Hearing protectors

A hearing protecting device for protecting the hearing of a wearer comprising:

• a shell defining a hollow enclosure with an open mouth which is in use placed over an ear of the wearer;
• an annular flange at said open mouth, said flange having inner and outer surfaces and extending inwardly from the periphery of the mouth across the mouth of the enclosure, resiliently deformable annular sealing means extending along said outer surface of said flange for sealing against said outer surface and against the wearer, said sealing means comprising sound absorbing material enclosed in a protective annular casing, said casing comprising an annular base member which overlies and engages said outer surface of said flange and a flexible annular cover member, said members being fixed together along inner and outer peripheries thereof;
• and retaining means for releasably retaining said sealing means relative to said shell, said retaining means comprising an annular member fixed to said sealing means along the fixing of said inner peripheries of said casing members and extending therefrom to underly and engage said inner surface of said flange, said annular member and said inner surface of said flange comprising the sole retaining means for said sealing means.

A hearing protecting device comprising:

• a shell defining a hollow enclosure with an open mouth which is in use placed over the a wearer's ear;
• a resiliently deformable annular seal extending along a surface of said shell at said open mouth of said enclosure for sealing against said shell surface and against the wearer, said seal comprising sound absorbing material enclosed in a protective annular casing, said casing comprising an annular base member which overlies said surface of said shell and a flexible annular cover member, said members being fixed together along inner and outer peripheries thereof;
• and retaining means for releasably retaining said sealing means relative to said shell, said retaining means comprising a member separate from said sealing means and said shell and which engages a portion of said sealing means and retains it relative to an inner edge portion of said mouth of said shell, said portion of said sealing means comprising a flange extending freely from the fixing of said inner peripheries of said casing members of said sealing means.

A hearing protecting device protecting the hearing of a wearer comprising a shell defining a hollow enclosure with an open mouth which, in use, is placed over an ear of the wearer, a resiliently deformable annular sealing means extending along said open mouth of said enclosure for sealing against said shell and against the wearer, said shell comprising an annular flange at the open mouth thereof, said flange extending inwardly from the periphery of the mouth across the mouth of the enclosure and providing an annular surface on which said sealing means is located and against which said sealing means seals, and retaining means separate from said sealing means and said shell for releasably retaining said sealing means relative to said shell solely by the inner periphery thereof and comprising an annular member which releasably engages over an inner peripheral portion of said sealing means and under the inner periphery of said flange to hold said sealing means relative to said flange.