NO NEED TO SHOUT: HEARING PROTECTION


TOP TIPS & CURRENT TRENDS Mick Whitaker Director and Founder of ProtectHear®


assesses the current hearing protection available and asks, do you need to review your choices?


Hearing conservation is a topic still at the forefront of current health and safety thinking, and for good reason. The 2016 Health and Safety Executive Conference ‘Listen Up’ was the First European Hearing Conservation Conference ever with phrases such as ‘Zero Tolerance’ regularly mentioned.


We know NIHL (Noise Induced Hearing Loss) or Occupational Deafness is irreversible. We have to monitor noise or run the risk of damaging human health as well as potentially creating hefty claims against employers. If noise, based on a daily or weekly exposure value, happens to be over 80 dB (A-weighted) then hearing protection should be on offer, 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?


Objectively, hearing protection equipment effectiveness varies in each style and brand of PPE. From environmentally unfriendly disposable foam earplugs, through to defenders or muffs, the ideal paradigm of protection within the ProtectHear® team combines product and people.


FIT FOR PURPOSE ProtectHear® is a single pair of hygienic re-usable custom moulded earplugs that last five years. We designed them to give the user the proper protection from NIHL, whilst also NOT overprotecting, so users can hear warning signals,


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speech etc. Over protecting can be dangerous! In this scenario users may have a tendency to remove the hearing protection and therefore put themselves at risk.


PEOPLE Training is also important. When you consider that the HSE say that 40% of people don’t even wear their hearing protection properly, you might want to consider why are they uncomfortable, is there a lack of knowledge or are you over- protecting? Or, do you need to look at employee attitudes.


We can deliver toolbox talks which are always successful and employers can also get involved outside of that with powerful messaging E.g. Imagine 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, poor concentration. We also feel that ProtectHear® offers more engagement, thus more protection – it is a custom product that could be considered to be stylish; you can see people like Jessie J and the Renault F1 team wearing them.


So if you have any queries on hearing protection, please don’t hesitate to contact us via our website, email or telephone. We’re all ears.


www.protecthear.co.uk www.tomorrowshs.com


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