Ear Defenders

Protect your hearing with a ear defenders !

What are the benefits of choosing ear defenders?

Daily exposure to noise can quickly become a workplace nightmare. Sounds can be more or less disruptive, and certain sounds can even be dangerous, depending on two factors: their intensity (or volume), expressed in decibels, and their frequency, which can either be serious or acute. By law, if the noise level in a workplace is above 85 dB, workers must wear ear defenders, otherwise they risk endangering their health. Find out more about the noise scale and their different risk levels in our purchase guide.

The noise and the inconvenience a sound causes is more or less dangerous depending on factors which are specific to the workers themselves, including the amount of time they are exposed to the noise, their distance from the noise and their sensitivity to noise.

Noise at work is not an issue that should be taken lightly as it can have various negative effects on the health of workers, including:

• Hearing damage: prolonged exposure to noise can gradually cause acoustic trauma to the ear without the person even necessarily noticing. It can even lead to permanent hearing loss.

• Negative impact on overall health: related issues include fatigue, stress, irritability, sleep disturbances and memory problems, increased heart rate, etc.

• Decreased productivity: if workers are struggling to concentrate or relax, this may impact the quality of their work and it could even cause an accident at work.

Ear defenders are therefore the best solution to effectively block out noise at work. This type of headset has two large headphones connected by a headband which is adjustable to suit each user. The headphones have the advantage of being ultra-insulating as they are made of materials such as absorbent foam. They are designed to significantly reduce disruptive noises from your environment. All of our professional ear protectors are adapted for everyday use: they are comfortable, simple to use and they do not cause any irritation.

Which ear defenders should you choose: an active or a passive noise-cancelling headset?

There are 2 types: passive noise-cancelling headsets and active/communications headsets. Read on to discover which headset suits you best!

• A passive ear defenders headset: this headset is designed solely for the purpose of protecting your hearing by isolating you from background noise. The headphones are made of absorbent foam or polyether pads, to block any propagation of sound. It reduces noise from 20dB to 37dB efficiently, such as the best-performing headset on the market, the 3m Peltor X5. But, as the name suggests, it has no effect on the noise itself, unlike an active headset. Because of this, it is particularly suited for those who work alone as they do not need to communicate regularly with their collaborators as part of their work.

• Active noise-cancelling/communications headset: unlike the previous headset, this headset actively interacts with your sound environment. It is equipped with microphones that pick up sounds and process them intelligently: the most intense background noises are reduced to protect your hearing while weaker sounds, such as people’s voices, are amplified, to allow you to hear when your collaborators when they are talking to you. Some models are specially designed for use during hunting and shooting; in the case of any sudden loud noises, the microphone will instantly be muted. All of our active headsets also have the added advantage of allowing you to communicate: they can be easily connected to your landline, smart phone or walkie-talkie via a cable or Bluetooth. This way, you can protect your hearing while remaining in contact with your teams. You can receive or make calls like with a traditional headset.