Hemi-anechoic chamber

The result of a significant investment
by the company to extend its hearing
protection testing service, SATRA
has unveiled its new hemi-anechoic
chamber. The news comes as 3M
signs up as the first customer for
acoustic testing, with SATRA and
3M donating the £3,000 test fee to
the charity Action on Hearing Loss.

The new chamber is isolated from
outside noise and provides the
conditions needed to test hearing
protectors to strict European
standards – a service that is in
demand but not widely available.

In Britain alone HSE figures show
that around 17,000 people already
suffer work-related hearing loss,
ringing in the ears or other ear
conditions. It is not surprising then
that employers are placing increasing
importance on providing the right
hearing protection, with demand for
a wider range and better performing
hearing protectors from
manufacturers higher than ever.

The new hearing protection test
facility will help manufacturers place
professionally tested and certified
hearing protection products on the
market quickly.

SATRA has also increased its team
of acoustic specialists, who can
advise on all aspects of hearing
protection testing, including
technical and legislative issues.

Thanks to the hemi-anechoic
chamber, SATRA is now able to test
all types of ear-muffs, earplugs and
safety helmet-mounted hearing
protection to the BS EN 352 series of
standards.

As well as acoustic testing, SATRA
also tests the product’s physical
properties – weight, construction,
sizing, adjustability, cup rotation,
headband force and flexing, cushion
pressure etc.