankford, James E. ; Meinke, Deanna K. ; Murphy, William J. ; Sondergaard J ; Stewart M ; Vernon J
• Description:
  Objective: In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed an impulse noise reduction rating (NRR) for hearing protection devices based upon the impulse peak insertion loss (IPIL) methods in the ANSI S12.42-2010 standard. This study tests the ANSI S12.42 methods with a range of hearing protection devices measured in field conditions. Design: The method utilizes an acoustic test fixture and three ranges for impulse levels: 130-134, 148-152, and 166-170 dB peak SPL. For this study, four different models of hearing protectors were tested: Bilsom 707 Impact II electronic earmuff, E·A·R Pod Express, E·A·R Combat Arms version 4, and the Etymotic Research, Inc. Electronic BlastPLG(TM) EB1. Study sample: Five samples of each protector were fitted on the fixture or inserted in the fixture's ear canal five times for each impulse level. Impulses were generated by a 0.223 caliber rifle. Results: The average IPILs increased with peak pressure and ranged between 20 and 38 dB. For some protectors, significant differences were observed across protector examples of the same model, and across insertions. Conclusions: The EPA's proposed methods provide consistent and reproducible results. The proposed impulse NRR rating should utilize the minimum and maximum protection percentiles as determined by the ANSI S12.42-2010 methods. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Acoustics Ear Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Sense Organs
• Keywords:
  Acoustical-measurements Analytical-methods Author Keywords: Hearing Protection Devices Ear-protection Ear-protectors Equipment-reliability Hearing-protection Impulse-noise Impulse Noise Measurement-equipment Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-induced Hearing Loss Noise-levels Noise-measurement Noise-protection Noise Reduction Rating Standards Testing-equipment

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• ISSN:
  1499-2027
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Illinois ; Michigan ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  51
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040191
• Citation:
  Int J Audiol 2012 Feb; 51(S1):S31-S42
• Contact Point Address:
  William J. Murphy, Hearing Loss Prevention Team, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Mailstop C-27, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  wjm4@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Audiology
• Supplement:
  S1
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7cbd9701ab7b2452250153bde1864213005a69d9935e0cfb6a6fe324fb97a4b98b494710e02f1fc6ffc735863d083717fe0199f591d022582125631c30659116
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193142/cdc_193142_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 716.71 KB ]