Use Of Headphones Research Articles

The level of self-esteem of deaf children: Can participating in dance lessons with vibrational headphones improve it?

Self-esteem is an important predictor of mental health and psychological functioning. Deaf children have limited ability to listen to music and to dance. These activities are important elements of modern adolescents’ life. Their inability to participate increases the sense of exclusion in young deaf people and negatively affects their self-esteem. This study aims to verify whether the level of deaf children’s self-esteem will change after participating in experimental dance lessons with vibrational headphones. The experiment involved 28 deaf children aged 9–13 years old who attend special schools for deaf children in Poland. Children from the experimental (E) group participated in two dance lessons each week for a period of four months. To allow for the reception of acoustic vibrations of music, vibrational headphones were used, which reinforce the so–called bone conduction of music. To measure the level of self-esteem, a Polish adaptation of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was administered. The results of two way ANOVA showed a significant interaction (p < 0.001) between self-esteem and the groups and tests. A significant increase in the level of self-esteem among the children in the E group (d = 0.87) and the decrease in self-esteem of the control (d = −1.13) group were found. This study shows that participating in dance lessons with the use of vibrational headphones may support positive self-esteem among deaf children.

MAINTAINING SERENITY IN THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP: AROMATHERAPY, INDIVIDUALIZED MUSIC OR BOTH TO PROMOTE ENGAGEMENT AND EMPOWER CHOICE

Introduction The use of complementary and integrative methods in the care of older adults is increasingly popular. Elderly persons who suffer from chronic, persistent or severe mental illness are less likely to be offered or encouraged to utilize these interventions. Engagement in treatment is an issue that plagues the mental health system and is associated with better outcomes and less use of costly inpatient hospital stays when involvement and empowerment of patients is integrated into care. Aromatherapy is a popular cultural and spiritual intervention. Many elderly people utilize components of aromatherapy as part of developmental and family rituals with strong historical roots. Individualized music is one of the most powerful forms of complementary interventions being utilized as part of treatment regimes for disorders ranging from acute psychosis to anxiety to dementia. Compliance with medications and treatment regimes is considerably higher when patients are allowed to make choices regarding care. This project describes the use of aromatherapy with and without individualized music to enhance patient engagement in therapeutic sessions and treatment discussions. Methods A convenience sample of older adults being treated in diverse clinical areas: the psychiatric emergency department, a 31-bed acute inpatient unit and an outpatient clinic; each part of a large urban tertiary care hospital were offered options prior to being involved in therapy sessions or clinical interviews. Patients were offered of three essential oils: Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia), Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) or Peppermint (Mentha piperita) prior to clinical interviews or therapy appointments. Oils were provided on individual wood sticks that were immersed in the oil and given to the patient with instructions to hold under the nose and inhale deeply for at least 3 deep breaths. They were also offered the ability to listen to individual music choices for brief periods of up to 3 minutes in a variety of genres that included classical, jazz, showtunes, latin, soft rock, dance and easy listening. Music was offered via wireless headphones that could be worn over the ear for several minutes in a waiting area. This was offered both separately and in combination with aromatherapy. Rating of satisfaction with the intervention using a 5-point Likert type scale, likelihood of recommending to others and decision to return for further care. Results The aromatherapy was widely accepted with >90% of patients choosing an oil and utilizing the intervention. Average age of the patients was 77 years old with range from 55 years to 95 years. Our sample included patients from very diverse cultural backgrounds that are present in a urban New York City population. The majority were not native English speakers and the population as a whole included those speaking more than 20 different languages. Diagnostic diversity was also quite enriched and included those with Anxiety disorders and issues related to life stress as well as many with Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder. Most patients made a choice of an oil for aromatherapy (75%) or took a recommendation from the therapist (25%). Impact on acceptability, satisfaction with the intervention and likelihood to recommend to others was rated on a 5-point Likert type FACES scale that allowed patients to identify their response without language barriers. More than 90% of patients reported being Very Satisfied with the aromatherapy. Music was less likely to be chosen as a brief intervention (55%) both with or without aromatherapy. Most patients felt that the brief time period of 5 minutes or less was not long enough for their preference although among those that accepted the intervention, 85% reported being Very Satisfied with the use. No participant reported a negative response or adverse effect from with or both interventions. Conclusions Use of individualized aromatherapy greatly increases sense of engagement and appreciation of care. Our patient sample included a diverse sample of very acute patients many of whom entered the hospital on an involuntary basis, as well as those who were presenting for follow up outpatient visits. The clinical acuity was extremely diverse but also included a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) where the need for care was urgent. The interventions had widespread acceptability in a variety of clinical services and with patient form very cultural diverse backgrounds. Brief music was not as widely accepted, in part because the use of headphones as a delivery mechanism was not as well received by patients. Use of choice with both interventions was felt to be inherently empowering to patients. Most patients were very satisfied with being more involved in making choices that affected their ability to engage with care and treatment in an open manner. Patients expressed a clear desire to recommend and share these interventions with others. This research was funded by Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Impact of Noise-Attenuating Headphones on Participation in the Home, Community, and School for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Aim: The purpose of this study was to conceptualize the benefits and limitations of using noise-attenuating headphones for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on participation in home, community, and school environments from the perspective of parents and teachers. Methods: Grounded theory methodology was used to guide data collection and analysis. Ten parents and five teachers of children with ASD and auditory hypersensitivity aged 6–12 completed recorded interviews. Interviews were transcribed and crosschecked prior to analysis by two or more researchers. Constant comparison was used during open and axial coding followed by theoretical integration. Results: Participants identified that the use of noise-attenuating headphones increased participation in home, community, and school settings. Barriers and benefits were identified for both around-ear and in-ear headphones. Preparation for use was an identified strategy that reduced the barriers and increased use of the headphones. Additionally, many of the children learned to predict when they needed the headphones and requested their use. Conclusion: Results of the study identified parental and teacher support for the use of noise-attenuating headphones to increase participation in natural environments for children with ASD, as well as suggestions to facilitate use for practicing physical and occupational therapists.

