If you've recently replaced your rotary screw compressors with new versions that are enclosed in cabinets, you might have told your workers that hearing protection is no longer required all of the time. The compressor cabinets manufactured today can reduce ambient noise to levels that are quieter than your average dishwasher. Yet you shouldn't get rid of the hearing protection just yet. Here are four reasons why you should still give your workers industrial hearing protection even when they work with enclosed compressors.

Lower Stress and Better Concentration

These two reasons go hand in hand. Even dishwasher noise can be annoying at close range, and hearing protection lets workers cut off that noise so they can concentrate. While some people benefit from having white noise going on in the background, many others do not, and Lifehacker notes that National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health thinks there's evidence for background noise increasing stress levels.

Remember that your workers are individuals with different reactions to their environment. Give them the chance to block out noise if needed. Having good work results and having happy workers are more important than making it look like everyone in the room has no problem working around low-level noise.

Different Sensitivity Levels

In addition to having different psychological reactions to noise, everyone has different levels of physical sensitivity to noise. While your average person might not experience any hearing loss from a relatively quiet, enclosed compressor, someone who is supersensitive could begin to acquire a small hearing loss after constant exposure.

It depends on how fragile the person's inner ear is. Hearing loss due to noise exposure is thought to be due to damage to the hair cells in the inner ear. Loud noises create strong sound waves that ripple through a person's auditory system, knocking out the hair cells. Someone with very fragile hair cells could see them wither under the constant noise, even if other co-workers do not appear to have a problem. The hair cells do not always recover from this sound-wave knockdown, so preventing them from encountering noise in the first place is the better option.

Compressor Maintenance

Sometimes that compressor cabinet has to be open for maintenance. Having hearing protection available enables workers to keep going even when the compressor cabinet has to be open while the compressor runs. Plus, if other loud equipment is brought nearby, the hearing protection will block that noise from annoying the workers as well.

If you'd like more information on how compressor cabinets reduce noise levels when using rotary screw compressors, contact companies that manufacture the cabinets. Ask them to what decibel levels, or dBA levels, the cabinets reduce compressor noise. At the same time, keep looking into getting new hearing protection for your workers. 

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