CEN/TC 159 - Hearing protectors

This European Standard is applicable to entertainment audio earplugs. It specifies requirements on construction, design, performance, marking and user information relating to the inclusion of the entertainment audio facility.

This European Standard is applicable to entertainment audio ear-muffs. It specifies requirements on construction, design, performance, marking and user information relating to the inclusion of the entertainment audio facility.

This document specifies supplementary acoustic test methods for hearing protectors with additional electronic functions. The purpose of these tests is to enable assessment of the hearing protector performance as specified in the appropriate product standards.

This document gives recommendations for the selection, use, care and maintenance of hearing protectors.

This document specifies requirements for construction, design, performance, marking and user information for earmuffs attached to head protection and/or face protection devices, hereinafter referred to as ‘mounted earmuffs’.
In particular, it specifies requirements regarding the sound attenuation of mounted earmuffs, measured in accordance with EN ISO 4869-1:2018.
The document does not apply to earmuffs outside the size range of headsizes as defined in this standard.
Because one model of earmuffs designed to be attached to head protection and/or face protection devices can be fitted to a number of other models and sizes of the carrier, this part of the standard sets out a series of physical and acoustic requirements for earmuffs when fitted to the specified model(s) or size(s) of head protection and/or face protection device.
All requirements apply to earmuffs fitted to one of the specified models or sizes of head protection and/or face protection device (the basic combination). An abbreviated set of requirements applies to the same model of earmuffs when fitted to the other specified models or sizes of head protection and/or face protection device (the supplementary combinations).
Ergonomic aspects are addressed by taking into account, within the requirements, the interaction between the user, the device and, where possible, the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA and EN 458).

This document specifies requirements on construction, design, performance, marking and user information for earplugs.
In particular, it specifies requirements regarding the sound attenuation of the earplugs, measured in accordance with EN ISO 4869-1:2018.
This document applies to earplugs designed for users who are able to follow supplied instructions and understand the related risks, can fit the earplugs correctly and can give feedback on the performance.
Ergonomic aspects are addressed by taking into account, within the requirements, the interaction between the user, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA and EN 458).

This European Standard is applicable to earplugs supplemented by a safety-related audio input. It specifies requirements on construction, design, performance, marking and user information related to the inclusion of the safety-related audio input.

This European Standard is applicable to active noise reduction (ANR) earmuffs. It specifies requirements on construction, design, performance, marking and user information related to the inclusion of the active noise reduction facility.

This document specifies requirements for construction, design, performance, marking and user information for earmuffs.
In particular, it specifies requirements regarding the sound attenuation of the earmuffs, measured in accordance with EN ISO 4869-1:2018.
The document does not apply to earmuffs outside the size range of headsizes as defined in this standard.
This document does not apply to earmuffs for attachment to head protection and/or face protection devices.
Ergonomic aspects are addressed by taking into account, within the requirements, the interaction between the user, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA and EN 458).

This document EN 13819-1 specifies physical test methods for hearing protectors. The purpose of these tests is to enable assessment of the performance of the hearing protector as specified in the appropriate product standard.

This European Standard is applicable to level-dependent earmuffs. It specifies requirements on construction, design, performance, marking and user information related to the inclusion of the level-dependent functionality.

This European Standard is applicable to level-dependent earplugs. It specifies requirements on construction, design, performance, marking and user information related to the inclusion of the level-dependent functionality.

This European Standard is applicable to earmuffs supplemented by a safety-related audio input. It specifies requirements on construction, design, performance, marking and user information related to the inclusion of the safety-related audio input.

This document specifies acoustic test methods for hearing protectors. The purpose of these tests is to enable assessment of the performance of the hearing protector as specified in the appropriate product standard.

This document gives guidelines for the appropriate selection of fit testing methods and measurement, and provides practical guidelines on fit testing methods, their uses and limitations.
This document does not specify the technical requirements for manufacturing fit testing equipment.

This document gives recommendations for the selection, use, care and maintenance of hearing protectors.

This part of the Standard is concerned with entertainment audio ear-muffs. It specifies constructional and design and performance requirements, methods of test, marking requirements and user information relating to the incorporation of the entertainment audio facility.
The requirements of this standard are intended to take account of the ergonomic interaction between the wearer, the device and, where possible, the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA of this standard and EN 458 [2]).

Change the requirement for linearity to check the performance up to 110 dB(A) and to report the limit of linearity if found.

UAP of 4 months (TC Res 97/2001) (CC/010726)
2020-01-20: Originator of XML version: NEN (on behalf of NEN, ASI, DS, SFS, SIS, SN)

This European Standard gives recommendations for the selection, use, care and maintenance of hearing protectors.  Special types of hearing protectors are outside the scope of this standard, although they are classified in 4.4, and some of the guidance will be relevant to them.

This European Standard prEN 13819 describes methods of tests for hearing protectors. The purpose of these tests is to enable assessment of the performance of the hearing protector as specified in the appropriate product standard. This Part 1 of the prEN 13819 specifies physical test methods.

This part of the Standard is concerned with ear-muffs whose passive acoustic performance may be augmented by a noise cancellation electronic circuit. It specifies constructional, design and performance requirements, methods of test, marking requirements and user information. This part of the Standard does not deal with ear-muffs for attachment to a helmet or which are part of a helmet. Neither does it deal with open-air electronic earphones that are not intended to provide attenuation. The requirements of this standard are intended to take account of the ergonomic interaction between the wearer, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA, of this standard and EN 458).

