Employer obligations for hearing protection
The risks to hearing
Exposure to noise in the workplace is a risk covered by Legislative Decree 81/2008. The employer must protect workers from hearing damage.
Aphonour has been dealing with worker safety for 40 years, offering certified, excellent quality hearing protection PPE at increasingly competitive prices.
Preventive and protective measures to reduce noise intensity are health surveillance, use of PPE, replacement of very noisy equipment and/or procedures, information and training of employees and their representatives.
The employer, in fact, is obliged to carry out a risk assessment and reduce the noise level, first with collective measures, then (if necessary) by equipping its workers with PPE suitable for their activities. In addition to training the employees, he also has to train them.
Occupational hearing loss is a serious damage as it is irreversible: once damaged, hearing cells cannot regenerate. Hearing protection PPE is mandatory when the average daily decibels exceed 85 and cannot be reduced.
In situations where it is not possible to remove the cause of the noise, the employer must evaluate what risks the employee is actually exposed to and to what extent.
Ear protectors
Hearing protection PPE includes hearing protectors, headphones and earplugs. The ear protector is a PPE specially designed for the hearing system. To produce them, an impression of the ear is made using a silicone material.
There are various types of ear protectors depending on the material they are made of: hard or soft resin.
The hard resin ear protector has a long life and is hygienically better than the soft resin one.
The anatomical ear protectors allow the subject to hear background noises so as not to be totally isolated from the workplace.
Hearing protection PPE is characterized by an acronym (L, M, H) depending on the frequency it attenuates. Other purposes for using hearing protectors include:
– the reduction of tinnitus
– the reduction of noise on a construction site
– the filtering of the volume of deafening music
– prevention of ear infections
– ear protection after surgery
Ear defenders are the optimal solution for protecting your hearing from deafening external noises.
These devices are made of antibacterial and anatomical metalicrate, are reusable infinite times and created to offer high comfort. These devices are optimal for promoting adequate concentration at work.
