Improving speech intelligibility in active hearing protectors and communication headsets with subband processing

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bernstein ER ; Brammer, A. J. ; Cherniack, Martin G. ; Peterson, D. R. ; Tufts JB ; Yu G
• Description:
  Parallel subband processing, in which the full bandwidth of environmental noise and a communication channel are processed separately in contiguous, restricted frequency bands, has been proposed as a means to improve speech intelligibility in noise for active hearing protectors and communication headsets (Bernstein et al., Int. J. Industr. Ergonom). An active, adaptive feed-forward control structure has been employed to improve the audibility of sounds in the communication channel of a circumaural hearing protector / headset while active noise reduction (ANR) is used to complement the passive attenuation of the device from 50 to 800 Hz. The communication channel subbands have been implemented as octave bands from 125 Hz to 8 kHz. The performance of the device has been evaluated in a diffuse field when worn by human subjects. Word intelligibility in industrial noise was evaluated when the active system was not operating, when the device was operating as a fullband ANR system with fixed communication channel gain, and as a subband ANR system with adaptive gain of the communication channel signal to improve the speech signal-to-noise ratio. A significant improvement in speech intelligibility can be obtained with the subband system. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Acoustics Communications Media Ear Hearing Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Sense Organs

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• Keywords:
  Acoustic-signals Auditory-system Communication-systems Ear-protectors Equipment-design Headgear Hearing-protection Humans Noise-control Noise-exposure Noise-levels Noise-protection Noise-transmission Performance-capability Personal-protective-equipment Signal-devices Simulation-methods Sound Sound-attenuation Speech-transmission

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• ISSN:
  1939-800X
• Publisher:
  Acoustical Society of America
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046875
• Citation:
  Proc Mtgs Acoust 2013 Jun; 19(1):040009
• Email:
  brammer@uchc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Denistry, Farmington, Connecticut
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20060801
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics
• End Date:
  20120731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e34954690b085c9641bf051232af86da74c8d65ff2dd8d1596eb16610e91b81a26a2d7f8ab2eff4dd65224aa7e5fadbbbb101785ca768d269a0443e3aad5b670
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202154/cdc_202154_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 197.19 KB ]