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5 things to consider when choosing a Hearing Protection Device Vendor

May 16, 2017

WHAT 5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN CHOOSING A HEARING PROTECTION DEVICE VENDOR

Some of you may not know that when choosing a Hearing Protection Device (HPD) for your company, there is more than “a good product” to look for when selecting a hearing device for your workforce.

According to CCOHS & OHS-

People should wear a hearing protector if the noise or sound level at the workplace exceeds 85 decibels (A-weighted) or dB (A). Hearing protectors reduce the noise exposure level and the risk of hearing loss.

If hearing protection is required, then a complete Hearing Loss Prevention Program should be instituted. A Hearing Loss Prevention Program includes noise assessment, hearing protection selection, employee training and education, audiometric testing, maintenance, inspection, record keeping, and program evaluation.

The effectiveness of hearing protection is reduced greatly if the hearing protectors do not fit properly or if they are worn only part time during periods of noise exposure. To maintain their effectiveness, they should not be modified.

Remember, radio headsets are not substitutes for hearing protectors and should not be worn where hearing protectors are required to protect against exposure to noise.

When selecting a hearing protection provider, we have highlighted 5 elements to look for. This will directly impact during the process:

You should ask yourself of the following,

Does the Vendor:

  1. Meet the standard requirements?
  2. Highlight the quality of the product?
  3. Have Customer and After Sales service?
  4. Meet the comfort and wear requirements?
  5. Have a Warranty and Product Guarantee?

1. Standards and Requirements When Choosing HPD’s

USA Hearing Protection Standard

The standard most recognized in the US market is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Hearing Protection Standards outline noise safety steps when noise cannot be sufficiently reduced through engineering. The Current Standard is ANSI/S12.6-2016; Methods for Measuring the Real-Ear Attenuation of Hearing Protectors. This standard specifies laboratory-based procedures for measuring, analyzing, and reporting the passive noise-reducing capabilities of hearing protectors. More Standards found here.

Canadian Hearing Protection Standard

The Canadian Standard Association (CSA) standard on Hearing Protection is the CSA Z94.2 – Hearing Protection Devices legislation. This new version of the standard meshes more closely with US approaches, recognizing the reality of how closely our two economies are entwined and provides more guidance to health and safety professionals needing reliable information on how to select hearing protection. It should become the new standard for due diligence in selecting and using hearing protection in Canada.

The Measurement Standards includes the following criteria:

  • Attenuation – (difference of SLs (sensation levels)at the threshold with and without protectors)
  • Comfort – No standard as of yet
  • Insertion loss (not the same) ( the difference between levels inside and outside of the ATF-Acoustic Test Fixture).

More on Standards 

2. Quality of Product

When it comes to Hearing Protection Devices there are ample products out in the market that range from ear muffs,disposables to custom hearing protection. However, when it comes to quality it is important to look at two elements; 1. adequate protection and 2. communication safety. When it comes to hearing protection, not all devices are created equally.

Just like one size fits all work boots are probably not the best choice, neither is one size fits all hearing protection. Every human ear is unique in size, shape, and depth. Therefore it makes sense that for hearing protection to be the most effective, as well as the most comfortable, it must be custom fit.

Knowing the fitting process helps determine the adequacy of the product. For Custom Protect Hearing, the fitting process usually takes about 10 minutes and typically begins with one of their highly trained and certified experts visiting the customer’s plant or workplace in order to do the fitting on-site.

To begin, the ear is inspected to make sure it is safe to take an impression.

Then an oto-dam is placed inside the ear to protect the eardrum. Impression material is prepared and carefully injected into the client’s ear (up to the depth of the oto-dam). The material hardens quickly, and moments later, the impression is gently removed. The impression creates an exact replica of the wearer’s ear canal and outer ear.

This ensures the custom hearing protector seals the ear both in the canal and around the ear.

