Cotral Lab offers 3 possibilities for conducting efficiency tests: - Buy the software and equipment to conduct the tests in full autonomy - Borrow the software and equipment to conduct the tests for a limited period - Choose the full service option provided by Hearing Prevention Specialist at your organisation's

Validate the effectiveness of your hearing protection devices

Q: How does one know, with the passage of time, that hearing protection devices are still efficiently reducing noise?

Use CAPA© to determine whether your employees' hearing protectors are still reducing noise effectively after years of use. It validates whether the intra-ear hearing protection devices: - Comply with manufacturer specifications - Efficiently protect employees

With CAPA^©, you can validate each employee's level of hearing protection. Make sure your employees are protected while taking their CAPA test.

The CAPA^© solution

With CAPA^©, you can quickly and easily validate how effective your hearing protection devices are. This is also known as "hearing protection fit testing".

(Developed by HearingProTech^®)

Why is it important to validate the effectiveness of your hearing protection devices?

Everyone's ear canal comes in different shapes and sizes. Thus, a one-size-fits-all earplug cannot be the right solution. The only way to know if an ear plug is effectively protecting your employees is by using a fit-testing unit such as CAPA^©.

Your ears continue to grow, check the effectiveness of your hearing protection device testing

Our ears continue to grow throughout the entire lifetime

A study by the Royal College of General Practitioners shows that our ears continue growing at a rate of around 0.22 mm per year. Thus, the effectiveness of your custom moulded ear plugs can diminish after several years of use.

Attenuation differences do exist.

Studies show significant differences between laboratories’ Noise Reduction Ratings (NRR) and in-situ test results for the same hearing protection device. Therefore, using CAPA^© to validate your earplugs’ effectiveness and real level of attenuation is essential. This applies to custom as well as re-usable and disposable earplugs.

How does a CAPA^© test work?

Two options are available:

Purchase the software and the tablet to perform the tests in full autonomy
Ask for a Hearing Protection Specialist to perform the tests at your facility

Results and compliance certificates are recorded in your own online secured-access area.

See relevant data from a survey by the French Institute for Scientific Research (INRS), provided by HearingProTech^®: Suitability of Commercially Available Systems for Individual Fit Tests of Hearing Protectors.

Example of CAPA results for hearing protection device testing

Custom moulded earplugs: On-site Assessment and Validation

Schedule an on-site annual effectiveness assessment and validation at your facility. Your local Hearing Protection Specialist will work with you to:

Determine the integrity of each hearing protector.
Ensure that the filter being used is consistent with the noise level in your facility.
Perform a CAPA^© test to be sure that attenuation is consistent with the certification.

If the assessment results in a “Non-Compliant” rating, the repeat manufacture of your hearing protection devices is provided at no extra-charge under the Effi-6 Guarantee, as follows:

Material defects: 6-year guarantee on materials

Device is not comfortable: 6-year guarantee on comfort

CAPA test failure: 6-year guarantee on attenuation

Your questions on how to validate the efficiency of hearing protection devices:

How does one know, with the passage of time, that hearing protection devices are still efficiently reducing noise?

Use CAPA^© to determine whether your employees' hearing protectors are still reducing noise effectively after years of use. It validates whether the intra-ear hearing protection devices:

Comply with manufacturer specifications
Efficiently protect employees

Cotral Lab offers 3 possibilities for conducting efficiency tests:

Buy the software and equipment to conduct the tests in full autonomy
Borrow the software and equipment to conduct the tests for a limited period
Choose the full service option provided by Hearing Prevention Specialist at your organisation's

Is it true that the size of our ears increases with age and that customised hearing protection devices should therefore be renewed every 5 years?

Several scientific studies have established that the external ear grows throughout life. The custom moulded earplug is generally a replica:

Of a part of the auditory canal
Of a part or even the totality of the earlobe
Of the ear hook, sometimes

No study has yet established that ear growth has an impact on the ear canal. As a result, Cotral Lab recommends testing custom moulded earplugs devices at the end of the guarantee period. If they are still efficient, your employees can continue using them to ensure their hearing health. However, if the test reveals that hearing protection devices do not reduce noise as much as they used to, you must renew the devices.