2020 NHCA Annual Conference

Presented By: Douglas Brungart, PhD
Co-Authors: Julieta Scalo and Rob Williams
To assess their experiences with and attitudes toward different types of hearing protection devices (HPDs), Service members were asked to complete a brief survey either 1) at the time of training for using a Tactical Communication and Protection Device (TCAP); 2) at their annual hearing-conservation auditory exam; or 3) after a recent deployment during which HPDs were used. In addition to answering questions about job duties, noise exposure, and type of hearing protection currently used, participants rated their satisfaction with their HPDs in several dimensions, including comfort, protection, communication, and localization. Participants were also asked to indicate their willingness to accept some degradation in certain HPD features in exchange for improvement in other features. Analyses to be presented will include regression modeling to evaluate relationships between satisfaction and type of hearing protection used, while controlling for location, experience, and other covariates.In preliminary evaluations, satisfaction scores were higher for electronic hearing protectors than for passive hearing protection devices, particularly with regard to factors related to situation awareness.[The views expressed in this abstract are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of Army/Navy/Air Force, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government.]