Auditory communication and situational awareness with hearing protective equipment

在许多职业环境中，工人暴露在高强度的噪音中，这对听力健康和工作安全都有不利影响。虽然在源头进行工程控制是首选的噪音缓解方法，但在某些工作环境中，将噪音降低到安全水平并不总是可行的，并且经常需要使用个人听力保护器（例如耳罩和耳塞）。目前关于听力保护器的选择、安装和使用的标准集中在这些设备提供的噪音降低上，以满足对最大每日暴露的监管限制。然而，在焦点小组会议上，工人们经常对在噪音中使用听力保护器时的工作表现和安全表示担忧。这些问题对于已经存在听力损失的工作人员和非母语用户尤其重要。该研究计划的主要目标是促进实用工具和方法的开发，解决涉及听觉通信和情景感知的复杂健康和安全问题。 该计划首先旨在填补我们对在嘈杂工作场所执行听觉任务所涉及的不同因素的理解的知识空白，特别强调特殊人群和使用先进的听力保护设备和技术。计划对人类受试者进行实验，以研究在使用听力保护器或通信耳机时，语言能力和听力损失对噪声中言语感知的影响，以及这些设备对言语产生的影响。实验还计划与成对的主题，以研究说话者-听众的互动，而戴着听力保护器。其次，该研究计划旨在开发语音通信和噪声中的声音检测的定量模型，并考虑到相关的噪声，设备和用户特性。考虑到任务要求、工人的听力/语言特征和防护设备的使用，这些模型对于支持对在嘈杂工作场所遇到的最危险的听力情况进行科学分析和预测以确保安全有效的操作非常重要。该研究还支持制定新的国家和国际标准程序或规范，以便在考虑保护和沟通需求的情况下选择最佳的听力保护器。

In many occupational settings, workers are exposed to high-level noises which adversely impact on both hearing health and job safety. While engineering control at the source is the preferred noise mitigation method, it is not always feasible to reduce noise to safe levels in some working environments and the use of personal hearing protectors (such as earmuffs and earplugs) often become necessary. Current standards on the selection, fit, and use of hearing protectors focus on the noise reduction that these devices provide to satisfy regulatory limits on the maximum daily exposure. In focus group meetings, however, concerns are often raised by workers about job performance and safety when working in noise with hearing protectors. These issues are especially critical for workers with pre-existing hearing losses and users who are non-native speakers. The main objective of the research program is to contribute to the development of practical tools and methods addressing complex health and safety issues involving auditory communication and situational awareness. The program first aims to fill gaps of knowledge in our understanding of the different factors involved in the performance of auditory tasks in the noisy workplace, with particular emphasis on special populations and use of advanced hearing protective devices and technologies. Experiments with human subjects are planned to study the effects of language proficiency and hearing loss on speech perception in noise when using hearing protectors or communication headsets as well as on the effects of these devices on speech production. Experiments are also planned with pairs of subjects to study the talker-listener interaction while wearing hearing protectors. Secondly, the research program aims at developing quantitative models of speech communication and sound detection in noise with hearing protectors taking into account the relevant noise, device and user characteristics. Such models are important to support scientific analysis and forecasting of the riskiest listening situations encountered in the noisy workplace to ensure safe and effective operations, given the task demands, hearing/linguistic characteristics of the workers, and use of protective equipment. The research also supports the development of new national and international standard procedures or specifications for the optimal selection of hearing protectors taking into account both protection and communication needs.