How does INTEGRAfit measure a PAR for earplugs?
The procedure is simple. Find the worker on the production floor (hopefully with earplugs in place). Tell that worker not to touch the earplugs, that you are going to measure how much protection the worker is getting from the earplugs, and to follow you. Put the worker in a sound booth or quiet room. Put the specially-designed INTEGRAfit headset over the worker’s ears with earplugs in place, and then just press the button. INTEGRAfit will quickly measure the worker’s hearing threshold at 500 Hz in both ears (this is the Earplugs In measure). Then the software will prompt you to remove the INTEGRAfit headset, remove the earplugs, and put the INTEGRAfit headset back over the worker’s ears. Press the button again and INTEGRAfit will again measure the worker’s 500 Hz thresholds in both ears (this is the Earplugs Out measure). The difference between the Earplugs In and Earplugs Out measure is the PAR – one PAR for the left ear and another PAR for the right ear. Simple!
