New VeriPRO Technology From Howard Leight Significantly Enhances Hearing Conservation programmes

VeriPRO uses an innovative loudness balancing technique to determine the effectiveness of an employee's earplug over a range of frequencies. The result, known as a Personal Attenuation Rating (PAR), identifies the actual protection an employee receives from his or her earplug in each ear. This allows safety managers to determine if their employees are receiving optimal protection, require additional training on how to fit their earplugs, or need to try a different model.

VeriPRO benefits those that manage safety and employees alike. For the safety professional, occupational health manager or site manager it fulfils European Directive 2003/10/EC requirements for training. For employees, VeriPRO demonstrates the importance of hearing protection in the workplace, and helps employees select and compare protectors to find the best choice for their ears and specific applications.

Unlike other field verification systems, VeriPRO can be used with any earplug, and the tests performed in virtually any setting. VeriPRO offers two test protocols. The Complete Check runs employees through five frequencies to determine PAR and is recommended for annual use. The Quick Check is a simplified test of earplug fit at one frequency, used as a fast and easy pass/fail check for more frequent use.

One vital feature of VeriPRO is that employee test results are captured and stored and can be analyzed to determine trends, to generate reports and to provide evidence of real world attenuation. The system also includes short training videos on how to properly fit Howard Leight® earplugs, a feature which, in many cases, quickly overcomes any problems in achieving the expected protection.

VeriPRO makes it easy to get an accurate, real-world assessment of employees' earplug fit, which is essential to achieving adequate attenuation, said Brad Witt, Audiology and Regulatory Affairs Manager for Sperian Hearing Protection, LLC. VeriPRO provides an excellent tool to improve both individual training, which studies have shown to be the most effective means of improving earplug attenuation, and overall hearing conservation program effectiveness.

The VeriPRO package consists of PC-based software, an audiometrically optimized headset, audio processor, QuickStart guide and USB cable.