ABSTRACT

Hearing is the primary human sense that functions throughout the full sphere around an individual. Often the first warning and source of information about the identity and location of an event is through hearing. Hearing protection must be carefully selected to allow soldiers to hear their environment while still protecting against noise-induced hearing loss. While communications systems are essential for soldiers, a poorly designed headset can interfere with auditory situation awareness (SA) and compromise the efficacy of hearing protection. Auditory SA can further be impaired by other soldier gear, particular helmets, which can interfere with spatial localization cues. Hearing protection is mandatory for armored vehicle crew members and dismounted soldiers when exposed to hazardous noise levels such as gunfire. Hearing loss from acoustic trauma is a significant problem for the US military. Much like various forms of hearing protection, helmets change the profile of the ear region and thus the nature of monaural spectral cues to localization.