Ear muffs fit over the ears to protect against potentially harmful sound levels that can cause hearing loss. These safety ear muffs consist of a headband with padded ear cups that seal around the ears to provide hearing protection by dampening surrounding noise. Compared to ear plugs, ear muffs provide a longer life and a more consistent fit for reaching their optimal noise reduction rating (NRR). They're also more visible than ear plugs for confirming that workers are complying with hearing safety rules. Protective ear muffs are ideal for environments with intermittent noise because they can rest around your neck when they're not in use and don't require rolling to reequip. Pair them with ear plugs to improve the NRR by 5 decibels (dB).

These ear muffs passively block noise by relying on the insulating materials of the ear cups to dampen sound. They're typically worn in areas where workers don't need to speak with one another and the goal is to block all or most surrounding noise. As the NRR of these ear muffs increases, they tend to get bulkier due to the larger ear cups and increased insulation materials.
ANSI S3.19-1974, CSA Class A and EN352-3