# Damping Rates of Anti-Vibration Gloves Made of Different Materials
## 1 Introduction  
Mechanical vibration refers to the oscillatory motion of an object under the influence of internal or external forces. For various health-related reasons, it is necessary to consider the vibration felt by an individual as a result of contact with a vibrating surface or object. Vibration is transmitted to the human body via the contacted vibrating surface, such as the handle of a machine, the surface of a tool, or the housing of a motorized machine [1]. There are two types of vibration exposure; the first is hand-arm vibration transmitted from hand tools, and the second is whole-body vibration transmitted from the seat or surface of a motorized machine. Hand-arm vibration poses a risk to the health and safety of the individual, potentially causing vascular, bone, joint, nerve, and muscle disorders; whole-body vibration also poses a risk to the health and safety of the individual, especially in the lumbar region, causing trauma to the spine. Numerous occupations involve hand-arm and whole-body vibration, which must be mitigated in workers exposed to vibration for long periods [2, 3, 4, 5]. Health problems, such as numbness in the hands and carpal tunnel syndrome, have been detected in workers exposed to hand-arm vibration in a North China coal mine [6]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [4] showed that the hand-arm vibration exposure values of the pneumatic hammer operators working in a natural stone quarry were high, emphasizing that the exposure to vibration decreased in operators using anti-vibration gloves, but could not be reduced to the limit value specified in the standard regulations. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [7] measured the hand-arm vibration exposure of construction equipment operators (excavators,trucks, and loaders), observing a 15-21% difference between the vibration exposure levels with and without vibration damping gloves. [PERSON] et al. [8] found that the prevalence of hand-arm vibration syndrome was associated with the use of hand-held vibrating equipment among workers at a gold mine in South Africa. They found that affected workers may experience tingling, numbness, loss of grip strength, and loss of dexterity, making daily activities difficult and increasing the risk of accidents. They also measured vibration acceleration levels as high as 31 m/s\({}^{2}\) in pneumatic hammers and jackhammers. [PERSON] [9] measured the noise and vibration exposure level of machine operators in an underground coal mine, showing that the jackhammer operator was exposed to the most noise and hand-arm vibration among the various machines measured. [PERSON] et al. [10] developed a suspension arm design model to reduce hand-arm vibration caused by rock drills, such as pneumatic hammers and jackhammers, which are widely used in the mining industry. The hand-arm vibration level reached 25 m/s\({}^{2}\) in the frequency range of 6.3-1250 Hz (commonly observed in mining conditions). [PERSON] et al. [11] conducted a study in Malaysia to examine the vibration and noise of five different types of lawn mowers and observed differences in the right and left hands of workers using these machines, specifically, 2.1 to 20.7 m/s\({}^{2}\) for the right hand and 2.7 to 29.1 m/s\({}^{2}\) for the left hand. Notably, anti-vibration gloves have been developed to reduce the effects of hand-arm vibration exposure [12,13]. The main difference between ordinary work gloves and anti-vibration gloves is that anti-vibration gloves have a layer of cushioning materials, such as viscoelastic gels, foams, neoprene, air bladders, or air bubbles, included in the palm area of the glove, which can isolate or reduce vibration [14]. The test that must be applied for a glove to be marketed as an anti-vibration glove is specified in the international standard ISO 10819:2013 [15]. In this study, 12 commercially available anti-vibration gloves comprising different materials were examined to determine which gloves minimize the hand-arm vibration exposure of jackhammer operators, and their vibration damping rates (%) were measured in the field.