title: Real-ear attenuation of earmuffs in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired individuals.
abstract: Many of the 9 million workers exposed to average noise levels of 85 dB (A) and above are required to wear hearing protection devices, and many of these workers have already developed noise-induced hearing impairments. There is some evidence in the literature that hearing-impaired users may not receive as much attenuation from hearing protectors as normal-hearing users. This study assessed real-ear attenuation at threshold for ten normal-hearing and ten hearing-impaired subjects using a set of David Clark 10A earmuffs. Testing procedures followed the specifications of ANSI S12.6-1984. The results showed that the hearing-impaired subjects received slightly more attenuation than the normal-hearing subjects at all frequencies, but these differences were not statistically significant. These results provide additional support to the finding that hearing protection devices are capable of providing as much attenuation to hearing-impaired users as they do to normal-hearing individuals.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Science, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Suter
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Lempert
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Franks
mesh_terms: D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D004430:Ear Protective Devices; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011482:Protective Devices