Many safety managers provide hearing protectors to their noise-exposed workers with the good intention of stopping noise-induced hearing loss. They may even stock protectors with higher rating numbers, since “the higher the rating, the more the protection” the manager mistakenly believes.
But let’s try a quick quiz. Your facility has continuous noise measuring 100 decibels (dBA)—a hazardous noise level. Your worker wears an earplug with a rating number on the package of 30 dB. How much noise is reaching the eardrum of the worker? If you answer 70 dB, you are probably quite far off.