Office of Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports

FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute


Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-75/11

Title and Subtitle: Earplug ratings based on the protector-attenuation rating (P-AR)

Report Date: October 1975

Authors: Tobias JV

Abstract: Forty-five attenuation spectra for earplugs were classified according to a simplified method designed to produce single-number ratings of noise reduction. The rating procedure was applied to the mean attenuation scores, to mean-minus-one-stardard-deviation scores, and to mean-minus-two-standard-deviations scores. The reporting of all three numbers seems to give the fairest indication of an earplug's value in controlling hearing damage in noise-exposed populations. The tests are described and ranked.

Key Words: Earplugs, Hearing, Hearing Conservation, Hearing-Protector Measurement

No. of Pages: 62

Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012