Some key factors that go into choosing earplugs for workers are: determining the length and intensity of noise exposure they’ll be needed for, training workers in how to use them properly and making sure they fit the individuals who will be using them.

Just in time for Better Hearing and Speech Month – May -- the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and three partner laboratories recently evaluated three systems to measure the accuracy of the fit tests. Investigators at NIOSH, Honeywell Safety Products in San Diego, California, Michael & Associates in State College, Pennsylvania, and U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory in Fort Rucker, Alabama, each recruited 20 local volunteers to test the systems, which included the NIOSH HPD Well-Fit, Michael & Associates FitCheck and Honeywell Safety Products VeriPRO.  For comparison, the investigators used the standard laboratory-hearing protector testing protocol recommended by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a control.