BS EN 352-3:2020

What is BS EN 352‑3 about?  

BS EN 352‑3 is the third part of the hearing protectors multi-series.  

BS EN 352‑3 specifies requirements for construction, design, performance, marking, and user information for earmuffs attached to head protection and/or face protection devices hereinafter referred to as mounted earmuffs. 

BS EN 352‑3 specifies requirements regarding the sound attenuation of mounted earmuffs, measured by EN ISO 4869-1:2018. 

Note: BS EN 352‑3 does not apply to earmuffs outside the size range of head sizes as defined in BS EN 352‑3. 

Who is BS EN 352‑3 for? 

BS EN 352‑3 on requirements for mounted earmuffs is useful for: 

• Hearing protector device manufacturers 
• Hearing protector device testers 
• Hearing protector device designers 
• Acoustic engineers 
• Safety and health departments 

Why should you use BS EN 352‑3?  

Mounted earmuffs are used by construction workers and other professionals who deal with consistent damaging sound levels at the workplace. Mounted earmuffs can be considered as a safety device for employees who are constantly exposed to damaging sound levels, therefore they need to meet basic requirements. 

BS EN 352‑3 helps users in selecting the most appropriate model of mounted earmuffs for their needs by specifying the minimum values of sound attenuation. BS EN 352‑3 specifies the material and construction, sizing requirements for mounted earmuffs. BS EN 352‑3 also provides you with the performance requirements, material, construction of mounted earmuffs to check that they are not liable to cause physical damage to the wearer. 

BS EN 352‑3 ensures that your mounted earmuffs function at optimum level and meet the minimum quality requirements for hearing protectors. 

What is changed since the last update?  

BS EN 352‑3:2020 supersedes EN 352-3:2002 and includes some technical changes concerning EN 352-3:2002 such as: 

• Definition of earmuff, carrier, supplementary combination: supra-aural cups removed, definition widened from helmet to head protection and/or face protection device, note added for clarification 
• Sizing and adjustability, small size and range mounted earmuffs: requirement mitigated since Table 3 of EN 13819-1:2020 changed 
• Drop test, clarification of test criterion: only the passive function (sound attenuation) needs to be checked (relevant for products with electronic supplementary functions). Change in headband force: clarifications for data analysis and content of the user information 
• Insertion loss, clarification for asymmetrically designed earmuffs: criterion on standard deviations for insertion loss applied separately to the left and right cups. Insertion loss: additional information for the user-supplied with the earmuffs for asymmetrically designed earmuffs 
• User information: warning statements not verbatim anymore, declaration of product lifetime, information on asymmetric earmuffs, declaration of sound attenuation values according to EN ISO 4869-2:2018, HML values on packaging/box