Onsite Ear Plug Fit Testing

Work Health Professionals provide onsite ear plug fit testing in Perth and around WA to measure the fit of your workers’ preferred hearing protection.

A 5-10 minute test will provide each worker with an indication of the actual amount of protection their hearing protection ear plug provides while also providing extra 1:1 training on how to best fit their personal ear plugs.

Combined ear plug fit testing and hearing tests

Audiometric testing and ear plug fit testing is an ideal combination, and takes approximately 15 minutes per worker. This incluces a hearing test to meet the new WA WHS regs and a personal ear plug fit test.

All of this can be done onsite at your workplace in our WorkCover accredited audiometric testing truck or caravan  or for more remote sites, in a quiet room calibrated by one of our Noise Officers.

Educate your workers on the hazards of noise exposure and help them to take action in managing their risk of NIHL. These are all proactive steps that you the employer can take to reduce potential workers compensation claims for noise induced hearing loss.

Fit testing of ear plugs is mandatory on a number of Australian work sites and is required in many different industries.

You can find out more in the Australian Standards AS/NZ 1269.3:2005 Occupational Noise Management, Part 3 Hearing Protector Program.

Benefits of onsite ear plug fit testing

Many workplaces expose workers to loud noise that will damage hearing, sometimes in a very short time, if suitable Personal Hearing Protection (PHP) is not used.

Accordingly employers provide hearing protection expecting that they are providing “suitable” protection. However, studies have shown that even after extensive training some workers get less than 50% of the product claimed attenuation due to a poor fit.

Ear plug fit testing benefits safety managers and workers alike.

• For the safety manager, it fulfills regulatory requirements for training with documented results.
• For workers, it demonstrates the importance of proper hearing protection in the workplace and helps them to ensure the best fit for their preferred PHP.

Fit testing of hearing protection bridges the gap between the laboratory estimates of attenuation and the attenuation achieved by workers as they normally wear their protectors in the real-world.

Additionally, ear plug fit testing can be an invaluable tool in reducing compensation claims for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) at the workplace.

Fit testing records can help document that effective steps were taken to select appropriate hearing protections, train workers in their proper use, and to document a proper fit with a particular protector. This type of documentation is very useful for hearing conservation programs.

Find out more about how we can help you manage your ear plug fit testing, onsite WorkCover audiometric testing or WorkSafe noise surveys