Page 24 - Occupational Health & Safety, September 2017

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Workers’ environmental situational awareness can be compromised by overprotection. A balance must be struck between providing adequate hear- ing protection without diminishing other aspects of occupational safety.
NIOSH long method is the most accurate, and affords the benefit of accounting for and evaluating new active noise reduction tech- nologies. Because the ANR benefit is more frequency dependent than passive noise reduction, it’s important to account for the spec- tral content of the noise field as well as the complementary pas- sive attenuation. In-the-ear active noise reduction and new triple hearing protection products offer yet another tool in the toolbox to keep workers safe in extreme noise environments.
Madeleine Cissna, Au. D., Hearing Protection Specialist for Gentex Corporation, holds a Doctorate of Audiology from Salus University; a Bachelor of Science in Hearing and Speech Science from the Univer- sity of Maryland at College Park; a Master of Science from Gallaudet University in Audiology; and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Denver in Psychology. During a 13-year period beginning in 2001, Cissna worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, starting as a staff audiologist then advancing to Chief of Audiology. In 2012, Cis- sna continued her work for the U.S. Army as Hearing Conservation Consultant at the U.S. Army Public Health Command in the Army Hearing Program. Following her career with the Army, Cissna moved into the private sector in 2014, joining Gentex Corporation’s Aegi- sound hearing protection and communications business, where she works today as a Hearing Protection Specialist.
Leveraging a history that spans more than 100 years, Gentex is a leading provider of innovative solutions that enhance personal pro- tection and situational awareness for global defense forces, emergency responders, and industrial personnel operating in high performance environments. The company’s product portfolio includes helmet sys- tem platforms and capability upgrades for defense and security forc- es, sold under the Gentex, Ops-Core, ALPHA, Cromwell, and Argus brands; Aegisound hearing protection and communications products for military and industrial personnel; PureFlo industrial respiratory protection systems; Dual Mirror aluminized fabrics; and Filtron light management technology. Privately held, Gentex is headquartered in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and supports its global customers through a worldwide distributor network and five other facilities in the U.S. and the U.K. Learn more at www.gentexcorp.com.
REFERENCES
1. OSHA Noise Regulation, 29 CFR 1910.95.
2. NIOSH Publication No. 98-126:1998, “Criteria for a recommended standard: Occupational noise exposure: Revised criteria, 1998.”
3. MSHA, 30 CFR Part 62—Health Standards for Occupational Noise Exposure.
www.ohsonline.com
HEARING PROTECTION