Objective

This study explored the effects of hearing protection devices (HPDs) and head protection on the ability of normal-hearing individuals to localize reverse alarms in background noise.

Background

Among factors potentially contributing to accidents involving heavy vehicles, reverse alarms can be difficult to localize in space, leading to errors in identifying the source of danger. Previous studies have shown that traditional tonal alarms are more difficult to localize than broadband alarms. In addition, HPDs and safety helmets may further impair localization.

Method

Standing in the middle of an array of eight loudspeakers, participants with and without HPDs (passive and level-dependent) had to identify the loudspeaker emitting a single cycle of the alarm while performing a task on a tablet computer.

Results

The broadband alarm was easier to localize than the tonal alarm. Passive HPDs had a significant impact on sound localization (earmuffs generally more so than earplugs), particularly double hearing protection, and level-dependent HPDs did not fully restore sound localization abilities. The safety helmet had a much lesser impact on performance than HPDs.

Conclusion

Where good sound localization abilities are essential in noisy workplaces, the broadband alarm should be used, double hearing protection should be avoided, and earplug-style passive or level-dependent devices may be a better choice than earmuff-style devices. Construction safety helmets, however, seem to have only a minimal effect on sound localization.

Application

Results of this study will help stakeholders make decisions that are more informed in promoting safer workplaces.

中文翻译：

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听力和头部保护对音调和宽带反向警报定位的影响

客观的

本研究探讨了听力保护装置 (HPD) 和头部保护装置对听力正常的人在背景噪音中定位反向警报的能力的影响。

背景

在可能导致重型车辆事故的因素中，反向警报可能难以在空间中定位，从而导致识别危险源时出现错误。先前的研究表明，传统的音调警报比宽带警报更难定位。此外，HPD 和安全头盔可能会进一步削弱定位。

方法

站在八个扬声器阵列的中间，有和没有 HPD（被动和电平相关）的参与者必须在平板电脑上执行任务时识别发出单个警报周期的扬声器。

结果

宽带警报比音调警报更容易定位。被动 HPD 对声音定位有重大影响（耳罩通常比耳塞更重要），特别是双重听力保护，并且依赖于电平的 HPD 不能完全恢复声音定位能力。与 HPD 相比，安全头盔对性能的影响要小得多。

结论

如果在嘈杂的工作场所需要良好的声音定位能力，则应使用宽带报警器，应避免双重听力保护，耳塞式无源或电平相关设备可能是比耳罩式设备更好的选择。然而，建筑安全头盔似乎对声音定位的影响微乎其微。

应用

这项研究的结果将帮助利益相关者做出更明智的决策，以促进更安全的工作场所。