To protect your hearing, earplugs must provide enough attenuation (measured in decibels).
- Sound is made up of different frequenices, and most earplugs will attenuate at a different level for each of those frequencies. These levels vary between manufacturers, so you should check the packaging to see what protection they give.
- Most earplugs give greater protection at higher frequencies (4 to 8 kilohertz) than at lower frequencies, and it is these higher frequency sounds that are potentially more damaging to hearing.
- Remember that in real situations the attenuation is probably less than that measured by the manufacturers, as they will have tested brand new earplugs that fit well, and the tests will have been done in ideal circumstances.
- Attenuation is sometimes expressed as a single simplified noise-level reduction (SNR) figure.
