2022 NHCA Annual Virtual Conference

This poster presents the protocol for a systematic review of the effects of hearing protection field attenuation estimation systems and associated training on the level of noise attenuation in workers exposed to noise. We aim to review studies on interventions consisting of fit testing of personal hearing protection devices (HPDs), by the various existing methods (Real-ear attenuation at threshold - REAT; microphone-in-real-ear - MIRE, and loudness balance) and instructions/training associated with the use of HPDs. The electronic search will include academic databases for potentially relevant records from published and unpublished studies, including Medline; PsycINFO; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) Library; Embase; CINAHL; Scopus; and NIOSHTIC-2, with no language or time restriction. Two review authors will independently screen titles and abstracts/full text of potentially eligible records, followed by extraction of data, assessment of the risk of bias and the quality of evidence, using the most suited tools currently available. The outcomes that will be compared are the change in personal attenuation rating (PAR) or in pass rate of PAR achieving the target attenuation.