Education shouldn’t come at the cost of hearing loss, which is why an increasing number of schools, universities and colleges are investing in the protection of their students’ ears by installing noise-activated decibel monitors in teaching rooms and corridors.
This is especially true in schools and colleges that have wood or metal working shops where it is important to ensure that the teaching staff and students are not exposed to high levels of noise above 80dB(A) for extended periods of time. Although most schools make ear muffs available, neither students nor teachers know exactly when they need to put them on and can just take their hearing for granted. So many facilities find that installing a decibel monitor like the Pulsar SafeEar provides a visual guide for when to put these on.
The Noise at Work Regulations in Europe stipulates that there are decibel levels to be aware of: 80, 85 and 87 dB(A). Hearing protection should be accessible to anyone exposed to noise above 80 dB(A) and should be mandatory to wear for levels at or above 85 dB(A). Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is caused by overexposure to loud sounds. The inner ear hairs that allow sound to be conducted to the brain are like blades of grass, if you walk on them once normally they will spring back up, but if you walk on them heavily and repeatedly eventually they won’t recover and can become permanently damaged, with the result you will lose your hearing.
Such hearing loss doesn’t happen overnight, it generally takes years to lose your hearing, but it is the educational facility’s responsibility to ensure that their employees and students have all the protection that’s needed because sensitive young ears can be more affected by noise from their environments. By installing decibel monitors everyone can actually see a visual safety prompt and know when to put on their hearing protection. This also allows the students to take action themselves without teachers having to micromanage the situation or make students where hearing PPE all the time.
There are four designs to choose from, so the Pulsar SafeEar decibel monitors can also be used to show quiet zones too, for instance in libraries or corridors outside teaching rooms and exam rooms. The SafeEar is also available in multiple languages including French, German and Spanish. With the addition of a data logger too, it is possible to monitor changes in noise level over a longer period of use.
Pulsar Instruments is happy to offers registered educational institutions a discount, contact us to find out more.
