Assessment of exposure to impulse noise and its control at the location of the shooting instructor

W artykule przedstawiono układ umożliwiający pomiary parametrów hałasu impulsowego o wyższym poziomie niż w przypadku typowych mierników poziomu dźwięku. Układ umożliwia też ocenę skuteczności ograniczania hałasu przez ochronniki słuchu. Przeprowadzono ocenę narażenia trenera strzelania z pistoletu na hałas impulsowy: bez ochron słuchu oraz gdy stosowane są wkładki przeciwhałasowe. Zabezpieczanie słuchu wkładkami zmniejsza narażenie na hałas impulsowy do poziomu poniżej wartości dopuszczalnych.The impulse noise hazard is present in many workplaces in the industry and is also associated with shots from firearms or with explosions of explosive materials. The assessment of the hearing hazard in the case of impulse noise is especially important because of the particularly dangerous nature of this kind of noise. According to Polish regulations [2] this assessment should include comparison of three amplitude parameters of noise with exposure limit values (Section 2). The measurement range of standard sound level meters is too small in the case of impulses with high peak sound pressure level. In this paper a special measurement setup for measurements of impulse noise properties is described (Section 4). This setup allows for the assessment of hearing protection devices for protection against impulse noise, too. In Section 5 the performed assessment of exposure to impulse noise reaching the shooting instructor ear in an indoor shooting range is presented. This assessment was made without hearing protection devices and when earplugs were worn. Impulses generated during gunshots are hazardous to hearing (Figs. 4 and 5). The use of foam earplugs allows for reduction of the amplitude parameters of noise below the exposure limit values. The permissible daily number of gunshots when foam earplugs are worn exceeds 3 thousand (Tab. 1)