Multi-User, Reliable Hearing Protection Fit Test System with Integrated Education

Within the Department of Defense (DOD), more than 200,000 Service Members have hearing impairment and close to 500,000 Veterans receive compensation for service-connected hearing loss. To protect personnel, each DOD Component must provide hearing protection devices (HPDs) to individuals exposed to hazardous noise. Furthermore, anyone who experiences a significant threshold shift needs to have their hearing protector fit reevaluated to confirm adequacy, citing use of HPD fit-testing systems as best practice. Edare currently produces a portable system to diagnose hearing loss outside the sound booth: The Wireless Automated Hearing Test System (WAHTS). The WAHTS uses large ear cups that provide isolation on par with single-walled sound booths so that accurate testing can take place outside sound booths—making the system highly portable and usable in clinics, training classrooms, aboard ships, and in field locations. Edare proposes to build on the WAHTS by adding novel HPD fit-testing algorithms to decrease the time it takes to verify HPD fit and incorporate personalized and interactive education that will allow the system to be deployed at scale. Because the WAHTS can be used for both hearing- and fit-testing, the WAHTS is a unique system that could simplify equipment needs and increase efficiency.