The use of hearing protection is often mandatory in an industrial environment. But did you know that the use of hearing protection can create new risks?

Your employees need to protect themselves, and at the same time they need to be aware of any important warning signs. Situational awareness plays a big part in this.

Here is a practical example

In a food manufacturing workplace, things can get very noisy. In such an environment, hearing protection is naturally required, but it’s also important that employees are able to hear the warning signals or operational sounds around them. For example, an alarm or an approaching forklift truck.

This is where hearing protection combined with a situational awareness functionality would not be simply a luxury. In the presence of high noise levels, ambient microphones can help to suppress harmful levels of noise, however, it is important to also be able to hear warning signals, approaching vehicles, and colleagues’ voices when necessary.

Hearing protection with continuous level-dependent function

Hearing protection with level-dependent function has a built-in electronic component with a microphone. Noise is captured, filtered and then transmitted to the ears. The electronics allow for ambient noise, but block out peak sounds above a specific noise level.

Our choice of ear defenders with level-dependent hearing protection

The 3M™ PROTAC III amplifies all the ambient sounds to a level that allows you to be more situationally aware. These ear defenders enable you to hear better, and protects you when most needed. Ideal for automatically blocking peak noise above 82 dB. You'll still be able to communicate normally.

The ear cup switches off automatically after 2 hours of inactivity, thereby ensuring that the battery does not drain.

Hearing protection with 2-way communication and situational awareness

You can communicate with your colleagues via a 2-way radio while still protecting your hearing and maintaining awareness of important signals in your surroundings.

Our choice of ear defender communication with level-dependent hearing protection

A communication ear defender is hearing protection that reduces noise, while still enabling communication. Ideal for loud environments such as industrial workplaces, factories and construction sites.

The 3M™ Peltor™ WS LiteCom Plus includes a built-in radio for short-range conversations with other two-way communication devices.

You can communicate hands-free in noisy environments using the VOX-enabled microphone. The communication ear cup also has Bluetooth® multipoint connectivity. This allows you to connect to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously and select which audio source you want to hear.

The headset includes level-dependent technology to maintain awareness of signals in the surrounding area.

With the 3M™ Peltor™ WS™ ALERT™ X, you can hear incoming calls clearly by connecting one device via Bluetooth® technology. The noise-cancelling boom microphone allows you to talk to others at normal volume even in a noisy environment, and your caller can hear you without the ambient noise interfering with the conversation. This keeps you connected while still being protected.

In addition, the headset's function buttons are large enough to operate while wearing gloves.

The push-to-listen function ensures that you can instantly stop your Bluetooth® streaming immediately and hear your surroundings even more clearly.

The 3M™ Peltor™ WS LiteCom Plus and the 3M™ Peltor™ WS™ ALERT™ X Headsets each have their own advantages:

• LiteCom Plus: Built-in radio for direct team communication and multipoint Bluetooth® connectivity between two devices. Ideal for hands-free use with VOX microphone and level-dependent situational awareness.
• ALERT™ X: Bluetooth® connectivity for one device with noise-cancelling microphone and push-to-listen function. Suitable for clear communication in noisy environments with large, glove-friendly buttons.

Who will benefit from this technology?

Those working in noisy environments where many alarms are triggered or where many vehicles are present:

• Construction sites
• Railway operations
• Aviation industry
• Military and police
• Security