Personal Attenuation Ratings (PAR) of Agricultural Workers: How Well Do Earplugs Really Fit?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anthony, T. Renée ; DeVito C ; Gibbs J
• Description:
  In a recent Great Plains Center survey, agricultural workers reported exposure to loud noises (e.g. grain augers, tractors, livestock) an average of 5 days per week. In the same survey, >70% of these workers reported having a least one symptom of noise-induced hearing loss. Many outreach/educational efforts have focused on increasing agricultural worker's awareness and use of hearing protection devices (HPD). In comparison to manufacturing/construction workers, agricultural workers receive less formal training on how to use HPD, thus it is important to learn if they are adequately inserting differently types of earplugs for noise protection. The goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of HPDs used by agricultural workers by comparing their individual personal attenuation ratings (PAR) to the manufacturer reported noise reduction rating (NRR). The effectiveness of the inserted HPDs were quantified via the 3M E-A-RfitTM Dual Ear Validation System at several regional farm shows, and the results were compared to the manufacturer reported NRR. Sixty agricultural workers (255 plug pairs) were tested, using four common earplug models available at farm supply stores. Many agricultural workers reported personal preferences for plug types like the 3M 'Ultrafit' triflange plug (36%) and the 'EARsoft" formable plug (36%). However, personal attenuation test data show that even though formable ear plugs like the 3M 'Classic' and 'EARsoft' brands have higher reported NRRs, they did not necessarily fit agricultural workers the best. In fact, less than 6% of the agricultural workers achieved attenuation levels near the manufacture's NRR for formable plugs. Older agricultural workers (>/= 60 years) had lower PARs across all plug types. Overall, more agricultural workers achieved higher PAR using non-formable, pushin type plugs (they received PARs of 12 and 13 dB for 'Pushin' and triflange plugs). These were both significantly below the manufacturer NRR ratings, adjusted for dB scale. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Ear Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Sense Organs

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural Industry Agricultural Machinery Ear Protection Hearing Loss Prevention Hearing Protection Noise Exposure Noise Induced Hearing Loss PPE
• Publisher:
  Center for Health, Work & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  88
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053603
• Citation:
  Proceedings of 2017 expanding research partnerships: state of the science, June 21-23, 2017, Denver, Colorado. Denver, CO: Center for Health, Work & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health, 2017 Jun; :88
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa, Iowa City
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of 2017 expanding research partnerships: state of the science, June 21-23, 2017, Denver, Colorado
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:54c8466398e1244019f1f0272eda91dc015c51c82b1cb3ed00cbffc8764ec255ac55955cd744ac9970e0f05669021a103199bb8902d4cf5838eb679108857fa7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216330/cdc_216330_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 135.19 KB ]