PPE
Hearing protection: the most underestimated health concern ALL-ROUND HEARING PROTECTION NEEDS TO REFLECT THE DEMANDS OF EACH JOB. CUSTOM FIT EAR PLUGS WITH INTERCHANGEABLE FILTERS ARE PART OF THE MINING EQUATION.
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lawyer by trade, Terry van Dijk has acquired a hearing protection company that supplies solutions to the industrial sector, but also to Sydney Opera musicians, Victorian Police and people in the motorsports industry. The reach of the company, Pacific Ears, has grown since it came under van Dijk’s leadership in early 2018. “We’re getting ourselves known now, by increasing our presence and brand awareness, and we have answered to the concerns of hearing damage across the board,” the owner/ director tells Safe to Work. The secret lies in the composition of Pacific Ears’ hearing protectors. They are made of soft silicone custom fitted mould with replaceable filters according to the need or application. A class two or three filter may be sufficient for Sydney Opera musicians, but not for miners who regularly work in louder environments. “There is a 24-hour activity going around heavy machinery,” van Dijk says. “The exposure to that much noise will lead to hearing damage if not
The Pro series custom ear plugs are made from soft, medical grade, hypoallergenic silicone.
protected early and properly.” According to van Dijk, employers are trying to do right by their valued staff, but some simply don’t have the sufficient knowledge to be making the right decisions. This starts with them providing a higher attenuation, or sound reduction, than required. “Providing a class five product where a class three would suffice can lead to isolation and non-compliance,” van Dijk explains. “On the other hand, class five product that reduces mostly low frequencies might be insufficient in a high-frequency environment.” In response to this issue, years have been invested into developing the housing and vented filter design that underpins the current hearing protectors. Van Dijk even calls the development a “breakthrough in high-noise filtering.” Pacific Ears’ Pro series custom ear
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plugs, for example, reduce sound to safe levels without causing muffling or occlusion. As a result, the wearer can hear safely and clearly while being protected from dangerous sound levels. They are also made from a soft, medical grade, hypoallergenic silicone to ensure a safe and comfortable fit, and keep shape after years even with perspiration and rain. They can be worn for a long period of time, even throughout an entire shift. This allows people to communicate with each other, hear warning signals and back up alarms and still perform their job in comfort. “Our goal is to not only make the best possible hearing protection through a filtered system, but also to improve comfort, which will eventually lead to better compliance and therefore safety again,” van Dijk says. “And we received lots of positive feedback on our products; the user
