Howard Leight Demonstrates High-Tech Hearing Protection
In its first major show since changing its name from the Bacou-Dalloz Hearing Safety Group, Sperian Hearing Protection LLC took advantage of the NSC Expo last week in Chicago to give a sneak preview of a new field-test hearing verification system that it is about to unveil. Called VeriPROTM from Howard Leight, the system uses sophisticated software in a user-friendly format to help safety/hearing professionals find out the personal attenuation rating employees are receiving from their ear plugs.
Developed in conjunction with the House Ear Institute (www.hei.org), the VeriPRO system's three-part process checks the effectiveness of an employee's ear plug fit in each ear over a range of frequencies. This information is then captured in individual and group reports, accessible by the safety manager. According to Sperian marketing manager Renee S. Bessette, a certified occupational hearing conservationist, the system will work with any ear plug and will feature two test modes--the complete check, in which the ear plug fit is tested at five frequencies for actual real-ear attenuation rating, and the quick check, a simplified test of ear plug fit at only one frequency, used as a fast and easy pass/fail check of ear plug effectiveness.
"This product will help reinforce training, and it will really help bring the message home about proper fit of ear plugs," Bessette said. "We want people to be actively involved in the hearing program, to think about what they're doing and not just be compliant. This program definitely promotes that." VeriPRO will launch in the first quarter of 2008, she said.