Gin Hearing Protectors - Protection Against Permanent Hearing Loss

The evolution of cotton gin machinery has brought a myriad of safety and protection features to the cotton gin industry. Combined with employee protection programs, the rate of injury and death due to ginning accidents has dropped significantly. Yet protection from noise levels in gins that damage hearing is an issue that has not been seriously addressed. Gins are exempt from the more stringent hearing protection standards enforced in other U.S. industries and unfortunately, most gins are much louder than the standard noise level for general industry. Gin hearing protectors are necessary as noise continues to be a threat to the sense of hearing, and everyone continues to look for a gin hearing protector solution to protect workers from irreversible hearing loss that results from prolonged exposure to high frequency noise.

Efforts to get gin workers to wear ear plugs as hearing protectors has met with limited success. Although gins are currently exempt from OSHA noise standards, noise reduction in gins needs to be looked into more closely in the future, if we are to protect workers from hearing loss. Exposure to noise levels above 90 decibels for extended periods can cause varying degrees of permanent hearing loss and studies have shown gin noise levels to be in the 97 to 99 decibel range.

Charles Glover, who has studied the effect of gin noise on human hearing, explains that the relationship between different sound levels on hearing is logarithmic, not linear. Lint cleaners, at about 95 decibels, are some of the loudest equipment in the gin. Experiments with solid-wound doffing brushes resulted in a dramatic reduction in noise, to about 70 decibels, making it less harsh on the hearing. A silencer installed on the discharge side of blowers also results in a considerable reduction of noise which will protect hearing.

About The Author:

William Pensworth is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.digital-hearing-aids-n-protection.com. Find out more about hearing loss, so you can choose the digital hearing aids or therapy that is necessary.