Prevalence and Pattern of Using Headphones and Its Relationship with Hearing Loss among Students

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the most important public health problems. There is scant information about NIHL, the prevalence and using patterns of headphones and music player devices in Iran. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and using patterns of earphones and investigate the relationship between earphone use and hearing loss in a sample of students from Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (QUMS). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 890 students were randomly selected using a proportional cluster sampling method in April and May 2015. The students completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing the pattern of their earphone use and hearing loss. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the cut-off point for the questionnaire. Results: The results suggested that 60.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 56.9 - 66.4) of the students reported a history of hearing loss and hearing impairment and 86.4% (95% CI: 84.0 - 88.5) of the participants reported using an earphone in the past. Most of the participants listened to music on their cell phones (81.7%) and 89.6% of them used headphones for listening to music. The results indicated that 51.3% of those who used earphones used earbud-style earphones, 42.2% used supra-aural earphones, and 6.5% used headphones. Students who used earphones, those who used earphones more frequently during the week, and those who used earphones for more years had higher hearing loss scores compared to other students. Conclusions: Students have a risky pattern of using personal listening devices. The higher hearing loss score among headphone users requires further attention in order to implement interventions to increase students’ awareness and attitude towards the use of headphones.

Different Types of Sounds and Their Relationship With the Electrocardiographic Signals and the Cardiovascular System - Review.

Background: For some time now, the effects of sound, noise, and music on the human body have been studied. However, despite research done through time, it is still not completely clear what influence, interaction, and effects sounds have on human body. That is why it is necessary to conduct new research on this topic. Thus, in this paper, a systematic review is undertaken in order to integrate research related to several types of sound, both pleasant and unpleasant, specifically noise and music. In addition, it includes as much research as possible to give stakeholders a more general vision about relevant elements regarding methodologies, study subjects, stimulus, analysis, and experimental designs in general. This study has been conducted in order to make a genuine contribution to this area and to perhaps to raise the quality of future research about sound and its effects over ECG signals.Methods: This review was carried out by independent researchers, through three search equations, in four different databases, including: engineering, medicine, and psychology. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied and studies published between 1999 and 2017 were considered. The selected documents were read and analyzed independently by each group of researchers and subsequently conclusions were established between all of them.Results: Despite the differences between the outcomes of selected studies, some common factors were found among them. Thus, in noise studies where both BP and HR increased or tended to increase, it was noted that HRV (HF and LF/HF) changes with both sound and noise stimuli, whereas GSR changes with sound and musical stimuli. Furthermore, LF also showed changes with exposure to noise.Conclusion: In many cases, samples displayed a limitation in experimental design, and in diverse studies, there was a lack of a control group. There was a lot of variability in the presented stimuli providing a wide overview of the effects they could produce in humans. In the listening sessions, there were numerous examples of good practice in experimental design, such as the use of headphones and comfortable positions for study subjects, while the listening sessions lasted 20 min in most of the studies.