And for interpersonal communication purposes, the proprietary frequency tuned filter allows communication without removing the HPD. People can communicate in noise more effectively while wearing their dB Blocker™ hearing protection, than if they were to remove them. Your Hearing Loss Prevention Program will not interfere with productivity, rather it will enhance it. This process uses a custom hearing device called the dB Blocker™.

3. Customer and After Service

When it comes to customer service – it is important to be able to speak with someone who can answer all your questions and eliminate roadblocks. Having a live person you can connect with is important to the HPD buying experience.  Besides going through the actual sales process some things you can check out on the company are:

  • What are their Corporate Values?
  • What is the process to handle Product Replacements and Returns?
  • Is there a 1-800 number you can call?
  • Are there forms you can fill out to order additional hpd’s on their website?

4. Comfort & Wear

It is always good to look for guarantees for Fit and Comfort.  When it comes todB Blocker

custom HPD’s, fit and comfort are crucial to the wearer’s experience. Is there any type of FIT Warranty that allows for the individual to ensure the earpiece fits and seals properly? A FIT Warranty (guaranteeing comfort and wear) is particularly important to a Hearing Loss Prevention Program as it is one of the things that ensures compliance and that the individual will wear the HPD, thereby decreasing any type of liability or workplace harm.

5. Warranty & Product Guarantee

Purchasing HPD’s are an investment in your employee’s health and safety, so it is important that you get the customer service and after care service with your investment. A few things to look for:

  1. How many years is the product warranted for?
  2. Generally, custom HPD’s have a 1-3 year material warranty from the date of manufacture. Does it cover any tearing, cracking, or splitting of one or both earpieces?
  3. The warranty claim process should be easy. Ideally, when dealing with a warranty issue – you should be able to call and deal with a real person who can walk you through the claim process.

By going through these 5 steps when selecting an HPD manufacturer, it will make your life easier, and remove any concerns when it comes to protecting your employees hearing.

To learn more about selecting an HPD vendor please contact us, and one of our representatives will be able to answer all of your questions. 

Young construction workers less likely to protect hearing says WorkSafeBC

March 13, 2017

Young construction workers less likely to protect hearing says WorkSafeBC

by THE CANADIAN PRESS

RICHMOND (NEWS1130) – The organization that regulates health and safety in British Columbia workplaces reports almost one in four young construction workers is not doing enough to protect against hearing loss.

New data from WorkSafeBC shows 24 per cent of construction workers aged 21 or under don’t wear hearing protection.

That compares with 13 per cent of construction workers who don’t use hearing protection over the age of 50 and 11 per cent in all other age groups in the industry.

WorkSafe says young workers in construction are also less likely to wear hearing protection than young employees in other industries, such as manufacturing and primary resources.

The data was collected last year from more than 160,000 hearing tests conducted by BC employers as part of hearing loss prevention programs required by WorkSafeBC.

Occupational audiologist Sasha Brown says noise-induced hearing loss can be caused by a single loud noise or by repeated exposure to consistent noise, and it must be taken very seriously.

Read Article. 

Help Your Hearing, Improve Your Social Life, Get Healthier – QUALITY OF LIFE

February 24, 2017

Help Your Hearing, Improve Your Social Life, Get Healthier – QUALITY OF LIFE 

By HHTM Staff On February 7, 2017 · 

The hearing aid industry has long promoted the ideas that good hearing promotes good mental health and that hearing aids help ensure this relationship.  The overall concept is that restoring good hearing to our patients helps build good communication, which enables building of strong social relationships, which helps keep depression at bay, which contributes positively to measures of patients’ Quality of Life (QOL).   Read on to find out just how important staying connected to life really is.

Good hearing keeps you in the game, but how much is good social activity worth?

Various studies have linked social connections to better health and longer life, but it hasn’t been clear whether healthy people were more socially active to begin with.  A  review of 148 studies from researchers at Brigham Young University looked at healthy people who were followed for 7.5 years, on average.  The study(ies) controlled for the health of the subjects.

