Since its creation by a group of engineers at Ericsson in 1994, Bluetooth® technology has advanced significantly and has been used in a myriad of communications devices. You might be using Bluetooth® to connect your cell phone to an earpiece or to your car; you might use it to connect a mouse to a laptop or to a tablet, or you might even be using it to monitor your sleep patterns using a Bluetooth® enabled device.
Where occupational hazards or other high-noise-level conditions exist, it becomes important for workers and others in the immediate vicinity to take appropriate steps to protect their hearing. In many cases, this includes the wearing of headset or ear-muff hearing protection devices (HPDs). Many of these devices have historically reduced the noise reaching the ear by means of noise-canceling technology. In the past, this consisted of an ear-muff-style headset, which cupped closely around the ear, basically reducing noise levels through their insulation and tight fit construction.
As technology addressed the issue of hearing protection, active noise-canceling was developed, which provided a more effective solution. This analog technology functions by detecting the sound coming into the headset, and generating signals that are out-of-phase with the offending signals, canceling them out. This allows any sounds generated within the headset to be understood more clearly (music, radio communications, etc.). Unfortunately, these very noise-canceling attributes also isolate the wearer from sounds that would make them aware of hazardous conditions in their surroundings. With SENS® Technology (speech enhancement noise suppression), the wearer is provided with effective protection, without isolation from their surroundings.
Today, major advances have been made in the area of noise suppression, as opposed to the older noise cancellation technology. These improvements provide for more effective communication and situational awareness while still protecting the wearer’s hearing. Modern headsets can be integrated with two-way radio, Bluetooth-enabled devices, and headset-to-headset communication abilities.
Employers share their workers’ concerns for personal safety and well-being. To provide for a safe workplace environment, it is critical that effective personal protective equipment (PPE) be utilized in any work area subject to potential hazards. This equipment may include requirements for steel-toed shoes, hard hats, high-visibility clothing, safety glasses, and hearing protection. Most of these hazards and PPEs have visible, comprehensive purposes: working with heavy objects in an industrial environment makes steel-toed shoes seem like common sense, as an example.
Hearing protection is a little less cut and dried, however. Even where noise levels may seem excessive, how do workers know when they may actually be dangerous to their health and quality of life? Identifying environmental hazards and addressing them continuously requires a comprehensive hearing conservation program. Such a program includes measuring and ongoing monitoring of noise levels in each area, selection of appropriate hearing protection devices (HPDs), worker training, and periodic reevaluation to ensure the effectiveness of each solution.
If you’ve made the investment in Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) for your workplace, it has already been determined that you have a requirement or safety factor issue necessitating this equipment for your 
particular environment. Selection of the correct HPDs for your workers involves evaluation of noise levels, applicable regulations (at federal, state, and local jurisdictions), communications requirements, and final consideration of available products that meet those needs.
Once you weigh each of these elements, you make a purchase, train workers in their proper use, and that’s all there is to it, right? Workers are protected, you’ve met your safety and legal commitments, and you can move on to other issues?
Well, not exactly.
