THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOM FIT HEARING PROTECTION
 |
Why with a world full of available hearing protection do we still have millions of people losing their hearing? Noise in the workplace has been designated by the World Health Organisation as the world's single largest occupational health problem.
The South Australian Workcover Authority estimates that the average cost to Australian business per hearing loss claim is $30,000, taking into compensation payout, account lost hours, insurance costs etc.
Every persons ears are different. One size fits all plugs or muffs can't possibly provide comfort and accurate protection to everyone. |
The fact people don't wear hearing protection correctly or often enough is a major contributor to the continuing increase in Hearing Loss cases.
In Chapter 29 of 'Scientific Basis of NIHL', published by Thieme Medical Publications of New York, three auditory research Scientists; Berger, Franks, and Lindgren concluded that a large variation exists in the way a specific HPD is worn. This results in a wide inconsistency of attenuation results. It may not seem like rocket science to fit a foam plug in your ear but a report in Noise & Health Vol 7;25 by Warwick Williams, Senior Research Engineer with the National Acoustics Laboratory in Sydney shows the importance of fitting instructions. 40 people were tested under Australian Standards protocol with a single type of foam ear plug. 20 of the subjects were shown instructions on the fitting technique and 20 were not.
The 20 subjects receiving instruction achieved an SLC80 of 24 verses an SLC80 of only 8 from the 20 subjects with no instruction. That is a serious difference. How many workers wearing HPD's have had individual instruction or bother to read the packet?
Even if instructed properly some people find all manner of ways to avoid wearing a HPD correctly. There are many reasons for this intentional misuse. The most common criticism about a HPD is lack of comfort. Both plugs and muffs suffer the same backlash. Earmuffs are hot, too tight and interfere with other protective gear. They are also often worn with protective eyewear which can render them ineffective as they no longer seal around the ear correctly.
Until recently the only 'reasonably practical' way to address personal hearing protection was with disposable foam plugs, ear muffs or ear canal caps. The alternative to these devices is a custom fitted hearing protector. It is difficult for a person to fit a moulded HPD in their ear incorrectly thus solving the 'variable fit' issue. Unfortunately, until now, the process was cumbersome and expensive therefore was not a practical way for industry to address workplace safety.
Custom moulded HPD's can solve the problem of comfort. The new approach to the fabrication of personalised HPD's, from Sonomax mean they are now possible on a mass scale. Sonomax have developed a way to comfortably and quickly mould a HPD in the ear, without the need for an initial mould, at the customers site.
Custom moulded HPD's are comfortable and can not be worn incorrectly. Because the user is right there at the time of fit they will also always receive one on one instruction. |