The results showed that the value of social interaction was stronger and than you might thing.  Based on the data from these studies,  weak social ties in your community are a major risk factor to your health,  at least as harmful to your health as smoking, lack of exercise or obesity. For instance:

  1.  You have a 50% lower risk of dying if you have close friends, family or work relationships.
  2.  Poor socialization threatens your health as much as if you were an alcoholic or were smoking a pack a day.
  3.  Poor social connections are harder on your health than not exercising, or being obese.

The study concludes that medical checkups should screen patients for social well being, with the goal of enhancing social connections.

It goes almost without saying that medical checkups should also screen patients for hearing loss, to ensure that patients have a good shot at maintaining social well being.  We think and hope readers will  agree that hearing well is an essential ingredient for developing and maintaining successful social networks.

Quality of Life

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Article

 

What is Noise Induced Hearing Loss?

February 17, 2017

What is Noise Induced Hearing Loss?

Noise induced hearing loss is a permanent hearing impairment resulting from prolonged exposure to high levels of noise. One in 10 Americans has a hearing loss that affects his or her ability to understand normal speech. Excessive noise exposure is the most common cause of hearing loss.

“The National Institute of Health reports that about 15 percent of Americans aged

20 to 69 have high frequency hearing loss related to occupational or leisure activities.”

Because of occupational risk of noise induced hearing loss, there are government standards regulating allowable noise exposure. People working before the mid 1960s may have been exposed to higher levels of noise where there were no laws mandating use of devices to protect hearing. Recent studies show an alarming increase in hearing loss in youngsters. Evidence suggests that loud rock music along with increased use of portable radios with earphones may be responsible for this phenomenon.

When noise is too loud, it begins to kill cells in the inner ear.

As the exposure time to loud noise increases, more and more hair cells are destroyed. As the number of hair cells decreases, so does your hearing. Currently, there is no way to restore life to dead hair cells; the damage is permanent.

The damage caused by noise, called sensorineural hearing loss, can be caused by several factors other than noise, but noise-induced hearing loss is different in one important way – it can be reduced or prevented altogether.

Noise can also cause a reversible hearing loss, called a temporary threshold shift. This typically occurs in individuals who are exposed to gunfire or firecrackers, and hear ringing in their ears after the event (tinnitus).

What Causes Noise Induced Hearing Loss?

First, we have to define noise. Sound can be measured scientifically in two ways — intensity and pitch. Both of these affect the degree to which sound (noise) damages hearing.

NIHL: Intensity of Sound

Intensity of sound is measured in decibels (dB). The scale runs from the faintest sound the human ear can detect, which is labeled 0 dB, to over 180 dB, the noise at a rocket pad during launch. Decibels are measured logarithmically, being 20 times the log of the ratio of a particular sound pressure to a reference sound pressure. This means that as decibel intensity increases by units of 20, each increase is 10 times the lower figure. Thus, 20 decibels is 10 times the intensity of 0 decibels, and 40 decibels is 100 times as intense as 20 decibels. Sound intensity may be given in two different units. Persons interested in the actual physical quantification of sound use units of sound pressure level (SPL). SPL is calibrated to a constant sound pressure level that does not vary with frequency. On audiograms, however, sound intensity is calibrated in hearing level (HL), meaning that the reference sound is one that that just barely heard by a normal population. Thus HL units are relative ones and do not generally correspond to SPL units. Higher intensity (db) of sound causes more damage. Many experts agree that continual exposure to more than 85 decibels may become dangerous.

The following table illustrates some common sounds and their intensity.

Approximate Decibel Level Examples
0 dB the quietest sound you can hear.
30 dB whisper, quiet library.
60 dB normal conversation, sewing machine, typewriter.
90 dB lawnmower, shop tools, truck traffic; 8 hours per day is the maximum exposure (protects 90% of people).
100 dB chainsaw, pneumatic drill, snowmobile; 2 hours per day is the maximum exposure without protection.
115 dB sandblasting, loud rock concert, auto horn; 15 minutes per day is the maximum exposure without protection.
140 dB gun muzzle blast, jet engine; noise causes pain and even brief exposure injures unprotected ears; maximum allowed noise with hearing protector.