Middle School Females Have More Efficient Multitasking Abilities than Males

This project was created to educate seventh grade students about their capacity of multitasking. This was a part of the American Physiological Society's PhUn week activities and we used reaction time (RT) as a way to illustrate the physiology behind multitasking. Sixteen students (10 boys and 6 girls) from a seventh‐grade science class at Dr. Hornedo Middle School, El Paso, TX were able to interact with the Biopac MP40 system. The Biopac MP40 is an interactive system that collects electrical impulse data, physiological response, via electromyograph electrodes and calculate RT based on the time of the response from an auditive stimulus. In order to carry out the reaction time activity, the researchers demonstrated how to properly execute the procedure using the Biopac MP40. An acoustic signal was produced from the Biopac MP40 system and was heard by the students through the use of headphones. Once the students heard the acoustic signal they lifted their finger producing an electrical signal released through the nerves and picked up via electrodes placed on the inner forearm of the student's dominant arm.This procedure was repeated twice. During the first trial the students had their eyes closed and were able to focus on the signal. However, during the second trial, the students had their eyes open and were simultaneously asked questions while they reacted to the acoustic signal. The data gathered demonstrated that, overall, the slowest and the mean RT were higher with eyes open and distraction (0.5±0.0 vs. 0.4±0.1 ms, 0.4±0.0 vs. 0.3±0.1 ms, respectively, both p&lt;0.001). Similar results were observed in boys but not in girls. In fact, girls did not have any differences when having their eyes open and distracted. Overall, these results showed that distraction did affect RT, which could indicate a lower multitasking capacity. However, girls were able to focus better than boys, showing better multitasking abilities than boys.Support or Funding InformationThis work was partially supported by the National Institute of General Medicine Sciences of the National Institute of Health under linked Awards Numbers RL5GM118969, TL4GM118971, and UL1GM118970.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Is Long Term Use of Headphones Affect the Hearing Health? A Narrative Review Based on Literature

Is Long Term Use of Headphones Affect the Hearing Health? A Narrative Review Based on Literature

Optimization of Virtual Loudspeakers for Spatial Room Acoustics Reproduction with Headphones

The use of headphones in reproducing spatial sound is becoming more and more popular. For instance, virtual reality applications often use head-tracking to keep the binaurally reproduced auditory environment stable and to improve externalization. Here, we study one spatial sound reproduction method over headphones, in particular the positioning of the virtual loudspeakers. The paper presents an algorithm that optimizes the positioning of virtual reproduction loudspeakers to reduce the computational cost in head-tracked real-time rendering. The listening test results suggest that listeners could discriminate the optimized loudspeaker arrays for renderings that reproduced a relatively simple acoustic conditions, but optimized array was not significantly different from equally spaced array for a reproduction of a more complex case. Moreover, the optimization seems to change the perceived openness and timbre, according to the verbal feedback of the test subjects.

