Hearing Protection


Safety Marketing Group Presents Top Awards

SMG's Preferred Supplier of the Year, Jon Cal Murray Distributor of the Year, and Rich Harper Commitment to Excellence Supplier and Distributor Award winners were announced April 9 at the organization's annual conference in Tampa, Fla.

buildings in Red Square in Moscow

Russia's Appetite for PPE Increasing

Frost & Sullivan's Chemicals and Materials Research & Consulting practice predicts the country's demand for apparel, gloves, footwear, and head, vision, hearing, and respiratory protection will reach $1.7 billion in 2015.

a protective helmet/faceshield with hearing protection included

NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program Offers Expansion Plan

Stakeholders are asked to comment by April 20 on the plan, which anticipates an expanded role five years out and beyond.

an active construction site

High Interest Expected for NIOSH-Funded Construction Safety Center

Letters of intent to create the center are due by March 16. NIOSH expects to make one award of up to $5 million per year for five years to support the center, with the intention of making it a national information resource for all construction stakeholders.

Brice de La Morandiere, nominated as Sperian CEO

Sperian Names New CEO

The board of directors agreed March 3 that Brice de La Morandiere will be CEO as of April 14. This action splits Sperian's board chairman and CEO duties and completes a succession plan for Henri-Dominique Petit, who now holds both titles. He will continue as chairman.

PPE: A Retrospective

Personal protective equipment is an acceptable and often required tool in many of today's workplaces, but this wasn't always so. The acceptance of PPE traveled down a long and perilous road that was paved with the toil and sacrifice of many workers.

Coping with the NRR Change

For years, we’ve known many workers in the “real world” do not achieve the same amount of attenuation from hearing protectors as indicated on the EPA required Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) label. Numerous studies show the NRR greatly overestimates the amount of attenuation that workers get in the field. This problem is so widely accepted that OSHA recommends de-rating the NRR by 50 percent. However, studies also show that a one-size-fits-all de-rating is also inaccurate when compared to individual measures of attenuation. EPA will soon make an announcement proposing a major change in the required labeling and method of testing of hearing protection devices (HPDs).

Ensuring Effective HCPs

It’s late in the afternoon on a Friday at International Meta-Multi-Mega Manufacturing Inc.’s corporate headquarters, and Bill, the manager of Safety, Health and Environmental Services, is on the hot seat regarding management’s latest concerns about compensation liability. The director of Finance, Samantha, is anxious to get some answers. The HR manager, Hector, nods in agreement.



logo of the Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Awards™

NHCA, NIOSH Honor Hearing Conservation Leaders

The first Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Awards were presented during NHCA's 34th annual conference, which ended yesterday in Atlanta and won praise from NIOSH Acting Director Christine Branche.

ARO Meeting Shares Latest Findings on Antioxidants

How administering beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and magnesium before exposure to a loud sound may prevent hearing loss is explored in two studies being presented at the 2009 Midwinter Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology that starts today in Baltimore.

New Web Site Focuses on Changes to NRR System

The site offers news updates as changes are made, answers to frequently asked questions, articles, and an opportunity to pose questions to hearing conservation experts.

Honeywell's 2008 Results Look Good

The Automation and Control Solutions segment, which includes Honeywell Life Safety, posted a 3 percent gain in sales and 12 percent gain in profit in 2008’s fourth quarter.

3M Safety Sales Shine

Yesterday's full-year results for the company as a whole were welcome good news: Total sales were a record $25.3 billion, up 3.3 percent. The Safety, Security and Protection Services unit's 2008 sales actually rose 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter and totaled $3.6 billion for the year, up from $3.1 billion in 2007.

Researchers Identify Age-Related Hearing Loss Gene

Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, accounts for 30 percent of all hearing loss, according to a recent online study release in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.

Survey Finds High Rate of PPE Non-Compliance

According to a new survey released today by Kimberly-Clark Professional, 89 percent of safety professionals polled at the 2008 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress have observed workers failing to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when they should have been.

MSA Announces Record 3Q Sales

CEO William Lambert announced "the strongest third quarter in MSA history," calling it "especially satisfying in the current economic environment." Net sales rose by 15 percent, and net income increased 7 percent.

protective ear plugs

ANSI Standard for Measuring Attenuation Revised Ahead of Labeling Change

The S12.6 standard for measuring hearing protectors' real-ear attenuation will be "heavily referenced" in EPA's rule changing protector NRR labels, which is expected to be issued soon.

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