Every day millions of people around the world are exposed to noise at work and all the risks this can entail. The higher the noise level, and the longer you are exposed to it, the more risk you have of suffering harm from noise.
In the United States, according to NIOSH and the CDC, by age 60, 75 per cent of miners suffer from Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) due to the exposure to noise. In manufacturing and mining, 40 per cent of employees experience significant noise levels for more than half of their working time.
For construction, the proportion is 35 per cent and in many other sectors, including agriculture, transport and communications, the figure is 20 per cent. Noise Induced Hearing loss is the most common reported occupational disease in general but in mining in particular.
Many miners will recognise the following symptoms:
- Difficulty hearing warning signals
- Background noises seems to be louder than the noise in front of you
- Difficulty hearing what someone is saying
- Accidents
- Ringing or buzzing in your ears
- After you leave a noisy area, your hearing may seem dull or muffled
- Headaches
- Tiredness and stress
Unfortunately, once it occurs, there is no cure. You may not even notice that the damage has occurred right away, because it causes no pain and the damage is not visible.
The good news is, noise induced hearing loss is 100 per cet preventable.
Miners can protect hearing with custom ear plugs
Do not wait to experience any of these symptoms before you protect your ears with hearing protection. Custom-made earplugs give the best comfort and isolation for extended usage. They are also more cost-effective than all other hearing protectors.
The ACS PRO range from Pacific Ears sets a new standard in hearing protection offering a number of features that create a great experience for the wearer allowing you to listen and perform in comfort and with impeccable clarity. They also make it easy for people to communicate with each other because used filters that allows users to hear better with the earbuds in than if they take them out. The filters block out the unwanted, damaging noise more than other sounds. In that way miners are still able to hear warning signals, backup alarms, and others.
The PRO filters feature a new smaller footprint so that any size of ear can use a PRO earplug comfortably and discreetly whilst its sheathed outer provides splash-proofing allowing them to be used outdoors or when perspiring. The PRO series also have a vented design that allows sound to escape from the ear canal which reduces the occlusion effect (noise booming in a blocked ear).
Our products are made from medical grade, non-flammable, hypoallergenic silicone. These keep shape after years of service, even with perspiration and in rain.
All our hearing protectors are certified against AS/NZS1270 and/or EN352-2 (European) standards. We even have two certified class 5 protectors, the only certified class 5 custom hearing protectors in Australia.
PRO 27 and PRO 31 custom hearing protection (Class 5)
Both the PRO 27 and Pro 31 are a breakthrough in high-noise filtering, giving you an almost flat reduction (around 23 decibels (dB) for the PRO 27 and 28 dB for the PRO31) through the low and mid-range frequencies so that you maintain situation awareness and your ability to communicate, but can still be comfortable in very loud environments. In the higher frequencies both give a sharp jump in protection, offering up to 35dB where you need it most so you can carry on working or enjoying your passion in safety. With an average attenuation of 27dB and 31 dB respectively, these certified class 5 earplugs increase your safe exposure time by up to nine times.
PRO 27 Communicator
The PRO 27 Communicator gives you the best of both worlds with the strongest filter in the PRO series range giving you complete protection even in the most severe of environments and the same technology that we use in our in-ear monitor allowing you to enjoy high fidelity audio for crisp communications.
The PRO 27 Communicator comes fitted as standard with our own Kevlar reinforced cable for durability and, because it’s moulded from soft silicone, it can be worn comfortably underneath a helmet for extended periods.
The PRO 27 Communicator has been independently tested to conform to the EN352-2 standard for hearing protection so you can be sure that it’s giving you what you need to enjoy your passion or occupation safely.
For more information about Pacific Ears’ full range of ear protection, in-ear monitors and communication products, please visit the website or contact us for an introduction.