NIHL

NIHL: Frequency

Pitch is measured in frequency of sound vibrations per second, called Hertz (Hz). Frequency is measured in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz). The higher the pitch of the sound, the higher the frequency. A low pitch such as a deep voice or a tuba makes fewer vibrations per second than a high voice or violin. Generally noise induce hearing loss occurs at a pitch of about 2000-4000 Hz. Frequency is measured in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz). The higher the pitch of the sound, the higher the frequency. Young children, who generally have the best hearing, can often distinguish sounds from about 20 Hz, such as the lowest note on a large pipe organ, to 20,000 Hz, such as the high shrill of a dog whistle that many people are unable to hear.

Human speech, which ranges from 300 to 4,000 Hz, sounds louder to most people than noises at very high or very low frequencies. When hearing impairment begins, the high frequencies are often lost first, which is why people with hearing loss often have difficulty hearing the high-pitched voices of women and children.

Loss of high frequency hearing also can distort sound, so that speech is difficult to understand even though it can be heard. Hearing impaired people often have difficulty detecting differences between certain words that sound alike, especially words that contain S, F, SH, CH, H, or soft C, sounds, because the sound of these consonant is in a much higher frequency range than vowels and other consonants.

 

NIHL:Duration

In addition, the duration (how long you are exposed to a noise) can affect the extent of noise induced hearing loss. The longer you are exposed to a loud noise, the more damaging it may be.

Every gunshot produces a noise that could damage the ears of anyone in close hearing range. Large bore guns and artillery are the worst because they are the loudest. But even cap guns and firecrackers can damage your hearing if the explosion is close to your ear. Anyone who uses firearms without some form of ear protection risks hearing loss.

Excessive noise is present in many situations. Some of the more common ones include occupational noise (machinery, etc.), loud music, and non-occupational noise (lawn mowers, snow blowers, etc.).

NIHL: Occupational Noise

Habitual exposure to noise above 85 dB will cause a gradual hearing loss in a significant number of individuals, and louder noises will accelerate this damage. For unprotected ears, the allowed exposure time decreases by one half for each 5 dB increase in the average noise level. For instance, exposure is limited to 8 hours per day at 90 dB, 4 hours per day at 95 dB, and 2 hours per day at 100 dB. The highest permissible noise exposure for the unprotected ear is 115 dB for 15 minutes per day. Any noise above 140 dB is not permitted.

SOURCE: http://american-hearing.org/disorders/noise-induced-hearing-loss/#whatis

 

How much do you love your hearing and why you should.

February 14, 2017

How much do you love your hearing and why you should.

Of all the five senses it seem that hearing is the most ignored and the most taken for granted. Our generation (Boomers, X&Y) have not done a very good job at preventing hearing loss until its too late.

Whether your 17 or 55 years old, we have all done some sort of damage to our hearing…. 

Some of us have worked in loud noisy places and haven’t really considered protecting our ears except with the odd foam earplug, which are only good for one shift. Or we have worked in an environment where the noise was gradual but still loud and did nothing to protect our hearing since it wasn’t top of mind.

Or how about everyday uses to protect your hearing from noise pollution. Over the past 10 years we all have been embracing iTunes, iPods, Podcasts, SmartPhones, Audiobooks etc. But have we really considered the extra strain all of these technological advances have impacted our ears? Well if you LOVE YOUR HEARING, then I suggest you start.  Remember we live with our hearing and we should love our hearing as it one of the 5 senses that allows to hear the wonderful things in life; things to consider next time you crank up that new hit song, or put in disposable instead of personal hearing protection.

Love your hearing

From all of us at ProtectEar USA – HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Basic Facts About Hearing Loss

  • About 20 percent of Americans, 48 million, report some degree of hearing loss.
  • At age 65, one out of three people has a hearing loss.
  • 60 percent of the people with hearing loss are either in the work force or in educational settings.
  • While people in the workplace with the mildest hearing losses show little or no drop in income compared to their normal hearing peers, as the hearing loss increases, so does the reduction in compensation.
  • About 2-3 of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable hearing loss in one or both ears.
  • Almost 15% of school-age children (ages 6-19) have some degree of hearing loss.

