Hearing protectors: topicality and research needs.

Occupational noise specialists do not generally recommend hearing protection devices (HPDs) as a preferred solution to noise risk prevention. Nevertheless, these devices are widely used and are in fact often necessary. Selection of an HPD should take into account comfort and the capacity for perceiving external signals, when they are worn. Current European regulations require that HPD attenuation be considered, when comparing noise exposure to limit values. However, HPD attenuation is effectively unknown under real-world conditions. Some methods are designed to give approximate attenuation values and these provide results within a wide statistical range. Field measurement methods and current standards have been developed to deal with this situation. The specific characteristic of impulse noise requires establishment of dedicated criteria and tools for HPD selection and testing. This paper introduces a number of avenues for research, which could be of assistance in improving HPD selection, qualification and design.