Validating a hearing protector with built-in sound level measurement Free

Personal noise measurement, or dosimetry, is a useful tool for estimating a worker’s noise exposure over time. The data collected can be used to mitigate risk of hearing loss and other negative health effects of hazardous noise. It can also be used to ensure compliance with hearing conservation regulations and policies. Conventional noise dosimetry typically measures environmental noise levels from the location of the wearer’s shoulder. Measuring at the shoulder, however, does not take into account the attenuation of any hearing protection that is used. A hearing protector with a built-in sound level measurement system can measure the actual noise levels beneath the hearing protector, as well as the surrounding noise. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a field study to validate hearing protector measurements in real-world environments could not be completed. This study uses alternative methods to validate the accuracy of the hearing protector’s measurements in different noise environments.