Standards Development

Scope

This standard will provide for measurement of the response of hearing protection devices in high levels of impulse noise. The purpose is to provide a method to aid in the prediction of noise exposures under the hearing protection device in the presence of impulse noise.

Purpose

This standard specifies acoustic test fixture (ATF) methods for the measurement of the insertion loss of electronic and passive, linear and nonlinear hearing protection devices. The ATF methods may be used with high-level impulsive noise test signals. The standard contains information on instrumentation, calibration, and electroacoustic requirements, procedures for determining sound pressure levels in the ATF with and without the hearing protection devices in place, and procedures for calculating the corresponding insertion loss values. The standard also describes how to conduct the measurements and to determine the complex transfer function for a hearing protector. Requirements for reporting of the data are also described.

The occupational exposures due to high level impact noise in industries and high-level impulse noise in the public safety sector and military present a need to measure the performance of hearing protection devices. These exposures present a serious hazard for noise induced hearing loss for the persons not using protectors in these types of noise. Providing a method that informs the consumer about the performance of hearing protectors in high-level impulse and impact noise will enable the user to estimate whether they are adequately protected.