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🚧 Noise exposure at work is associated with serious health conditions, from #HearingLoss and #tinnitus to injuries and heart/blood vessel problems. 👂 Especially for earplugs, it is well‐known that many workers struggle to insert them properly into the ear canal. An iIll‐fitting #earplug will not protect one's hearing sufficiently. Do earplug fit tests plus training on how to fit earplugs help people who work in noisy environments? 🤔 📚 🔍 This #SystematicReview looked at the evidence of 3 studies involving 756 participants. All the studies used foam or premoulded #earplugs 👎 In the workplace, simply providing earplugs with no or with simple instructions probably does not ensure that noise‐exposed workers achieve the needed levels of protection. ➡️ Workers who are using foam and premoulded earplugs probably need extensive instructions on how to wear their earplugs correctly to achieve sufficient noise reduction from the earplugs they wear. ✨ Fit testing earplugs accompanied by extensive instructions probably improves the personal attenuation rating values from foam and premoulded earplugs by 8.6 decibels (dB) (95% confidence interval 6.3 to 10.9 dB) compared to no instructions at immediate follow‐up. This is a relevant increase in protection: every 3 dB decrease in noise exposure level halves the energy entering the ear! 👂 📣 An important Cochrane review for anyone working in a nosy environment and for employers! Tag someone that needs to know! 🤓 Read the full #CochraneReview and the #PlainLanguage summary in the #CochraneLibrary https://lnkd.in/e4JGDzmB Morata TC, Gong W, Tikka C, Samelli AG, Verbeek JH. Hearing protection field attenuation estimation systems and associated training for reducing workers’ exposure to noise. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2024, Issue 5. Art. No.: CD015066. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD015066.pub2 #HealthAndSaftey #WorkplaceSafety

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