The human ear is exposed to a significant amount of various sounds and noises on a daily basis, over a wide spectral range extending beyond the frequency limits of human hearing, defined between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. Although our hearing aids transmit only frequencies between these limits to our brain, our organization is potentially subject to such frequencies.
Although these infrasound and ultrasound frequencies are not perceived by the ear, they can have an impact on our hearing.
This document aims to simply explain the nature of these frequencies and the environments we are generally exposed to, in order to discuss their potential dangers and finally provide some solutions to protect ourselves.
This study shall investigate the impact of the hearing protection device and its effect on intelligibility in a noisy environment.
Using a subjective test on 22 individuals, we observed an increase of about 20 percent of recognized words with hearing protection devices with uniform response, compared to hearing protection devices with non-uniform response, with the same attenuation levels.
The market for hearing protection devices involves several persons who play various roles. From the local audiologist to thousands of employees on a multinational level, each one is trying to prove that their product is the best.
From the simple earplug made of expandable foam, which has remained unchanged for close to 40 years, to customized hearing protection achieved with the latest manufacturing technologies, there are plenty of options to choose from. The price range also varies widely, from ten cents for a basic disposable product to over one hundred euros for a product that can be used for many years.
When the attenuation of a single hearing protection device is no longer enough to ensure the hearing protection of its wearer.
Remember that hearing protection devices, as well as double hearing protection, are only a recommended solution, as a last resort when all other means to reduce noise at the source have been exhausted.
The selection and use of hearing protection devices today requires the consideration of many parameters, such as law; working conditions for employees; their levels of exposure to noise; the various noise protection devices available; and their characteristics.
This document will provide you with the criteria to choose the best personal hearing protection devices and ensure that they are worn.
The importance of protecting one's hearing is widely known. Despite this, how many people protect their ears during a concert? Look around you: 3 percent, 5 percent? A significant amount of awareness is yet to be created, and not just among youngsters.
Attending a concert, communicating, etc. with conventional hearing protection devices is rather risky. The distortion resulting from a classic attenuation interferes with the proper perception of sound. A hearing protection device with uniform response is THE solution that will enable faithful perception of sound while ensuring protection.
