We are excited to have you join us for an amazing educational line up, check out the agenda below for the 2025 Conference. Please note that this agenda is subject to change.
The assessment of sound exposure from communication devices and earphones typically requires specialized measurement methods such as the microphone in the real-ear technique or the use of manikins or artificial ears. In practice, however, such assessments are challenging to deploy in most workplaces and are often not conducted on a regular basis due to lack of proper equipment and/or expertise. A simple calculation method has been devised that only requires widely accessible equipment (e.g. sound level meter or noise dosimeter) together with basic information about the devices worn (e.g., attenuation) and the communication or listening task (e.g., duration of listening within the work shift). The calculation method, specified in Canadian standard Z107.56, is intended to increase accessibility to communication device and earphone sound exposure assessments to the widest range of stakeholders in hearing loss prevention. The method brings together the many factors contributing to communication devices and earphone sound exposure and thus it is also useful when examining possible exposure mitigation measures. This paper will present the calculation method and provide examples of its uses.
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the measurement challenges when assessing sound exposure from communication devices and earphones 2. Explain the relevance of noise levels measured at microphone, eardrum, and free-field reference points to permissible exposure limits. 3. Compare and contrast the characteristics of impulse sound waves measured inside hearing protection in the ear to those measured in the free field.
