Government regulations focusing upon the adoption of HPDs in industries will be the major driving factor for growth in the earplugs market between 2017 and 2025
Occupational noise exposure has recorded to cause approximately 7-21% of hearing loss among the workers, and therefore Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) has become a noteworthy health issue with economic consequences globally. The significant rise in the trend of NIHL by occupational noise is thus known to influence the growth of Hearing Protection Devices (HPD) such as earplugs, in developing as well as developed regions. Furthermore, the momentous rise in the count of employees in construction as well as manufacturing industry has also contributed to the growth of earplugs market globally.
Government regulations regarding occupational noise control and use of HPD after a certain limit of sound production in industries have resulted in widespread awareness regarding the importance of usage of hearing protection devices, particularly in noise-induced industries. However, not all employees/workers in the industries are adaptive towards the earplugs as the regular foam disposable earplugs do not provide satisfactory comfort, and the cost associated with making of custom molded earplugs for each and every employee is practically not possible, especially for large enterprises. The lack of proper education for usage and importance of earplugs along with the relatively higher cost of custom molded earplugs are therefore expected to impede the earplugs market growth during the forecasted period. The market is also anticipated to face the challenge with electronic earplugs, a majority population is gradually shifting towards advanced electronic earplugs for personal leisure purposes.
Despite the advent of electronic earplugs, the regular earplugs are considerably more user-friendly and easy to handle. In addition, the rise in adoption of biodegradable earplugs to fulfill the environmental regulations globally, the earplugs market is projected to continue to evolve in the forthcoming years.
Geographically, the Asia Pacific region is slated to account for a majority share in the earplugs market followed by North America and Europe. In the past 3-4 year, the Asia Pacific region has become the largest revenue generating region for the earplugs market. The growth in the Asia Pacific is attributed to the increasing investment in manufacturing industries, and various rapidly developing industries leading to further growth in the construction sector. The South America and MEA region are also possessed to provide some growth opportunities to the earplugs market. However, the growth in these regions is projected to remain relatively slow.
Some of the major players identified across the earplugs market are 3M Company, McKeon Products, Inc., Protect Ear USA Westone Laboratories, Moldex-Metric, Inc., McCordick Glove & Safety, Honeywell International Inc., Dynamic Ear Company, UVEX Winter Holding GmbH & Co. KG, and Liberty Glove & Safety Inc.,
