U.S. Industrial Hearing Protection Market Size

U.S. Industrial Hearing Protection Market Size

U.S. Industrial Hearing Protection Market size was above USD 430 million in 2016 and demand may exceed 350 million units by 2024. 

Stringent policies and regulations set forth by NIOSH and OSHA regarding employee health & safety in potentially harmful working environment should drive U.S. industrial hearing protection market size. The industrial sector in the country has been witnessing rise in employment growth in mining and oil & gas industries owing to discovery of shale oil & gas reserves which should have positive outlook in product demand. U.S. mining and oil & gas industry employs over 36 million people working in potentially hazardous environment and the employment is expected to grow further. Product portfolio includes earplugs, hearing bands and earmuffs which has the capability to reduce workplace noise and its ill effects on the employees.

Industrial noise level above 85 dB is considered hazardous for workers hearing ability and might have permanent effect. U.S. is anticipated to be the major consumers for industrial personal protective equipment (PPE) market owing to exponential industrial & strong urbanization growth in the region. Global PPE market size was worth over USD 40 billion in 2016. Employer’s need to comply with stringent regulations & employee safety program standards should drive U.S. industrial hearing protection market size.

Industrial hearing protection market growth is highly attributable to product innovation and technology dependent. Common challenges faced by workers while using protection include interference with on-the-job communication, compatibility and comfortability issues. On-job-communication challenges were overcome by development of new radio communication & wireless Bluetooth technology.

Compatibility and comfortability issues with these devices can be overcome by fit testing & validation method developed by various market players like E-A-R fit validation system by 3M and F-MIRE technology by Aearo. Further use of conforming material in designing ear pads and muffs should solve comfortability issues faced by employees which might propel U.S. industrial hearing protection market size. 

Key raw materials for manufacturing these devices include ABS, HDPE, soft polyurethane foam, synthetic rubber and PVC. Materials used in production should be non-irritant & non-allergenic with high comfortability & longevity. Over 85% of the global polymer market share of these materials are consumed by other industries including aerospace, automotive and packaging sector which increases procurement risk and can affect industrial hearing protection market price trend.