SOURCE: http://www.hearingloss.org/content/basic-facts-about-hearing-loss

2017 is not just another year, it’s the year of Hearing Loss Prevention.

January 25, 2017

2017 is not just another year, it’s the year of Hearing Loss Prevention.

Make the most of your hearing health in 2017

New hearing technologies and increased awareness of hearing loss points to 2017 as being the “Year of the Ear.” If you haven’t already made your New Year’s resolutions, consider what you can do to protect your hearing and be more hearing health conscious. We’ve compiled a list of a few things that you might want to consider for the new year.

Hearing Health & Loss Prevention

Hearing loss prevention is an action where you take special precautions to ensure your hearing is not being negatively affected. Sometimes the loss itself can be difficult to identify, which is why it’s so important to be on top of changes that may occur to your hearing.

Your hearing health has a direct effect on your overall health. Hearing loss has been linked to numerous medical issues, including viruses, bacteria, heart conditions or strokes, head injuries, tumors and certain medicines.

  • Heart health: Studies show that a healthy cardiovascular system – a person’s heart, arteries and veins – has a positive effect on hearing. Inadequate blood flow and trauma to the blood vessels of the inner ear can contribute to hearing loss.
  • Hypertension: There is a significant association between high blood pressure and untreated hearing loss. Hypertension can be an accelerating factor of hearing loss in older adults.
  • Smoking: Current smokers have a 70 percent higher risk of having hearing loss than non-smokers.
  • Obesity: Higher body mass index (BMI) and larger waist circumference are associated with increased risk of hearing loss in women.
  • Diabetes: Hearing loss is twice as common in people with diabetes compared to those without. Adults whose blood glucose is higher than normal but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis, have a 30 percent higher rate of hearing loss compared to those with normal blood sugar.
  • Ototoxicity: There are more than 200 medications (prescription and over-the-counter) on the market today that are known to be ototoxic or “poisonous to the ears.” Some known ototoxic drugs are: Aspirin, Quinine, Loop diuretics (or “water pills”), certain antibiotics, and some environmental chemicals.

Make sure you are making an annual hearing test part of your hearing health routine. Many hearing clinics provide free testing. If you haven’t already, schedule your next evaluation for the new year today.

Protect Your Ears

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is increasingly becoming a problem, especially for people aged 12 to 35. With the growing popularity of personal listening devices, taking steps to protect your hearing has never been more important. Take steps to ensure that you are listening at an appropriate volume, and use earplugs in heavily noise-polluted environments such as sports venues, hunting, shooting, concerts, or other events and activities that are loud. As little as 10 seconds at a loud stadium or concert can cause permanent hearing damage. Learn More about Hearing Protection.

Take Steps to Treat Hearing Loss

A shockingly large number of people that could benefit from using hearing device don’t use one. Hearing aid technology has improved significantly in recent years, and it’s worth exploring what kind of solutions there are that could make your life easier. You might be surprised by what a hearing aid device can do to improve your quality of life. If you’re suffering from hearing loss and haven’t considered treating it, now is the time!

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

Every person’s hearing is unique, almost like a fingerprint. When it comes to issues like hearing loss, tinnitus, hearing technology etc. don’t be afraid to ask a professional for advice. Your audiologist can help you make informed decisions about your hearing health and start on a path toward better living.

With the New Year here and moving with a vengeance, it is important to be proactive especially where your health is concerned. Whether it is your hearing, or a colleagues hearing, please educate and pass this message on.

Let’s prevent Hearing Loss, one ear at a time.dB Life Sleeper

 

How Important is Proper Fitting for Your Personal Hearing Protection Device?

January 17, 2017

Just How Important is Proper Fitting for Your Personal Hearing Protection Device?

Whether you wear a personal Hearing Protection Device (HPD) in your work environment or for recreational activities just how important is proper fitting for your personal hearing protection device?