The effect of nature sounds on physiological indicators among patients in the cardiac care unit

Background and objectivesEnvironmental noises may create physiological and psychological disorders in patients hospitalized in the CCU. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of nature sounds on physiological indicators among patients in the CCU. Materials & methodsThis randomized clinical trial was conducted on 93 patients hospitalized in the cardiac care units of three teaching hospitals in 2016. The patients were selected using the convenient method with three randomized blocks. The patients were assigned into three groups as nature sounds, silence that received a set of headphones without playing sounds, and control groups. In addition to routine care, the patients in the intervention group listened to nature sounds for 30 min using a set of headphones for two days. The patients in the control group only received routine care. In addition to routine care, the patients in the silence group used a set of headphones for 30 min to block noises and no sound was played for them. Physiological indicators such as heartbeat rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, respiration rate, and arterial O2 saturation were assessed using monitoring devices. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis via the SPSS software. FindingsNature sounds and silence had no statistically significant effects on physiological indicators. However, a statistically significant difference was reported in the heart rate in the nature sound group before and after the intervention in the first day of the intervention (P = 0.046). In the second day of the intervention, there were statistically significant differences in the diastolic blood pressure in the nature sounds group (P = 0.028), heart rate (P = 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.013) in the silence group, and heart rate (P = 0.014) in the control group before and after the intervention. ConclusionListening to nature sounds or the use of headphones blocked environmental noises and could influence mean arterial pressure. Future studies can examine the effects of this intervention implemented for a longer term using nature sounds by patients.

Parameters for Applying the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential with Speech Stimulus: Systematic Review.

Introduction Studies using the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential with speech stimulus are increasing in Brazil, and there are divergences between the methodologies used for testing. Objectives To analyze the parameters used in the study of the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials with speech stimulus. Data Synthesis The survey was performed using electronic databases. The search strategy was as follows: “Evoked potentials, auditory” OR “Brain stem” OR “Evoked potentials, auditory, brain stem” AND “Speech.” The survey was performed from June to July of 2016. The criteria used for including articles in this study were: being written in Portuguese, English or Spanish; presenting the description of the testing parameters and the description of the sample. In the databases selected, 2,384 articles were found, and 43 articles met all of the inclusion criteria. The predominance of the following parameters was observed to achieve the potential during study: stimulation with the syllable /da/; monaural presentation with greater use of the right ear; intensity of 80 dB SPL; vertical placement of electrodes; use of in-ear headphones; patient seated, distracted in awake state; alternating polarity; use of speech synthesizer software for the elaboration of stimuli; presentation rate of 10.9/s; and sampling rate of 20 kHz. Conclusions The theme addressed in this systematic review is relatively recent. However, the results are significant enough to encourage the use of the procedure in clinical practice and advise clinicians about the most used procedures in each parameter.

Discriminación auditiva en entornos de ruido, en personas que usan auriculares de forma habitual || Perception of phonemes in noise environments, in people who usually use headphones

La finalidad de este trabajo era conocer cómo la utilización diaria y prolongada de auriculares, así como el ruido de fondo, afectan a la comprensión del habla. Existe evidencia en la literatura de que el uso habitual de auriculares puede traducirse en una pérdida de audición en la frecuencia de 3000 Hz, y también son conocidas las dificultades de comprensión que surgen cuando hay un elevado nivel de ruido ambiental. Por ello, en esta investigación se quiso contar con una muestra de personas que prácticamente no han sido objeto de estudio pero que por su ocupación llevan cierto tiempo bajo los efectos de ambos factores. Así, se contó con la colaboración como grupo experimental de 24 teleoperadoras y de otras 20 personas no relacionadas con la profesión como grupo control equivalente. Para la tarea de evaluación se empleó una versión reducida y en español del Speech Perception in Noise Test. La tarea consistía en repetir la última palabra de una serie de frases pregrabadas con distintos sonidos de fondo, en las que había distintos fonemas y diferente predictibilidad de las palabras. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que la utilización habitual de auriculares tiene un efecto negativo sobre la percepción auditiva de ciertas frecuencias y que el ruido de call center afecta negativamente a la compresión del habla, incluso más que el de tráfico. Estos hallazgos son de aplicación tanto en lo laboral como en lo educativo y prueban la importancia de sensibilizar a la población sobre el uso adecuado de auriculares.

Subjective perception of wind turbine noise

The evaluation of wind turbine noise impacting upon communities is generally related to external noise environments and has a problem with separating wind turbine noise from ambient noise (which includes the presence of wind) which is not normally the case for general environmental noise. Subjective testing of wind turbine noise to examine amplitude modulation and subjective loudness has tended to use large baffle speaker systems to produce the infrasound/low-frequency noise and one high-frequency speaker - all as a mono source. Comparison of mono and stereo recordings of audible wind turbine noise played back in a test chamber and a smaller hemi-anechoic space provides a distinct different perception of amplitude modulation of turbines. A similar exercise compares use of high-quality full-spectrum headphones with the two different sound files applied to just the ears is discussed.

