Field Microphone-in-real-ear Research Articles

The effect of earplug training on noise protection.

BackgroundNoise-induced hearing loss is an occupational disease, and workplace noise exposure is a major hazard in Korea. Although hearing protectors effectively reduce a worker's exposure to noise, their success is compromised by the wearer's inability to fit the protectors correctly, and there are no proper training methods for using hearing protectors in small-scale industries. This study aims to evaluate the effect of earplug training on hearing protection using field microphone-in-real-ear (F-MIRE) and prevent noise-induced hearing loss.MethodsThe study population comprised 172 noise-exposed manufacturing workers who visited occupational health facilities in Daegu, South Korea, between July 2014 and September 2017. Personal attenuation ratings (PARs) were calculated with F-MIRE. Paired t-tests were used to compare the differences in PAR (dB) before and after training, and generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used to compare the differences in PAR according to the number of trainings.ResultsMean PARs increased after the first and second training, and the differences were statistically significant. Among the 30 participants who received all 4 trainings, PARs were significantly higher after each training than before the training. As the number of training increased, the differences in PARs significantly increased. When comparing pretraining PARs for each training session, we found statistically significant differences between the first and second training and between the second and third training, but not between the third and fourth training.ConclusionIn this study, the short- and long-term effects of earplug training were statistically significant. In particular, the PAR before and after the fourth training showed the greatest increase, and the PARs continued to increase during each training.

A study of the real-world noise attenuation of the current hearing protection devices in typical workplaces using Field Microphone in Real Ear method.

Actual noise reduction of the earmuffs is considered as one of the main challenges for the evaluation of the effectiveness of a hearing conservation program. The current study aimed to determine the real world noise attenuation of current hearing protection devices in typical workplaces using a field microphone in real ear (FMIRE) method. In this cross-sectional study, five common earmuffs were investigated among 50 workers in two industrial factories with different noise characteristics. Noise reduction data was measured with the use of earmuffs based on the ISO 11904 standard, field microphone in real ear method, using noise dosimeter (SVANTEK, model SV 102) equipped with a microphone SV 25 model. The actual insertion losses (IL) of the tested earmuffs in octave band were lower than the labeled insertion loss data (p < 0.05). The frequency nature of noise to which workers are exposed has noticeable effects on the actual noise reduction of earmuffs (p < 0.05). The results suggest that the proportion of time using earmuffs has a considerable impact on the effective noise reduction during the workday. Data about the ambient noise characteristics is a key criterion when evaluating the acoustic performance of hearing protectors in any workplaces. Comfort aspects should be considered as one of the most important criteria for long-term use and effective wearing of hearing protection devices. FMIRE could facilitate rapid and simple measurement of the actual performance of the current earmuffs employed by workers during different work activities.

A field microphone in real ear hearing protector attenuation measurement system

A Field-Microphone in Real Ear (F-MIRE) hearing protector Field Attenuation Estimation System (FAES) was developed for individual or group testing of any type or style of hearing protector device (HPD). Both occluded and unoccluded ear canal stimulus level measurements are made with a tiny Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) microphone mounted on a 2-mil thick flat flexible cable. The microphone is mounted inside of a conventional foam ear dam to protect the microphone and the ear canal and to facilitate insertion into the ear canal. The presence of the cable in the ear canal was demonstrated to have a negligible effect on attenuation measurements for both muff and insert-type HPDs. The system measures HPD attenuation in 1/1 or 1/3 octave bands and it is capable of simultaneously measuring HPD attenuation on up to eight human test subjects. Stimuli can be presented via headphones or loudspeakers. Human subject testing using both the laboratory based ANSI S12.6-2016 method and the F-MIRE system was performed using muff- and insert- type HPDs. Regression equations were generated from these data. These equations are incorporated in the F-MIRE software to allow valid comparisons between F-MIRE data and labeled HPD attenuation data.

A finite element model to improve noise reduction based attenuation measurement of earmuffs in a directional sound field

