Combat soldiers are currently faced with using a hearing-protection device (HPD) at the cost of adequately detecting critical signals impacting mission success. The current study tested the performance of the Perforated-Concave-Earplug (pCEP), a proof-of-concept passive HPD consisting of a concave bowl-like rigid structure attached to a commercial roll-down earplug, designed to improve sound localization with minimal compromising of noise attenuation. Primarily intended for combat/military training settings, our aim was an evaluation of localization of relevant sound sources (single/multiple gunfire, continuous noise, spoken word) compared to 3M™-Combat-Arms™4.1 earplugs in open-mode and 3M™-E-A-R™-Classic™ earplugs. Ninety normal-hearing participants, aged 20-35 years, were asked to localize stimuli delivered from monitors evenly distributed around them in no-HPD and with-HPD conditions. The results showed (1) localization abilities worsened using HPDs; (2) the spoken word was localized less accurately than other stimuli; (3) mean root mean square errors (RMSEs) were largest for stimuli emanating from rear monitors; and (4) localization abilities corresponded to HPD attenuation levels (largest attenuation and mean RMSE: 3M™-E-A-R™-Classic™; smallest attenuation and mean RMSE: 3M™-Combat-Arms™4.1; pCEP was mid-range on both). These findings suggest that the pCEP may benefit in military settings by providing improved sound localization relative to 3M™ E-A-R™-Classic™ and higher attenuation relative to 3M™-Combat Arms™-4.1, recommending its use in noisy environments.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s23177410 | DOI Listing |
Wiad Lek
December 2024
STATE INSTITUTION ≪INSTITUTE OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY NAMED AFTER PROF. O.S. KOLOMIYCHENKO OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES OF UKRAINE≫, KYIV, UKRAINE.
Objective: Aim: To improve the effectiveness of surgical treatment for patients with post-traumatic tympanic membrane perforations and concurrent Eustachian tube dysfunction through simultaneous combined surgical methods.
Patients And Methods: Materials and Methods: We analyzed clinical and functional outcomes of 35 patients (mean age: 34 ± 10,5 years) with tympanic membrane perforations caused by acoustic and blast injuries. The patients were divided into two groups: the first group (n=17) underwent only tympanoplasty type 1, while the second group (n=18) underwent simultaneous septoplasty, inferior turbinectomy, and tympanoplasty with prolonged middle ear ventilation using a subanular Silverstein tube.
J Acoust Soc Am
December 2024
Key Laboratory of Speech Acoustics and Content Understanding, Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
Given the substantial time and complexity involved in the perceptual evaluation of head-related transfer function (HRTF) processing, there is considerable value in adopting numerical assessment. Although many numerical methods have been introduced in recent years, monaural spectral distance metrics such as log-spectral distortion (LSD) remain widely used despite their significant limitations. In this study, listening tests were conducted to investigate the correlation between LSD and the auditory perception of HRTFs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Neurosci
December 2024
SOUND Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Spatial hearing relies on the encoding of perceptual sound location cues in space. It is critical for communicating in background noise, and understanding where sounds are coming from (sound localization). Although there are some monoaural spatial hearing cues (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHear Res
December 2024
Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Electronic address:
Noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy has been studied for over 25 years with no known diagnosis for this disorder in humans. This type of "hidden hearing loss" induces a loss of synapses in the inner ear but no change in audiometric thresholds. Recent studies have shown that by two months post synaptopathy-inducing noise exposure, synapses in some animal species can regenerate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLaryngoscope
December 2024
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Objective: To determine the effect of the surgical bouffant cap on hearing, sound localization, and speech intelligibility in the operating room (OR).
Background: Covering of the ear during surgical procedures has been promoted to prevent surgical site infection (SSI) from ear pathogens. However, the potential impact of ear covering on hearing in the OR has not been studied.
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