Three Things Every Employee Wants From Their Hearing Protection

Hearing Protection: What Your Employees Look For

From tackling paperwork to putting out fires and every other task on a manager’s growing to-do list, it can be hard to find the time to sit down with employees and discuss their needs and wants. However, this information is vital to ensuring workplace safety adherence and employee morale. 

Throughout our 50 years of supporting industrial workers, Protect Ear has listened to thousands of employees to discern what they require from their hearing protection. So, what do your workers care about and what could they do without? When it comes to hearing protection, some things matter to them more than others, namely comfort, effectiveness and compatibility. 

Three Things Employees Want From Their Hearing Protection

Comfort

Like most things, comfort is the name of the game. With long shifts, day in and day out, it’s no surprise that the main factor employees consider when looking for protective gear is comfort. If protective equipment hurts their ears after only a few minutes or works for an hour but not much longer, employees won’t wear it. Why would they? 

Fortunately, there are a number of hearing protection options available that give employees the comfort they are looking for with the protection managers want to see. Custom earmolds are at the top of that list for a good reason. Unlike foam earplugs or earmuffs, which generally only come in one size, earmolds are produced from an exact impression of each individual’s ear and can be manufactured in a variety of hard and soft materials. 

While foam is soft, this type of material is squeezed to fit into the ear canal, then released, building pressure. Unlike foam, dB Blockers aren’t constantly expanding in your ears, putting pressure from the inside out. They just fit! Custom-fit size and material mean custom comfort all day long!

Comfort

While comfort is essential, hearing protection has to actually protect employees while they are doing their work. How effective a product is depends on how it fits, what material it’s made of and how likely it will be worn correctly. 

Disposable earplugs are regularly used in loud factories and on job sites. While they are generally considered easy to use, most don’t insert them properly, which can put workers at risk for hearing damage and threshold shifts. It’s important to teach employees proper ear protection techniques when using any type of earplugs. 

Earmuffs are easier and safer to use correctly than earplugs, however, there are a few things to keep in mind. Those with glasses or hats (including roles where protective eyewear and hard hats are required) or facial hair and certain hairstyles might find earmuffs less effective as they create a gap between the cushion and the face. Always check for a tight seal that indicates effective protection.  

The other benefit to custom earmolds comes from how effective they are at blocking hazardous noises. Because custom hearing protection, like the dB Blocker, is designed individually, it provides a precise fit in the ear, efficiently blocking noise and preventing faulty insertion from human error. 

Comfort

The final factor employees consider important for hearing protection is compatibility. How easy is it to insert protective equipment with dirty hands? Will I be aware of my surroundings? Can I talk with coworkers without removing them? These are all questions that relate to how compatible protective equipment is with a given job. 

As managers know, hearing protection looks different for each role. Positions that require a lot of teamwork will need protective equipment that allows for communication between employees. Similarly, different working environments call for different levels of noise protection and may only be required some of the time. 

dB Blockers have an optional filter that enables you to hear conversations while blocking out noise.  They can also connect directly to radios, enabling safe communication at a distance.

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Choosing a type of hearing protector that is comfortable, effective and compatible for employees to use is the best way to ensure they will use it consistently and correctly. With custom hearing protection, managers can significantly reduce the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss, preserving workers' auditory health and preventing related health issues, like tinnitus and increased stress levels.

Give your employees what they want. Choose custom hearing protection from Protect Ear, trusted by 4,500+ companies in Canada and the U.S.!