The real attenuation of hearing protection devices (HPD) can be assessed in the field using a method based on continuous field microphone-in-real-ear (F-MIRE) measurements. The two-microphone method provides an indicator called the measured noise reduction (NR∗), defined as the difference between the measured exterior (outside the protector) and interior (under the protector) sound pressure levels (SPL). The HPD’s attenuation expressed in terms of the more common insertion loss (IL) can then be obtained from NR∗ using compensation factors. For earmuffs, NR∗ has been shown to vary of up to 20dB depending on the angle of incidence of the sound source. Therefore, there is a need to use sound incidence dependent compensation factors to relate NR∗ and IL. To evaluate these factors and more generally to improve the continuous F-MIRE method, a finite-element (FE) model of an earmuff on an ATF (acoustic test fixture) exposed to a directional sound field has been developed and its predictions compared with lab measurements for several incidence angles. Regarding the external microphone SPL and the NR∗, in one-third of octave bands, the model correlates very well with measurements for frequencies below 1250Hz whatever the sound incidence. Above 1250Hz, the FE model captures the trends, as a function of the incidence angle, but the agreement generally decreases with increasing frequency. A better correlation between the FE model and the experimental data is achieved for the variation of NR∗ (ΔNR∗) as a function of the sound incidence. Actions, such as (i) accounting for the headband in the model, (ii) refining the modeling of the sound source, (iii) improving the cushion modeling and (iv) better describing the backplate/cushion coupling conditions, are suggested to improve the model accuracy. To illustrate the potential of the modeling to improve the continuous F-MIRE measurement method, the FE model is used to determine an optimal position of the external microphone and to obtain estimates of exposure levels using the left and right ear exterior microphones.

Hearing protection device field attenuation estimation systems

The United States Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory has conducted comparative, developmental, and evaluation studies for Hearing Protection Device Field Attenuation Estimation Systems (HPD FAES). The Army’s interest in protecting Soldiers’ hearing led to the development of the Communications Earplug (CEP), which couples communication systems with a foam earplug in an attempt to block hazardous noise while still passing to the user the clearest speech signal attainable. A recent developmental study addresses the need to fit-test the CEP when used with foam or custom earplugs in a quick and objective fashion using a field-microphone in real-ear (F-MIRE) procedure. Commercial systems have also been evaluated along with a clinical audiometer used by the Army Hearing Program for application as an HPD FAES. A select few FAESs were studied for their attenuation measurement accuracy as compared to the laboratory standard ANSI/ASA S12.6. Completed and ongoing studies will be presented on the FAESs’ utility, cost, and effectiveness.

Intra-subject fit variability using field microphone-in-real-ear attenuation measurement for foam, pre-molded and custom molded earplugs

In recent years, the arrival of several field attenuation estimation systems (FAES) on the industrial marketplace have enabled better assessment of hearing protection in real-life noise environments. FAES measure the individual attenuation of a given hearing protection device (HPD) as fitted by the end-user, but FAES enable predictions based only on measurements taken over a few minutes and do not account for what may occur later in the field over months or years as the earplug may be fitted slightly differently over time. This paper will use the field microphone-in-real-ear (F-MIRE) measurement technique to study in the laboratory how consistently a subject can fit and refit an HPD. A new metric, the intra-subject fit variability, will be introduced and quantified for three different earplugs (roll-down foam, premolded and custom molded), as fitted by two types of test subjects (experienced and inexperienced). This paper will present the experimental process used and statistical calculations performed to quantify intra-subject fit variability. As well, data collected from two different laboratories will be contrasted and reviewed as to the impact of trained versus untrained test subjects.

Measurement of hearing-protector attenuation using auditory steady state responses

There is a need to assess hearing protection device (HPD) attenuation to ensure that individuals receive adequate protection from noise. Present methods of attenuation measurement have limitations. Objective measurements such as field microphone in real ear (F-MIRE) do not assess bone conducted sound. Psychophysical measurements such as real ear attenuation at threshold (REAT) are biased due to the low frequency masking effects from test subjects' physiological noise, and the variability of measurements based on subjective response. We explored using auditory steady state responses (ASSR) as a technique that may overcome these limitations. ASSRs were recorded in ten normal hearing adults, using both “normal” and “occluded” conditions. Stimuli included both narrow band noises and pure tones (500 and 1000 Hz), amplitude modulated at 40 Hz. Stimuli were presented through either loudspeakers or headphones, at 45, 55, and 65 dB SPL. “Physiological attenuation” was calculated as the difference between ASSR values (both amplitude and phase) for normal and occluded conditions. Physiological attenuation estimates were compared to in-ear (objective) and psychophysical (subjective) measurements. Grand mean ASSR data complied well with in-ear and subjective measurements. Further work is needed to provide accurate assessment of ASSR-based physiological attenuation for individual subjects.

Noise Attenuation of Earplugs as Measured by hREAT and F‐MIRE Methods in a Japanese Metal Manufacturing Plant

