Methods of measuring and rating hearing protector performance

This paper reviews various methods that have been used to measure and rate the performance characteristics of hearing protectors. Subjective and objective measurements methods will be discussed with respect to test method, environment and stimuli. A variety of methods for relating protector attenuation data to the requirements of a specific environment will be presented and discussed. The paper includes suggestions for use of this information with environmental data developed from octave band analysis or sound pressure level measured in dBA.