Ear muff acceptance among sawmill workers

Abstract

A method of ear muff selection has been suggested whereby the attenuation provided by the muff, measured as the SLC₈₀ value, the muff weight and clamping force are combined to provide a rating index. A range of muffs selected on this basis was tested in a number of Australian sawmills to determine their acceptance among the workers in these mills. A specific relationship between the rating index and wearer acceptance was not clearly established, although a number of muffs with the highest indices were favourably rated by wearers and others with the lowest values were rated unfavourably