Quietdose Monitors In-Ear Noise Exposure At Work

Howard Leight by Sperian has introduced Quietdose, a personal dosimeter that measures and records a worker's actual in-ear exposure to noise over an entire work shift. The Quietdose system consists of a small Exposure Smart Protector (ESP) Dosimeter that's worn by employees in a shirt pocket or on the back of a hardhat; earplugs or an earmuff with integrated microphones that record real-time in-ear noise levels; and a connecting harness.

An infrared reader enables safety managers to retrieve data from the ESP Dosimeter at the end of each shift or work week and analyse the results on a personal computer. Quietdose enables safety managers and employees to: track, document and address the potential of occupational hearing loss and Standard Threshold Shift (STS) in real time; select appropriate hearing protectors for each employee's noise environment; train and monitor employees as to the correct use of earplugs or earmuffs; streamline worker deployment by more accurately matching shift hours with correct protection; identify potential opportunities to eliminate dual protection (the use of earplugs and earmuffs); compare the benefit of monitoring employee noise dose versus making capital investments in engineering controls to reduce specific noise levels.

An additional benefit of the system is that workers can personally monitor and control their noise exposure in real time. Flashing alerts indicate when noise exposure reaches or exceeds prescribed limits. If an earplug has not been inserted properly, Quietdose will alert the worker that they are not receiving adequate protection. If a worker removes their earplug for any length of time, Quietdose will assess that additional exposure and alert them should they exceed their allowable dose.