Hearing protection devices are worn as a final defense against noise
overexposure, but many workers have difficulty communicating or detecting
warning signals while wearing them. New electronic technology has been
integrated into conventional hearing protectors to allow for some degree of
sound restoration.

Research is currently being carried out within NIOSH, Pittsburgh Research
Laboratory (PRL) to evaluate the performance of sound restoration hearing
protectors. Due to certain features of the devices, such as their non-linear
performance and possible manipulation of electronic settings, there are
obstacles to testing them using the existing standard hearing protector test
methodology.

The paper outlines the issues related to testing these devices as well as
possible solutions.

Download the paper from this page

AplusA-online.de - Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)