Preventing workplace hearing loss
January 28th 2010

Howard Leight by Sperian has introduced QuietDose, the only personal dosimeter that measures and records a worker’s actual in-ear exposure to noise over an entire work shift. The introduction is a major advance towards stopping the progression of occupational hearing loss and ensuring employer compliance with hearing safety regulations.

“Existing noise measurement devices only sample ambient sound. This shortcoming forces employers to estimate workplace noise levels and base hearing protection on potentially faulty conclusions which can end up wasting money, risking regulatory violations, and endangering employee hearing,” said Paul Barker, of Howard Leight by Sperian.

“By contrast, the QuietDose personal dosimeter measures the actual noise levels reaching a worker’s eardrums, in real-time, over an entire work day. QuietDose provides safety managers with an unprecedented level of personalised data to create the most customised, and effective Hearing Conservation Programs for each worker,” he said. “The result? Fewer documented cases of occupational hearing loss for employees, and fewer claims and lower compensation costs for employers. Supervisors can also use the personalised data to improve productivity by better managing worker deployment in areas of extreme noise.”

In-Ear Measurement, Hearing Loss Prevention

The QuietDose system consists of a small Exposure Smart Protector (ESP) Dosimeter that’s worn by employees in a shirt pocket or on the back of a hardhat; special earplugs or an earmuff with integrated microphones that record real-time in-ear noise levels; and a connecting harness. An infrared reader enables safety managers to retrieve data from the ESP Dosimeter at the end of each shift or work week and analyse the results on a personal computer.

QuietDose provides the ultimate in accuracy for assessment of personal workplace noise risk, enabling safety managers and employees to:

• Track, document, and address the potential of occupational hearing loss and Standard Threshold Shift (STS) in real time

• Select appropriate hearing protectors for each employee’s noise environment

• Train and monitor employees as to the correct use of earplugs or earmuffs

• Streamline worker deployment by more accurately matching shift hours with proper protection

• Identify potential opportunities to eliminate dual protection (the use of earplugs and earmuffs)

• Compare the benefit of monitoring employee noise dose versus making capital investments in engineering controls to reduce specific noise levels

An additional benefit of the system is that workers themselves can personally monitor and control their noise exposure in real-time. Flashing alerts indicate when noise exposure reaches or exceeds prescribed limits. Also, if an earplug has not been inserted properly, QuietDose will alert the worker that they are not receiving adequate protection. If a worker removes their earplug for any length of time, QuietDose will assess that additional exposure and alert them should they exceed their allowable dose.

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