Document Detail


Audibility of reverse alarms under hearing protectors for normal and hearing-impaired listeners.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  7498188     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The question of whether or not an individual suffering from a hearing loss is capable of hearing an auditory alarm or warning is an extremely important industrial safety issue. The ISO Standard that addresses auditory warnings for workplaces requires that any auditory alarm or warning be audible to all individuals in the workplace including those suffering from a hearing loss and/or wearing hearing protection devices (HPDs). Research was undertaken to determine how the ability to detect an alarm or warning signal changed for individuals with normal hearing and two levels of hearing loss as the levels of masking noise and alarm were manipulated. Pink noise was used as the masker and a heavy-equipment reverse alarm was used as the signal. The rating method paradigm of signal detection theory was used as the experimental procedure to separate the subjects' absolute sensitivities to the alarm from their individual criteria for deciding to respond in an affirmative manner. Results indicated that even at a fairly low signal-to-noise ratio (0 dB), subjects with a substantial hearing loss [a pure-tone average (PTA) hearing level of 45-50 dBHL in both ears] were capable of hearing the reverse alarm while wearing a high-attenuation earmuff in the pink noise used in the study.
Authors:
G S Robinson; J G Casali
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Ergonomics     Volume:  38     ISSN:  0014-0139     ISO Abbreviation:  Ergonomics     Publication Date:  1995 Nov 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1996-01-18     Completed Date:  1996-01-18     Revised Date:  2006-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0373220     Medline TA:  Ergonomics     Country:  ENGLAND    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  2281-99     Citation Subset:  IM; S    
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg 24061-0118, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Aged
Ear Protective Devices*
Hearing Loss / physiopathology*
Humans
Middle Aged
Safety Management*
Sound*
Workplace

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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