I take shop safety quite seriously, so I have three sets of ear protection to rely on to guard my hearing. I recently tried the NoiseBuster safety earmuffs. It's my first experience with active noise reduction (ANR) technology. In contrast to my regular earmuff-style ear defenders, which work passively, the NoiseBuster muffs feature a tiny microphone and speaker in the ear cups that pick up low-frequency noises and electronically generate a mirror image of the sound to cancel it out. They also work passively, like regular earmuffs, to reduce mid- and high-frequency noise.
I found them comfortable to wear, and the added weight of the electronics and an AA battery was not really noticeable. The earmuffs are rated as CSA Class A passive protectors. They offer 26 decibels of attenuation, muffling mid-range and high frequencies, while the low-frequency attenuation is 20 decibels. In addition, there's an audio jack for plugging in a radio or MP3 player, if you like to listen when you work. Now I don't have to interrupt my favourite programs when I turn on the shop vac. Just be sure not to turn up the music too loud, or you'll risk damaging your hearing.
For more information, visit www.noisebuster.net or call 877-226-1944.
Read more in Workshop Essentials and Safety gear
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