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Tables and Guidelines for Laboratory Safety
Published in Thomas J. Bruno, Paris D.N. Svoronos, CRC Handbook of Basic Tables for Chemical Analysis, 2020
Thomas J. Bruno, Paris D.N. Svoronos
Clearly, hearing protection can only be effective if it is actually used, so user preference (between ear plugs and ear muffs, for example) must be considered. Since the anatomy of the ear varies with each individual, the effectiveness of plugs might not be universal, especially if inserted incorrectly. Moreover, in some environments, personnel inserting and removing ear plugs through the course of a workday can introduce dirt and bacteria and cause ear infections. When a higher NRR is needed, sometimes using two styles of HPDs simultaneously is effective, for example, ear muffs and disposable foam earplugs, although the NRR is not simply additive. The following table provides guidance in choosing the appropriate HPD. Note that in addition to the equipment shown below, there are combination devices available. One can obtain, for example, a passive earmuff combined with a protective hard hat and various types of face shields.
Introduction
Published in Randall F. Barron, Industrial Noise Control and Acoustics, 2002
Hearing protectors (earplugs or acoustic muffs) can be effective in preventing noise-induced hearing loss in an industrial environment. In some cases, the use of hearing protectors may be the only practical means of limiting the workers’ noise exposure, as is the case for workers who “park” airplanes at large air terminals. Because of inherent problems with hearing protectors, however, it is recommended that they should be used only as a last resort after other techniques have been reviewed. For example, the worker may not be able to hear warning horns or shouts of co-workers when wearing earplugs. One can get accustomed to wearing hearing protectors, but the earplugs are often less comfortable than wearing nothing at all. This characteristic of earplugs and people introduces some difficulty in enforcement of the use of hearing protection devices. In cases where earplugs are the only feasible solution to a noise exposure problem, an education, training, and monitoring program should be in place to encourage strongly the proper and effective use of the protective devices.
Occupational Health and Safety in Mines
Published in Debi Prasad Tripathy, Mine Safety Science and Engineering, 2019
Commercially two types of device for ear protection are used, i.e. acoustical muffs/ear muffs and earplugs. Generally, earplugs are of two types, i.e. formable and preformed ear plugs. Exposure control of workers comes under the administrative noise control. According to the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) Circular (Tech.)/18, 1975, the permissible noise limit for a worker for 8 hours’ continuous exposure is 90 dB(A) in Indian mines.
Comfort of earplugs: results of a field survey based on the COPROD questionnaire
Published in Ergonomics, 2022
Jonathan Terroir, Nellie Perrin, Pascal Wild
Regarding the impact of predictive items on perceived comfort, relatively few data are available (Doutres et al. 2020). To better understand their relationship with the overall comfort, the impact of all the items included in the preliminary questionnaire (see Section 2.1) was previously estimated during the construction of a predictive model of comfort based on the data from this survey (Terroir et al. 2021). A statistically significant relationship with the predicted overall comfort was only found for two parameters: the level of education and the daily duration of use (declared prior to the tests). On this basis, the present analyses focus on these two parameters. Regarding the impact of the level of education, analyses show that people with higher education levels evaluate premolded and roll-down foam earplugs more negatively than people with lower education level. This effect could be related to needs, tasks or requirements. The daily duration of use has an impact on the preference between premolded and roll-down foam earplugs. Thus, people who report wearing the earplugs all day prefer (after custom moulded earplugs) roll-down foam earplugs while the others prefer premolded ones. This could impact the choice of the family of earplugs when it proves impossible to provide custom moulded earplugs or when an alternative or self-service model is proposed.
Assessing the comfort of earplugs: development and validation of the French version of the COPROD questionnaire
Published in Ergonomics, 2021
Jonathan Terroir, Nellie Perrin, Pascal Wild, Olivier Doutres, Franck Sgard, Chantal Gauvin, Alessia Negrini
Nine models of earplugs belonging to three different families were tested: roll-down foam (A1, A2, A3), premolded (B1, B2, B3) and custom moulded (C1, C2, C3). Roll-down foam earplugs are made of compressible foam. They are generally cylindrical. The earplug is compressed between the user's fingers and inserted into the ear canal. It then gradually returns to its original shape, providing acoustic sealing. Premolded earplugs are made of elastic materials that deform much less than those used in the previous family. These earplugs consist of a flexible stem covered with one or more flanges of various shapes, which provide acoustic sealing. Custom moulded earplugs are made of silicone or acrylic and based on the impression of the person's ear canal.
Occupational health and safety risk assessment using a fuzzy multi-criteria approach in a hospital in Chennai, India
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2023
Pavanaditya Badida, Selvan Janakiraman, Jayapriya Jayaprakash
To prevent noise hazards, hearing protection (e.g., ear plugs, ear phones) should be used to eliminate or decrease noise exposure. Proper maintenance of equipment and equipment replacements must be done as necessary.