Noise Reduction Ratings (NRR)

Noise reduction ratings were developed as a system to evaluate hearing protectors, and detail their benefits in a noisy environment. Hearing protectors are tested within a simulated setting to reproduce the type and the intensity of noise a person will be subjected to. Afterwards, the hearing protector is graded on the NRR scale, and its noise reduction rating is published in decibels-NRR, by writing it on the outside of the package. Noise reduction ratings are beneficial to use when determining the type of hearing protector to choose, because the NRR received in a simulated setting is the highest amount of noise reduction a particular hearing protector can produce.