Exploring binaural hearing in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) using virtual headphones

The Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) has become a key species in investigations of the neural processing of sound localization cues in mammals. While its sound localization has been tested extensively under free-field stimulation, many neurophysiological studies use headphones to present signals with binaural localization cues. The gerbil's behavioral sensitivity to binaural cues, however, is unknown for the lack of appropriate stimulation paradigms in awake behaving gerbils. We close this gap in knowledge by mimicking a headphone stimulation; we use free-field loudspeakers and apply cross-talk cancellation techniques to present pure tones with binaural cues via “virtual headphones” to gerbils trained in a sound localization task. All gerbils were able to lateralize sounds depending on the interaural time or level difference (ITD and ILD, respectively). For ITD stimuli, reliable responses were seen for frequencies ≤2.9 kHz, the highest frequency tested with ITD stimuli. ITD sensitivity was frequency-dependent with the highest sensitivity observed at 1 kHz. For stimuli with ITD outside the gerbil's physiological range, responses were cyclic indicating the use of phase information when lateralizing narrow-band sounds. For ILD stimuli, reliable responses were obtained for frequencies ≥2 kHz. The comparison of ITD and ILD thresholds with ITD and ILD thresholds derived from gerbils’ free-field performance suggests that ongoing ITD information is the main cue for sound localization at frequencies <2 kHz. At 2 kHz, ITD and ILD cues are likely used in a complementary way. Verification of the use of the virtual headphones suggests that they can serve as a suitable substitute for conventional headphones particularly at frequencies ≤2 kHz.

Design of a Loudspeaker Array for Personal Audio in a Car Cabin

With an increasing interest in personal audio systems, the car cabin is an important environment in which to generate different audio programs in different regions, without the use of headphones. Two algorithms, acoustic contrast control and the least squares method, are considered for producing two independent listening zones, one zone including the front passengers and the other including the rear passengers. The generation of an acceptable acoustic contrast between the front and rear zones, using an array of four standard audio loudspeakers, is limited to relatively low frequencies. In order to provide acceptable control over a larger audio bandwidth, a loudspeaker array mounted on the ceiling of a car cabin is investigated in this paper. A selection process for the configuration of the source array is described. Free field simulations are used to calculate the response of the source array and investigate the performance of the two control algorithms. Since the performance of the least squares method is dependent on the chosen target sound pressures, a method for selecting the target sound pressures is also proposed. Finally, the proposed loudspeaker array is implemented in a real car and the measured results are found to be similar to those predicted from the simulations.

The unexpected comfort of wearing headphones: Emotional and cognitive effects of headphone use when playing a bloody video game

This study tests the theory of vivid media violence, exploring whether the presence of blood in a violent game and the use of headphones impacts emotions (frustration, fear, anxiety) and the level of cognitive elaboration. Results of an experiment suggest participants felt stronger negative emotions when playing a bloody game with headphones off. When the video game was not bloody, headphones did not affect emotions. In addition, frustration was related to cognitive elaboration whereas fear and anxiety were not. Implications for research exploring discrete emotions, as well as the intersection between auditory and visual features in video games, are discussed.

The Hearing Aid ‘Effect’ as a Function of Race and Gender

The Hearing Aid ‘Effect’ as a Function of Race and Gender

‘The voice is the guide to the experience as well as the experience itself’: An interview with non zero one

Abstract Since 2009, non zero one – a London-based collective of artists with a background and interest in theatre but working across media and performance disciplines – has devised a series of unexpected, challenging but also light-hearted and inviting experiences of immersion. Whilst embracing a variety of techniques and contemporary media, one of the key features of the company’s work is the exploration of audience interaction through the use of headphones, typically in promenade and/ or site-specific performance contexts. Following a first section that questions the role of voice in (theatrical) sonic immersion, the text unfolds as a dialogue between practitioner-scholar Konstantinos Thomaidis and non zero one artist and theatre director Sarah Butcher. The interview lends an attentive ear to the role of voice in the company’s work, from pre-recorded instruction to live audio interaction.

