Are your staff wearing ear plugs correctly?
Hear 4 The Long Term’s Earplug Fit Test is an online test that will immediately inform you whether the earplugs fitted are providing a suitable level of protection for your staff.
No specialist equipment
No specialist equipment is required, just a pair of good quality wired, over-the-ear headphones where the cups enclose your ears, your internet connected tablet, laptop or computer and the earplugs you wish to test.
Any kind of ear plug
No bias towards a particular brand or type of ear plug. This works with any manufacturers earplug that is inserted into the ear.
Instant Results
Upon completing the test, the result is instantly displayed on the screen by showing a PAR ( Personal Attenuation Rating) for each ear. It also highlights whether both ears have ‘passed’ or not.
training and verification
If one or both ears fails, the system instructs the user to re-insert the ear plug(s) and re-take the test. This ensures optimum fit & provides an audit trail to demonstrate the plugs work to the required standard.
Staff Confidence
The test ensures that the ear plugs issued are providing a suitable level of hearing protection. Alternatively, it will let you know if a different type of ear protection is required.
Custom moulded ear plugs
In addition to being able to test any brand of disposable or reusable ear plug, this test also works well for any custom moulded ear plugs. This is often overlooked as the initial good fit can be compromised over several years due to degradation and changes to our ear shape.
Secure Data
All data is stored on a secure server and provides a comprehensive audit trail of hearing protection performance for each employee.
When hearing protection is the only solution
Ear Plugs are a popular choice due to their compatibility with other forms of Personal Protective Equipment but they must be fitted precisely. Whilst some manufacturers provide guidance on the correct way to insert them, different ear canal shapes and fitting methods result in different attenuation levels for people.
Issuing hearing protection alone does not guarantee protection from noise-induced hearing loss. One common misconception is that the higher the SNR (Single Number Rating) on the packaging, the more effective the earplugs are. However, ‘suitable hearing protection’ means ensuring that the individual attenuation level of the plugs is appropriate for the user’s noise exposure level.
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While this test itself isn’t mandatory, Regulation 10 ‘Information, Instruction & Training’ is. The HSE guidance on this section, amongst other topics includes “telling employees how to correctly fit and wear any hearing protectors provided and what their limitations are….” The important thing is to make sure you give the information in a way in which the employee can understand it.”
Not yet – but it does work on any kind of earplug
This test is an ideal training tool for both new starters and current employees. It may confirm that their plugs are being fitted correctly or highlight to staff who think they are fitting their plugs properly, that they are not. In addition to a pass/fail result for each ear, immediately shown on screen, our fit test enables staff to see, hear and feel what an ill-fitting and correctly fitted plug feels like.
For those that didn’t fit them correctly, a second try is included.
Inadequate or ill-fitting hearing protection is damaging to long term health so with a record of the results, over time you’ll be able to demonstrate that more people are fitting their plugs correctly first time.
It’s the simplest and easiest test available that helps you to ensure your staff are fitting their earplugs correctly and are being protected. This test has not been designed by a manufacturer or wholesaler of hearing protection, so you can test any brand of in-ear hearing protection on the market.
No complex set-up, speakers or other hardware is required, keeping the cost to a minimum. If you have a pair of good quality headphones and access to the Internet, you can carry out this test anywhere on demand!
There are no British or European standards to follow, so we commissioned our own research, comparing our test methods with lab-based methods. The test has been independently validated as fit-for-purpose by a leading UK Professor of Acoustics.
There is a condensed version of the report available upon request testifying to the validity of the test.
It really is as simple as we say. Wearing the headphones you take a calibrated listening test for each of your ears. You then fit the earplugs you are currently using or are looking to use and repeat the test. By knowing the SNR (Single Number Rating figure, which can be located on the packet box they came in), the test calculates your PAR (Personal Attenuation Rating) for each Ear.
In addition to a pass/fail result for each ear, this is also telling you if the plug fitting at the time, is providing enough protection or not. It is possible to get a different pass/fail for each ear.
If they were shown how to fit them properly after the first attempt and it’s still not obvious, it’s most likely that the type of plugs used are not suitable. Take another test and try another type that are shaped differently or maybe made of a softer or firmer material.
Remember, we are unique, and just because one plug type fits most people, it is very unlikely to be suitable for everyone. Even our left and right ears differ in size and shape so you may only keep failing in one ear.
While it sounds counter intuitive, the answer is a loud YES. Ensuring that you are not ‘over protecting’ employees is just as important as not ‘under protecting them’.
Isolating staff can be dangerous, making them unaware of warning signals and alarms especially in areas where there are moving vehicles and pallet trucks. Staff that are over protected tend to deliberately not fit them properly to enable them to still hear, making the earplugs virtually useless.
It is good that you’re offering different options to your employees. Yes, the test is designed for any in-ear hearing protection.
We do not have a test for ear defenders yet, keep your ear to the ground.
There is no specific timeline, however, it should be given to new starters as part of their induction, and as part of all staff training on how to correctly fit their hearing protection.
Some companies like to deliver this annually to ensure their training is delivered on a regular basis. If you observe that staff are starting to not fit their hearing protection correctly, then you might want to re-test as a refresher.
Great news, a lot of our clients notice a similar shift.
Simply get in touch and on receipt of a purchase order we can give you access to however many more you need.
