The recent HSE Conference ‘Listen Up’, which was the First European Hearing Conservation Conference, brought together various experts and raised awareness of this very important subject. Phrases such as ‘Zero Tolerance’ generated a renewed energy and approach. Protecting the hearing of our employees, and ourselves, has never been more important. 

Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) or Occupational Deafness is irreversible. As most health and safety managers know, noise needs to be monitored; failure to do so could damage human health as well as generate a hefty claim against an employer (these claims are rising in number due to media attention and marketing). If noise, based on a daily or weekly exposure value, happens to be greater than 80dB (A-weighted) then hearing protection should be offered and on your radar, and if it is over 85dB, then it is mandatory. If you have equipment in place at the moment, then maybe it is time for a review?

Despite what most people might think, hearing protection equipment effectiveness varies in each style and brand of PPE.

Product

Ensure the product is fit-for-purpose – for example our product ProtectHear is a single pair of hygienic re-usable personally moulded earplugs that last five years. We designed them to give the user the optimum protection from NIHL, whilst also NOT overprotecting, so users can hear warning signals, speech and so on. Over-protecting can lead to even more safety risks; generally users may have a tendency to remove the hearing protection and therefore risk damage to their hearing.

People

A common barrier to wearing hearing protection is ‘attitude’. This is two-fold; firstly, strong and top-down supported messaging, which we can deliver in toolbox talks, and that employers can deliver within their internal processes, can resonate with users. Imagine, for example, that you had NIHL – what would that be like? You might experience many psychological problems such as difficulty in conversation or tinnitus which can cause depression and anxiety, lack of sleep and poor concentration.  Secondly, positive connection with the product. ProtectHear is personal, so the user has a sense of product ownership and prestige in connection with their personal pair.  

Price

I believe that if you compare disposables with one pair of specially produced earplugs, you could save over £400 per employee, with returns even in the first year of use. 

EDF: Making itself heard

Shaun Penn from EDF Energy has been using personally moulded hearing protection for more than 20 years in several different roles and industries.

He said: “We are using ProtectHear in a gas-fired power station. The environment can be very noisy, especially in the turbine halls. PPE, and hearing protection in particular, is mandatory on site here. Employees can still hear announcements and warnings which is a necessity. I prefer ProtectHear to disposable ear plugs. They are very easy to fit and comfortable in use, and an added bonus is that the cost savings are genuine compared to disposables. When you start to do the maths in comparison to using 4 to 5 pairs of disposable earplugs a day the money saving over the life span of the ProtectHear – which are purchased with a one-off payment – becomes quite significant. In addition to the personally-moulded earplugs, we also use the radio product SpeakHear which means we can integrate our own radio system into the moulded plug.