This European Standard is concerned with ear-muffs whose passive acoustic performance may be augmented by an audio communications facility or circuit. It specifies additional constructional, design and performance requirements, methods of test, marking requirements and user information relating to the incorporation of the audio communications facility. The requirements of this standard are intended to take account of the ergonomic interaction between the wearer, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA, of this standard and EN 458).

This European Standard is concerned with level-dependent ear-plugs. It specifies additional constructional, design and performance requirements, methods of test, marking requirements and user information relating to the incorporation of the level-dependency facility. The requirements of this standard are intended to take account of the ergonomic interaction between the wearer, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA, of this standard and EN 458).

This European Standard prEN 13819 describes methods of test for hearing protectors. The purpose of these tests is to enable assessment of the performance of the hearing protector as specified in the appropriate product standard. This Part 2 of the prEN 13819 specifies acoustic test methods.

This part of the standard specifies requirements for construction, design, performance, marking and user information for ear-muffs. In particular, it calls for the sound attenuation of the ear-muffs, measured in accordance with EN 24869-1, to be declared and to be not less than a specified minimum. This part of the standard does not deal with ear-muffs for attachment to a helmet or which are part of a helmet. The requirements of this standard are intended to take account of the ergonomic interaction between the wearer, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA, of this standard and EN 458).

This part of the standard specifies constructional, design and performance requirements, marking requirements and user information for ear-plugs. In particular, it calls for the sound attenuation of the ear-plugs, measured in accordance with EN 24869-1, to be declared and to be not less than a specified minimum. The requirements of this standard are intended to take account of the ergonomic interaction between the wearer, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA, of this standard and EN 458).

This part of the standard specifies requirements for construction, design, performance, marking and user information for ear-muffs fitted to an industrial helmet which complies with EN 397, Industrial safety helmets. In particular, it calls for the sound attenuation of the ear-muffs, measured in accordance with EN 24869-1, to be declared and to be not less than a specified minimum. The requirements of this standard are intended to take account of the ergonomic interaction between the wearer, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA, of this standard and EN 458).

This part of the standard specifies constructional, design and performance requirements, test methods, marking requirements and user information for ear-muffs when fitted to an industrial safety helmet. It calls for information to be made available concerning the sound attenuation characteristics of the ear-muffs measured in  accordance with EN 24869-1:1992, and defines a minimum level of attenuation required for compliance with this specification.  Because one model of ear-muffs designed to be attached to an industrial safety helmet can be fitted to a number of helmet models and sizes; this part of the standard sets out a series of mechanical and acoustic tests intended to assess performance of the ear-muffs when fitted to the specified model(s) or sizes of helmet.  All tests are performed on the ear-muffs fitted to one of the specified models or sizes of helmet (the basic combination), and an abbreviated set of tests is performed  on the same model of ear-muffs when fitted to the other specified models or sizes of helmet (the supplementary combinations).  An alternative protocol is specified which can be applied when a single model of ear-muffs is submitted for testing in combination with a model of safety helmet supplied in more than one size.  For type tests in accordance with this standard, the industrial safety helmets specified by  the ear-muffs manufacturer comply with EN 397:1995. Information on the range of industrial safety helmet types tested with the ear-muffs, and for which the combination satisfied this standard, is supposed to be made available.  This part of the standard does not deal with the performance of electronic devices which can be  incorporated within ear-muffs, or of amplitude sensitive ear-muffs.

This part of the standard is concerned with ear-muffs and specifies constructional design and performance requirements, methods of test, marking requirements and user information.   It calls for information to be made available concerning the sound attenuation characteristics of the ear-muffs measured in accordance with EN 24869-1, and defines a minimum level of attenuation required for compliance with this specification.  This part of the standard does not deal with ear-muffs for attachment to a helmet or which are part of a helmet. Neither does it deal with the performance of electronic devices which may be incorporated with ear-muffs nor amplitude sensitive ear-muffs.  This standard does not deal with the performance of hearing protectors to impulsive noise.

This part of the standard is concerned with ear-plugs and specifies constructional, design and performance requirements, methods of test, marking requirements and user information.   It calls for information to be made available concerning the sound attenuation characteristics of the ear-plugs measured in accordance with EN 24869-1, and defines a minimum level of attenuation required for compliance with this specification.  This part of the standard also includes custom moulded ear-plugs and banded devices; it does not deal with the performance of electronic devices which may be incorporated within ear-plugs nor amplitude-sensitive ear-plugs.  This standard does not deal with the performance of hearing protectors to impulsive noise.

This part of the Standard is concerned with ear-muffs whose acoustic performance may be regarded as being level-dependent, including those fitted with electronic sound restoration circuits and/or noise cancellation systems. It specifies constructional, design and performance requirements, methods of test, marking requirements and user information. This part of the Standard does not deal with ear-muffs for attachment to a helmet or which are part of a helmet. Neither does  it deal with open-ear electronic earphones that are not intended to provide attenuation. The requirements of this standard are intended to take account of the ergonomic interaction between the wearer, the device and where possible the working environment in which the device is likely to be used (see Annex ZA, of this standard and EN 458).