Citation

Kozłowski E, Młyński R. Int. J. Occup. Safety Ergonomics 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10803548.2021.1883906

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Hearing protectors are selected for the workstation noise using octave bands (OB), HML and SNR methods. The purpose of the study was to determine how the frequency components in the noise can affect the result of the selection of hearing protectors. In total, 55 hearing protectors were selected for four types of real occurred noise, high-frequency noise, low-frequency noise and eight simulated noises. An analysis showed that the noise type affects the accuracy of selection carried out using HML and SNR methods. For a noise with the presence of dominant frequency components, the result of the selection carried out using the HML method deviates from the result of the OB method by 7 dB and 9 dB for earmuffs and earplugs, respectively. The study shows that the use of HML and SNR methods may lead to wrong assessment as to the effectiveness of hearing protection with the selected hearing protectors.

Language: en

Keywords

earmuffs; earplugs; noise; selection of hearing protectors; sound attenuation