Analysis of the Genotoxic Effects of Mobile Phone Radiation using Buccal Micronucleus Assay: A Comparative Evaluation.

Micronucleus (MN) is considered to be a reliable marker for genotoxic damage and it determines the presence and the extent of the chromosomal damage. The MN is formed due to DNA damage or chromosomal disarrangements. The MN has a close association with cancer incidences. In the new era, mobile phones are constantly gaining popularity specifically in the young generation, but this device uses radiofrequency radiation that may have a possible carcinogenic effect. The available reports related to the carcinogenic effect of mobile radiation on oral mucosa are contradictory. To explore the effects of mobile phone radiation on the MN frequency in oral mucosal cells. The subjects were divided into two major groups: low mobile phone users and high mobile phone users. Subjects who used their mobile phone since less than five years and less than three hours a week comprised of the first group and those who used their mobile since more than five years and more than 10 hours a week comprised of the second group. Net surfing and text messaging was not considered in this study. Exfoliated buccal mucosal cells were collected from both the groups and the cells were stained with DNA-specific stain acridine orange. Thousand exfoliated buccal mucosal cells were screened and the cells which were positive for micronuclei were counted. The micronucleus frequency was represented as mean±SD, and unpaired Student t-test was used for intergroup comparisons. The number of micronucleated cells/ 1000 exfoliated buccal mucosal cells was found to be significantly increased in high mobile phone users group than the low mobile phone users group. The use of mobile phone with the associated complaint of warmth around the ear showed a maximum increase in the number of micronucleated cells /1000 exfoliated buccal mucosal cells. Mobile phone radiation even in the permissible range when used for longer duration causes significant genotoxicity. The genotoxicity can be avoided to some extent by the regular use of headphones.

Patient-directed music therapy reduces anxiety and sedation exposure in mechanically-ventilated patients: A research critique

This research appraisal, guided by the CASP Randomised Controlled Trial Checklist, critiques a randomised, controlled trial of patient-directed music therapy compared to either noise-cancelling headphones or usual care. This study recruited 373 alert, mechanically-ventilated patients across five intensive care units in the United States. The Music Assessment Tool, administered by a music therapist, facilitated music selection by participants in the intervention group. Anxiety was measured using the VAS-A scale. Sedation exposure was measured by both sedation frequency and by sedation intensity using a daily sedation intensity score. Context for the data was supported by an environmental scan form recording unit activity and by written comments from nurses about the patient's responses to the protocol. Patient-directed music therapy allowed a significant reduction in sedation frequency compared to noise-cancelling headphones and usual care participants. Patient-directed music therapy led to significantly lower anxiety and sedation intensity compared to usual care, but not compared to noise-cancelling headphones.This is a robust study with clear aims and a detailed description of research methods and follow-up. While no participants were lost to follow-up, not all were included in the analysis: 37% did not have the minimum of two anxiety assessments for comparison and 23% were not included in sedation analysis. While some participants utilised the intervention or active control for many hours-per-day, half the music therapy participants listened for 12min or less per day and half of the noise-cancelling headphone participants did not appear to use them. While the results suggest that patient-directed music therapy and noise-cancelling headphones may be useful and cost-effective interventions that lead to an overall improvement in anxiety and sedation exposure, these may appeal to a subset of ICU patients. The self-directed use of music therapy and noise-cancelling headphones means these findings may not transfer to sedated or cognitively-impaired patients.

Assisted Listening Using a Headset: Enhancing audio perception in real, augmented, and virtual environments

Historically, headphones have mainly been used for analytic listening in music production and in homes. During the last decade, with the boom of dedicated music players and mobile phones, the everyday use of light headphones has become highly popular. Current headphones are also paving the way for more sophisticated assisted listening devices. Today, active noise control (ANC), equalization techniques, and a hear-through function are already a standard part of many headphones that people commonly use while traveling. It is not difficult to predict that, in the near future, a headset will be a ?hearing aid for those with normal hearing,? which can improve listening conditions for example in a noisy environment.