Effects of Hearing Protection on Verbal Communication in Military Relevant Environments

摘要

Even in high noise environments, the receipt of auditory signals is necessary to perform many tasks. Hearing protection devices (HPDs) are often employed in these environments to attenuate unwanted noise and prevent hearing loss. However, many HPDs not only attenuate undesirable sounds but also essential sounds, such as vocal signals. Furthermore, when people wear HPDs, they often reduce their vocal output. This results in the listener having a more difficult time hearing and/or understanding what the talker is saying. The goal of this pilot study was to assess some of the effects of different types of HPDs on speech communication.