"Real-world" attenuation of muff-type hearing protectors: The effect of spectacles

A study has been carried out to investigate how much spectacles influence the attenuation of ear muffs. Measurements have been performed using broad-band stationary noise on real persons with four different safety spectacles. It is concluded that spectacles introduce a very significant reduction in the attenuation. Depending on the spectacle and person, the effect can be from “moderate” to “severe”.