Industrial wideband noise reduction for hearing aids using a headset with adaptive-feedback active noise cancellation

Med Biol Eng Comput. 2005 Nov;43(6):739-45. doi: 10.1007/BF02430951.

Abstract

High-intensity noises are a health hazard for industrial workers, and hearing protection is necessary to prevent hearing loss. Passive methods, such as ear muffs, are ineffective against low-frequency noise. Moreover, many hearing-impaired workers must wear hearing aids to enable communication at their workplace, and such aids can amplify ambient noise. To overcome this problem, the present study developed a headset equipped with a digital signal processing system to implement adaptive-feedback active noise cancellation (AFANC) to reduce low-frequency noise. The proposed AFANC headset was effective against wideband industrial noise, with a maximum noise spectrum power reduction of 30 dB. Furthermore, when used with a hearing aid, it improved the speech signal-to-noise ratio by up to 14 dB. These results suggest that a headset with AFANC would be useful for hearing protection in workplaces with high levels of low-frequency industrial noise, especially for hearing-impaired workers.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ear Protective Devices*
  • Electronics, Medical
  • Equipment Design
  • Feedback
  • Hearing Aids*
  • Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / prevention & control
  • Humans
  • Noise, Occupational*
  • Occupational Diseases / prevention & control