Abstract

High-intensity noises are a health hazard for industrial workers, and hearing protection is necessary to prevent hearing loss. Passive methods, such as ear muffs, are ineffective against low-frequency noise. Moreover, many hearing-impaired workers must wear hearing aids to enable communication at their workplace, and such aids can amplify ambient noise. To overcome this problem, the present study developed a headset equipped with a digital signal processing system to implement adaptive-feedback active noise cancellation (AFANC) to reduce low-frequency noise. The proposed AFANC headset was effective against wideband industrial noise, with a maximum noise spectrum power reduction of 30 dB. Furthermore, when used with a hearing aid, it improved the speech signal-to-noise ratio by up to 14 dB. These results suggest that a headset with AFANC would be useful for hearing protection in workplaces with high levels of low-frequency industrial noise, especially for hearing-impaired workers.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.