With so many options on the market for styles of hearing protection ranging from a simple ear plug to very detailed styles of Custom Protect Ear’s moulded or 3D produced personally fitted HPD’s, how do you choose which is best for your hearing protection?  Do you choose simply on the sophistication or level of the noise cancelling aspect or does proper fitting also factor in to your decision.

Let’s examine how proper fitting can enhance your experience and protection.

The number one indicator of how effective a HPD will be is if you actually wear it!!!

If your HPD is not comfortable will you be less likely to wear it or want to wear it? If you do wear it but because of improper fitting it is less effective than you assume it will be, you will not achieve the protection level you may need.

According to a publication in The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), they state that

“Hearing protection devices (HPD’s) often fail to protect workers from hearing loss because of poor fit.” 

In fact NIOSH was so concerned over the effects of poorly fitting HPD’s that they developed and licensed a system to create a fast and reliable fit-test system that measures the amount of sound reduction an individual worker receives from the HPD and identifies workers that are not sufficiently protected.

Hearing Protection Device

What are some concerns with improperly fitting HPD’s?

  1. If your HPD is uncomfortable will you be more likely to remove it for periods of the time you need protection.
  2. Will you be more likely to be distracted by the discomfort it is causing and be more aware of your discomfort than you are on your job or activity? Could you suffer from headache or earache induced discomfort from an improper fit?
  3. If moisture is trapped in your ear with not enough air circulation could this lead to an increase in ear infections with possible infection induced damage?
  4. If your HPD’s are designed to be able to hear communications or certain noises or sounds, would that communication level be reduced or hindered with improper fit? Would this encourage the user to possibly remove the HPD so that they can hear that communication leaving them open to noise induced hearing damage?
Personal Hearing Protection Device

Have you or your Employer taken the steps to incorporate fit testing into your hearing protection plan? If not, start today! Ask about FitCheck Solo 

With the properly style of hearing protection device based upon your particular needs and the proper fitting of that device you can dramatically increase your hearing protection, and isn’t that what you would expect from your HPD?

CPE is ISO 9001 Certified

November 30, 2016

ISO 9001 Certified

ISO 9001 is a comprehensive quality management system standard. ISO 9001is maintained by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization and is administered by independent accreditation and certification bodies.

Some of the requirements in ISO 9001 include:

  • A set written procedures covering all processes in the business
  • Monitoring processes continuously to ensure they are effective
  • Keeping accurate records
  • Checking output for defects and taking appropriate and corrective action where necessary
  • Regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness
  • Facilitating continual improvement

Benefits of being ISO Certified

Each standard supports its own benefits within every industry, however the common benefits across the certificationsscreen-shot-2016-11-21-at-1-07-59-pminclude: widened market potential, compliance to procurement tenders, improved efficiency and cost savings, higher level of customer service, and therefore satisfaction, and heightened staff moral and motivation.
By having a recognized management standard it allows us  to tell our customers that when it comes to quality and industry standards, we are serious about their needs. CPE is proud to be ISO 9001 certified.

ProtectEar USA works with Custom Protect Ear to ensure the Quality of its products.

Custom Protect Ear has been independently audited and certified to be in conformance with ISO 9001. This certification assures our customers that the quality of the products they currently trust to protect their hearing, will be the same quality they will get every time in the future. In addition to being ISO 9001certified, CPE is a member of AIHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association) and the NHCA (National Hearing Conservation Association).

CPE is also a member of the Acoustical Society of America and serves on the standard setting bodies of the ANSI S12 Committee, Working Group 11, responsible for the standards by which hearing protection is measured, as well as CSA S304 Noise and Vibration Technical Committee responsible for CSA’s set of hearing loss prevention standards Z94.2-02.

Learn more.. 

ISO 9001

Does Your Law Enforcement or Emergency Response Job Expose You to Hearing Loss?

November 21, 2016

Law Enforcement or Emergency Response Job & Hearing Loss

Your job is to help and protect the community in which you live but does your Law Enforcement or Emergency Response job expose you to Hearing Loss? Are you the one who needs help and protection?

