Identification of Sound Source Azimuth with Active and Passive Hearing Protectors

摘要

A stimulus identification procedure was used to investigate the effects of active and passive circumaural hearing protectors on static auditory localization ability. Signals were long duration broad band noise bursts presented randomly from 36 equally spaced transducers arranged in a circle. Results indicate that, in some subjects, the passive devices caused an approximate 180 deg shift in perceived azimuth without reducing the available range of locations. The active devices effectively eliminated localization ability by reducing the number of perceptual loci to one or two. Loss of localization ability is attributed to electroacoustic deficiencies of the active circuits. Keywords: Ballistic protection devices; Army artillery crewmen; Marine Corps combat vehicle crewmen. (Author)