SBIR Phase I: Comfortable, Easy-to-Insert Hearing Protection Earplug

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是一种新型听力保护装置，可以降低噪音引起的听力损失的社会成本。噪音引起的听力损失是美国工业和军队中最普遍的职业伤害之一，影响了超过1000万工人，总可预防的经济成本超过1000亿美元。大多数雇主主要依靠个人听力保护设备来限制持续的接触。然而，问题限制了它们在现实生活中的表现，并使大多数佩戴者无法获得最佳保护。多达80%的工人以不一致的方式佩戴听力保护，这大大降低了其有效性。本项目旨在开发一种新型的无源听力保护装置，该装置通过将直通通信通道结合在一个外形因素中，使其能够适当插入，舒适和方便，并且适合长期使用和依从性，从而显着提高听力保护。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发一种耳塞，该耳塞结合了新颖的几何设计和材料，以提供独特的、量身定制的物理和声学性能。该设计显著提高了降噪效果，同时保持了频率平衡和语音清晰度，以适应直通通信，其外形因素使其比传统设备更舒适和方便。声衰减的理论模型将被转化为在实验室测试装置中演示性能测量的原型，然后进行患者验证研究。该项目旨在证明该公司的新型耳塞在改善通信的同时提供高达40分贝的卓越声音保护。与现有的设计相比，用户喜欢的属性的结合可以使更多人采用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel hearing protection device which reduces the societal cost of noise induced hearing loss. Noise induced hearing loss is the one of the most prevalent occupational injuries in both US industry and the military, affecting more than 10 million workers at a total preventable economic cost exceeding $100 billion. Most employers rely primarily on personal hearing protection devices to limit exposure on a sustained basis. However, issues limit their real-world performance and leave a majority of wearers with sub optimal protection. Up to 80% of workers wear hearing protection in an inconsistent manner which significantly reduces their effectiveness. This project aims to develop a novel passive hearing protection device which significantly increases hearing protection by incorporating a pass-through communications channel in a form factor that enables proper insertion, comfort, and convenience, and is suitable for long term use and compliance. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an earplug that incorporates a novel geometric design and materials to provide unique, tailored physical and acoustic properties. The design significantly increases sound reduction while preserving frequency balance and speech intelligibility to accommodate pass-through communications, in a form factor that enables greater comfort and convenience than traditional devices. Theoretical modelling of sound attenuation will be translated into prototypes that demonstrate performance measures in laboratory test fixtures, followed by a patient validation study. The project aims to demonstrate that the company’s new ear plug provides superior sound protection of up to 40 dB suppression while enabling improved communication. Incorporation of attributes preferred by users enables greater adoption compared to existing designs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.