Smart Hearing Protection
By Eric Dykstra
Industrial noise, an insidious thing, will rob workers of their hearing without them noticing it — until the damage is already done. Unfortunately, proper hearing protection can make it harder to get your point across in a conversation — it leads to screamed exchanges, with lots of “WHAT?!”s and “HUH”s that lead to discarding of hearing protection altogether. Luckily, Elvex makes the COM-655, which offers 25dB of passive sound attenuation while amplifying speech.
The COM-655 “listens” to the surroundings with an external microphone that cuts out frequencies below 400Hz and above 4000Hz, leaving only the slice of spectrum where human speech resides. The internal electronics of the 655 pick up and amplify these sounds, making conversation much easier.
In the event of a sharp sound, an integrated “impulse filter” automatically ends all amplification in about about a quarter of a second — useful if you’ve got a lot of gunfire at the work site. With the 3.5mm input jack, you can plug in a two-way radio or even an mp3 player if it’s a long shift. The COM-655 runs about $70.
COM-655 [ELVEX]
Via Amazon
February 11th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE THESE A FEW YEARS AGO. NOW I CAN ONLY HEAR ALL CAPS.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:29 am
What? You only fear mall maps?!
March 11th, 2008 at 10:35 am
[...] We’ve covered earmuff-style hearing protection here, here, and here, but now AO Safety has built an AM/FM digital stereo tuner into its Digital WorkTunes hearing protectors. Sure, you could just wear earphones under normal muffs, but you probably wouldn’t put up with the hassle for long. With this self-contained system, you just put it on and go. [...]