How to use personal protective equipment to reduce the impact of noise on the human body

The use of personal protective equipment can prevent or reduce the impact of noise on the human body, protect the ear from overstimulation, and prevent the occurrence of various diseases.
In the noise source and the transmission route of the noise, noise management is not carried out or is not easy, and when it is high noise, personal protection must be performed. For long periods of continuous work in a noisy environment, personal protection should especially be provided. Commonly used personal protection with earplugs, soundproof cotton, earmuffs and helmets.

Ear plug

It is usually made of a material such as soft rubber (neoprene), soft plastic (polyvinyl chloride resin), foam, and silicone rubber. The main shape is cylindrical, several kinds of umbrella shape. According to the size of the human ear canal, there are generally three models: large, medium and small.

Earplugs have good soundproofing effects on mid- and high-frequency noise, and poor sound insulation on low-frequency sounds. Wear appropriate earplugs. Normal and high-frequency noise can be as low as 20 to 30dB. In the screaming high-frequency noise environment, satisfactory noise reduction effects can be achieved and the impact on normal conversation is not significant.

Earplugs are cheap, economical, durable, compact and portable. However, due to different human ear canals, the general coordination is not ideal, often feel uncomfortable after wearing, and even cause ear swelling and ear canal pain.

2. Soundproof cotton

Anti-acoustic cotton is made by chemically softening ultra-fine glass wool with a diameter of 1 to 3 μm. When using, tear a small piece into a cone by hand and insert it into the ear. Sound insulation of soundproof cotton is better than normal cotton, and the sound insulation value increases with the increase of noise frequency, which is more effective in isolating high frequency noise. The use of this sound proofing cotton in a strong high-frequency noise workshop not only does not hinder the language connection, but also improves the verbal definition.

3. Earmuffs

The earmuffs are composed of a shell (made of hard plastic, hard rubber and metal plate), a sealing gasket (made of a multi-brushed soft foam outer polyvinyl chloride film), a bow frame and a lined sound-absorbing material.

The average sound insulation of the earmuffs is generally 15 to 25 dB, the high-frequency sound insulation is 30 dB, and the low-frequency sound insulation is also 12 dB. It is mainly used to protect against strong impulse noise of guns, aerodynamic noise generated by aero-engines, rock drills, internal combustion engines, and other mechanical machinery, as well as various pneumatic tools, riveting, stamping, cold working and other mechanical noises.

The earmuffs are bulky and inconvenient to wear, especially in high-temperature work and hot seasons, and the wearer often feels hot and uncomfortable.

4. Soundproof helmet

There are mainly soft anti-noise caps and hard anti-acoustic helmets. The soft noise-proof noise cap is mainly composed of an artificial leather cap and earmuffs. It can prevent hearing damage, and has a shock-proof, anti-trauma, and cold-proof effect on the person's head.

The hard soundproof helmet is mainly composed of a sound-absorbing material and earmuffs made of a shell (made of glass fiber reinforced plastic). It can prevent the strong noise from passing through the air conduction and the skull to the inner ear, as well as the damage of the shock wave to the hearing and the head.

The weight of the anti-acoustic helmet is heavy, and it is often uncomfortable to wear it, especially for high-temperature operation and hot weather. The lighter person feels hot and easily sweats, and the severe one often causes dizziness and dizziness.

5. Protective clothing

Made of glass fiber reinforced plastic or aluminum plate, lined with a soft porous sound-absorbing material. Commonly used to prevent high-intensity noise above 140dB on the internal organs of the body.

China Labor Insurance Network