Kozłowski Emil, Młyński Rafał
Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy / Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute, Warszawa, Poland (Zakład Zagrożeń Wibroakustycznych / Department of Vibroacoustic Hazards).
Med Pr. 2017 May 16;68(3):349-361. doi: 10.13075/mp.5893.00464. Epub 2017 Mar 27.
In the work environment, apart from the noise, employees may be exposed to other harmful factors. Therefore, they wear hearing protectors and other personal protective equipment. The aim of the study was to determine whether simultaneous use of earmuffs and respiratory protective devices affects the attenuation of earmuffs.
The study was conducted in laboratory conditions using the subjective REAT (Real Ear Attenuation at Threshold) and objective MIRE (Microphone in Real Ear) methods. The REAT method was used to measure sound attenuation of earmuffs, while MIRE was used to determine changes in attenuation of earmuffs due to the use of other personal protective equipment.
The study showed reduction in attenuation of earmuffs due to the use of a full face mask up to 20 dB. Using a full face mask causes that attenuation of earmuffs in the low frequency range is close to zero. Reduction in attenuation due to the use of half masks for complete with particle filters (half masks) is 3-15 dB. Simultaneous use of earmuffs and filtering half masks makes small changes in attenuation not exceeding 3 dB.
The study showed that full face masks give the greatest reduction in attenuation of earmuffs. On the other hand, the least reduction is observed in the case of filtering half masks. There is a significant difference between the reduction in attenuation of earmuffs worn with half masks for complete with particle filters because they may be equipped with different kind of the head strap. Med Pr 2017;68(3):349-361.
在工作环境中，员工除了会接触噪音外，还可能暴露于其他有害因素。因此，他们会佩戴听力保护器和其他个人防护装备。本研究的目的是确定同时使用耳罩和呼吸防护装置是否会影响耳罩的衰减效果。
本研究在实验室条件下进行，采用主观REAT（阈值处的真耳衰减）和客观MIRE（真耳中的麦克风）方法。REAT方法用于测量耳罩的声音衰减，而MIRE用于确定由于使用其他个人防护装备而导致的耳罩衰减变化。
研究表明，由于使用全面罩，耳罩的衰减降低了高达20分贝。使用全面罩会导致耳罩在低频范围内的衰减接近于零。由于使用配有颗粒过滤器的半面罩（半面罩），衰减降低了3 - 15分贝。同时使用耳罩和过滤半面罩时，衰减变化很小，不超过3分贝。
研究表明，全面罩使耳罩的衰减降低幅度最大。另一方面，在过滤半面罩的情况下，衰减降低幅度最小。佩戴配有颗粒过滤器的半面罩时，耳罩衰减降低幅度存在显著差异，因为它们可能配备不同类型的头带。《医学实践》2017年；68(3):349 - 361。
