Military noise limits: Design criteria versus operational effectiveness

Abstract

Noise requirements in military environments differ significantly from typical industrial or occupational situations. Both in combat and in training, mission success requires offensive equipment and weapons to be more lethal and survivable than those used by the adversary. Higher muzzle velocities, heavier projectiles, and more powerful engines result in high levels of both steady-state and impulsive noise and an increased risk of hearing loss for the users. Weapons firing can expose the user to more energy in a single event than typically experienced in a working lifetime of occupational exposure. In addition, military operations require effective speech communication while minimizing auditory detection of equipment by the adversary. Producing material suitable for various forms of military operations requires unique design criteria often exceeding civilian national or international standards. To meet these unique and often contradicting requirements, the U.S. military developed a military design standard for noise limits. This standard (MIL-STD-1474) was last revised in 1997. This paper describes the effort of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force to update the standard to permit production and fielding of military systems designed to maximize Warfighter effectiveness, while minimizing hearing damage caused by their use.