Hearing Protection
Noise levels can be reduced (attenuated) by up to 20 decibels using ear plugs and 40 decibels using ear muffs. However, using ear protection will tend to adversely interfere with verbal communication.
It is good practice to reduce noise levels at source, or move noise away from workers.
Hearing protection should always be used for noise, of any duration, above 115 dB.
AME will almost always need to use some form of hearing protection when in reasonably close proximity (about 200 - 300m) to aircraft whose engines are running.
Presbycusis - Hearing deteriorates naturally as one grows older. This is known as presbycusis.
Presbycusis affects ability to hear high pitch sounds first, and may occur gradually from the 30’s onwards. When this natural decline is exacerbated by Noise Induced Hearing Loss, it can obviously occur rather sooner.