Ear plug
Noise pollution, whilst being an irritation, is also a cause of hearing loss when the ears are either subjected to a single loud noise or are repeatedly subjected to levels of noise above a safe maximum. The need for adequate hearing protection in high noise environments has long been recognized among those concerned with health and safety issues, and much effort has gone into providing such protection. Repeated or prolonged exposure to sounds of sufficiently high sound pressure level will cause temporary or permanent hearing loss, i.e. can damage the auditory organ and cause serious hearing problems, including deafness. Harmful noise such as caused by explosions or bursts are often comprised of a mixture of sound wave frequencies of varying intensity. These disturbing frequencies are in both the high and low frequency bands and have intensity sufficient to cause hearing problems. Health and safety regulations require that individuals working in noisy environments be protected by wearing appropriate safety equipment, such as hearing protectors. Various types of hearing protectors are currently available to workers for this purpose, such as earplugs, ear muffs and semi-aural hearing protectors. Of these, earplugs have gained universal acceptance in both industrial and consumer settings because of their size, comfort, economy and attenuation characteristics. Earplugs are designed to be inserted into a person's ear canals to dampen sound and prevent the entry of foreign matter. Earplugs have been used for many years to protect hearing. Over the years earplugs have been made from a variety of different materials including cotton, soft wax, thermoplastic polymers and foam. The shape of earplugs has also been varied to achieve improved effectiveness and comfort. Earplugs are commonly produced by punching a plug out of a plate of material or molding individual earplugs in individual molds. It is also possible to form earplugs by extruding material that is cut into earplugs. Active noise reduction (ANR) earplugs have been identified as viable means for suppressing the sound pressure levels inside users' ear canals. The primary advantage of the ANR earplug is its ability to suppress noise inside a smaller occluded space than the corresponding occluded space in prior ANR earmuff designs.
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