If you are in Law Enforcement, First Response teams of Police, Fire Fighting or Ambulance are you exposed to high levels of noise that can cause hearing damage? What steps can you and your governing authorities take to ensure your hearing is protected from on-the-job damaging sounds, sirens and high decibel sounds from weapons related devices?

Firefighters File Lawsuits about Hearing Loss Fire fighter and hearing loss

For more than a decade Firefighters have been filing lawsuits against an Illinois-based company that makes sirens. The claims have centered around the concerns that the company that makes sirens did not do enough to design the fire trucks in a way that would shield the Fire Fighters from sound blasts that reach 120 dB. Noise in the range of 120 dB would be equivalent to the noise from a jackhammer about 3 feet away and can cause pain and according to both OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) & NIOSH (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) that level is outside of any time length of exposure for hearing safety. In other words, it is at a daily permissible noise level of 0 minutes!

Exposure to noise (Hearing Loss) from Weapons, support vehicles and equipment

What about Law Enforcement, Military, Security or Correctional Officer jobs? Not only are you exposed to noise from the sudden discharge of weapons related devices but you could also be exposed to noise from Helicopters, sirens from emergency support vehicles and equipment. A jet engine at 100 feet can emit 140dB of noise, a Military Jet Aircraft take-off from an aircraft carrier with afterburner at 50 feet can create 150dB of noise, a 12 Gauge Shotgun blast at close quarters can be as high as 165dB!

Military Jet

Personal (Custom) Hearing Protection Devices (HPD’s)

Most Governmental Workers exposed to noise are supplied HPD’s for use on the job. The importance of HPD’s is that they are the correct style of protection for the environment you will be in. You will need a different hearing protection device for the firing range where the focus will be on as much protection from noise as possible with less need for being able to hear commands or instructions. While on-the-job as a Law Enforcement Official in a situation where there is a strong possibility of weapons being fired, you would require a HPD that is instantly attenuated for gun fire but allows for certain necessary sounds to be heard such as interpersonal and radio communications or equipment.

Are you exposed to these high levels of noise on the job? Are you supplied and correctly using a personal hearing protection device that provides you the correct protection throughout your day? Have you been properly trained in its effective use?

Warning signs of hearing loss

Be aware of what the warning signs of hearing loss are. Understand that tinnitus or ringing in the ears may not be the sound of your background environment but may actually be the beginning signs temporary leading to permanent of hearing loss. Hearing loss due to damage is not reversible and in fact may lead to further damage as your loss of hearing may be causing you to turn up the volume of TV’s, music devices or phones. Recognize that hearing loss may also take the form of selective hearing loss of certain frequencies of sound. You may not hear high pitched sounds of a female or child’s voice but still be able to clearly hear the low pitched sound of a man speaking.

Take caution in your job and protect not only the public in your service oriented career but also take care to protect yourself and your valuable asset of hearing. Learn more.. 

Canucks For Kids Fund 

September 15, 2016

vancouver_canucks_logo_3956

CPE raises funds for Canucks For Kids Fund (CFKF) through the sale of their Canucks branded dB Blocker™ hearing protectors.

Custom Protect Ear (CPE) will donate $5 to CFKF from every sale of their Canucks-branded dB Blocker™. The Canucks for Kids Fund dedicates resources to assist charities which support children’s health and wellness, foster the development of grassroots hockey, and facilitate and encourage education in British Columbia.

canuck-blockers-webCPE also supplies the Vancouver Canucks with hearing Protectors for use by the Canucks NHL and AHL players and members of their management.

As North America’s largest personalized industrial hearing protector manufacturer, hearing conservation is CPE’s only business. In every workplace, sporting, entertainment or home environment CPE helps protect you from noise induced hearing loss. To get Canucks-branded dB Blockers™ contact us today! 

For more information regarding dB Cares™, or how we both might become better partners in cause related initiatives, call or email us.

We’d love to hear from you.

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