Applications of Hearing Protector Fit Testing – Outcomes of the International Hearing Protector Fit-Testing Symposium

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gong W ; Hayes ME ; Karch SJ ; Morata, Thais C. ; Murphy, William J.
• Description:
  Shortly after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the regulation that required labeling of all hearing protection devices (HPDs) with the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), studies were undertaken to examine methods that could be used to estimate workers' noise exposures. The NRR was shown to overestimate the attenuation that workers were likely to achieve in everyday environments. While various approaches to derate the attenuation rating have been recommended and required by institutions and national bodies, the derating fails to accurately estimate exposures for most persons. With untrained workers, attenuations can frequently be less than the derated value. Conversely, trained workers have been shown to achieve attenuation that is more than derating would predict. Individualized experiential fit training in the proper donning of earplugs, has been demonstrated as an important method to develop the "muscle memory" necessary to consistently fit earplugs. An evidence-based intervention demonstrated a 20% improvement in a study within a military occupational health clinic providing services to both civilian and defense workers. Challenges associated with the NRR and derating, and the benefits of hearing protector fit testing (HPFT) will be reviewed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hearing Hearing Loss Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Acoustics Fit Testing Hearing Loss Prevention Hearing Protection Sound Attenuation
• ISSN:
  1939-800X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; District of Columbia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  53
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069725
• Citation:
  Proc Mtgs Acoust 2024 Mar; 53(1):002002
• Contact Point Address:
  William J. Murphy, Stephenson and Stephenson Research and Consulting, LLC, 5706 State Route 132, Batavia, OH, 45103, USA
• Email:
  wmurphy@sasrac.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics. International Hearing Protector Fit-Testing Symposium, IHPFTS 2023, August 18-19, 2023, Dallas, Texas
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:47cc306e151517b13f46b0740abd6fe1bddb86eed3e091bee08972f58d81387d87dd33615664a8e4b966a0db485632a4485b9a038e23eb3c7a611dc9639adafd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208093/cdc_208093_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.95 MB ]