The aim of this study was to compare the noise attenuation (NA) properties of earplugs by using the headphone-based real-ear-attenuation-at-threshold (hREAT) and field microphone-in-real-ear (F-MIRE) techniques. The subjects were 89 male workers (mean age: 44.8 ± 12.1 yr) exposed to noise above 85 dBA (mean noise exposure period: 14.3 ± 11.3 yr) in a Japanese nonferrous metal manufacturing plant. They were confirmed to have pure-tone air-conduction hearing threshold levels (HTLs). The hREAT and F-MIRE NA values were measured by a Rion AG-20A and a 3M E-A-Rfit, respectively. The NA values could not be measured by hREAT for four workers (hREAT-group). The mean NA of the earplugs for subjects for whom hREAT measurements were possible (hREAT+ group) was 26.0 ± 10.0 dB. The NA of the earplugs could be measured for all subjects using F-MIRE, and the NAs of the hREAT- and hREAT+ groups were 9.5 ± 8.7 and 21.0 ± 7.3 dB. The mean HTL value at 500 Hz to 2 kHz was 45.8 ± 3.1 dB for the hREAT- group, which was significantly lower than the value for the hREAT+ group, 18.0 ± 8.6 dB. Because there is a difference between the NA values obtained by hREAT and F-MIRE, it may be necessary to compensate for this difference. In addition, workers with hearing loss and the length of the measurement time need to be taken into consideration. Finally the F-MIRE method may be useful for educating workers about using earplugs in noisy workplaces.

Development and validation of a field microphone-in-real-ear approach for measuring hearing protector attenuation

Numerous studies have shown that the reliability of using laboratory measurements to predict individual or even group hearing protector attenuation for occupationally exposed workers is quite poor. This makes it difficult to properly assign hearing protectors when one wishes to closely match attenuation to actual exposure. An alternative is the use of field-measurement methods, a number of which have been proposed and are beginning to be implemented. We examine one of those methods, namely the field microphone-in-real-ear (F-MIRE) approach in which a dual-element microphone probe is used to measure noise reduction by quickly sampling the difference in noise levels outside and under an earplug, with appropriate adjustments to predict real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT). We report on experiments that validate the ability of one commercially available F-MIRE device to predict the REAT of an earplug fitted identically for two tests. Results are reported on a representative roll-down foam earplug, stemmed-style pod plug, and pre-molded earplug, demonstrating that the 95% confidence level of the Personal Attenuation Rating (PAR) as a function of the number of fits varies from ± 4.4 dB to ± 6.3 dB, depending on the plug type, which can be reduced to ± 3.1 dB to ± 4.5 dB with a single repeat measurement. The added measurement improves precision substantially. However, the largest portion of the error is due to the user's fitting variability and not the uncertainty of the measurement system. Further we evaluated the inherent uncertainty of F-MIRE vs. the putative "gold standard" REAT procedures finding, that F-MIRE measurement uncertainty is less than one-half that of REAT at most test frequencies. An American National Standards Institute (ANSI) working group (S12/WG11) is currently involved in developing methods similar to those in this paper so that procedures for evaluating and reporting uncertainty on all types of field attenuation measurement systems can be standardized. We conclude that the hearing conservationist now has available a portable, convenient, quick, and easy-to-use system that can improve training and motivation of employees, assign hearing protection devices based on noise exposures, and address other management and compliance issues.

Intra-Subject Fit Variability for Field Microphone- In-Real-Ear Attenuation Measurement for Custom Molded Earplugs

Over the last few years, several field attenuation measurement systems (FAMS) have been introduced to the industrial marketplace to measure the individual end-user attenuation for some hearing protection devices (HPDs). Although individual measurement is necessary to determine whether a given user is properly protected in his or her real-life noise environment (assuming that the exposure level is known), one unknown remains with a FAMS measurement: how reliable are the predictions made from the instantaneous measurement (over a few minutes), for determining the attenuation that will be achieved later in the field (over months or years) by the end-user who may fit them slightly differently every time? This paper will address that question for one FAMS, the field microphonein-real-ear (F-MIRE) measurement technique, and we will study, in the laboratory, how consistently subjects can fit and refit HPDs without assistance. A new metric, the intra-subject fit variability, will be introduced and will be quantified for custom-molded earplugs as fitted by inexperienced test subjects. This paper will present the experimental process used and statistical calculations performed to quantify the intra-subject fit variability. The number of successive refits required for a given prediction accuracy will also be presented, as well as the uncertainty component associated with the intra-subject fit variability when using an F-MIRE field attenuation measurement system.

Prediction of the attenuation of a filtered custom earplug

A method has been developed to predict the attenuation of an earplug when filtered by passive resistive elements (dampers). The method is based on the assumption that sound transmission paths traveling through the damper element and through the earplug are independent, hence their respective sound energies simply add to each other. This hypothesis was validated with measurements on both an acoustical test fixture and on human subjects, using a commercially available expandable custom earplug. This earplug features a sound-bore that can either be used for an F-MIRE (Field microphone-in-real-ear) attenuation measurement or be fitted with a damper in order to adapt the amount of attenuation to the wearer’s needs. The uncertainty associated with the proposed prediction method was formulated and quantified using REAT and F-MIRE attenuation measurements on human subjects. An initial experimental verification of the prediction method, on a limited number of subjects, has been successfully completed.