In this study, change in A-weighted and 1/3 octave sound pressure levels (SPLs) was used to assess the influence of wearing earplugs by musicians on their musical performances. Seven soloists and 3 music assembles performed 4 pieces of music with musician's earplugs donned and doffed. They used silicon custom moulded earplugs with acoustic filters designed to attenuate sound by 9, 15 or 25 dB. ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the feasibility of a definitive, randomised controlled trial of earplugs as a noise-abatement strategy to improve sleep and reduce delirium in patients admitted to the intensive care unit. DESIGN AND SETTING An open-label trial of 40 patients randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive earplugs in addition to standard care, or standard care alone, conducted in a 10-bed ICU of a l...

INTRODUCTION This study hypothesised that a reduction of sound during the night using earplugs could be beneficial in the prevention of intensive care delirium. Two research questions were formulated. First, does the use of earplugs during the night reduce the onset of delirium or confusion in the ICU? Second, does the use of earplugs during the night improve the quality of sleep in the ICU? ...

BACKGROUND Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the most common occupational diseases and the second most common cause of workers' claims for occupational injuries. OBJECTIVE Due to high prevalence of NIHL and several reports of improper use of hearing protective devices (HPDs), we conducted this study to compare the effect of face-to-face training in effective use of earplugs with app...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to answer the question of whether earplugs provide sufficient protection in the exposure to impulse noise generated during metalworking processes. MATERIAL AND METHODS The noise generated by die forging hammer and punching machine was characterized. Using an acoustic test fixture, noise parameters (LCpeak, LAmax) under 24 earplugs, foam, winged and no-roll,...

OBJECTIVE Supra-aural audiometric headphones are generally not recommended for use in measuring the attenuation of earplugs, because contact between the headphone and pinna and/or earplug could alter the attenuation obtained, and because of concerns of non-comparability between modes of excitation from supra-aural headphones and the sound-field procedure required by the standardized method. In ...

background: noise-induced hearing loss (nihl) is one of the most common occupational diseases and the second most common cause of workers' claims for occupational injuries. objective: due to high prevalence of nihl and several reports of improper use of hearing protective devices (hpds), we conducted this study to compare the effect of face-to-face training in effective use of earplugs with app...

OBJECTIVE Numerous types of water-occluding earplugs are available as a means of preventing infection in patients with external and middle ear disease. However, little is known about the comparative efficacies of these earplugs with prolonged water exposure. In this study, we assessed the water impermeability of various earplug materials to prolonged water exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nine...

Introduction: Sleep deprivation along with subsequent increased blood pressure and heart rate can lead to higher risk among patients admitted to Coronary Care Units (CCUs). Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of use of earplugs on sleep quality and its domains (sleep disturbance, supplementary sleep and the effectiveness of sleep) in CCU patients. Materials and Method...

BACKGROUND Poor sleep is common in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, where environmental factors contribute to reduce and fragment sleep. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of earplugs and eye mask on sleep architecture in ICU patients. METHODS A single-center randomized controlled trial of 64 ICU patients was conducted from July 2012 to December 2013. Patients were rand...