Development of an auditory situation awareness test battery for advanced hearing protectors and TCAPS: detection subtest of DRILCOM (detection-recognition/identification-localization-communication)

Objective: To design a test battery and conduct a proof-of-concept experiment of a test method that can be used to measure the detection performance afforded by military advanced hearing protection devices (HPDs) and tactical communication and protective systems (TCAPS). Design: The detection test was conducted with each of the four loudspeakers located at front, right, rear and left of the participant. Participants wore 2 in-ear-type TCAPS, 1 earmuff-type TCAPS, a passive Combat Arms Earplug in its open or pass-through setting and an EB-15LE electronic earplug. Devices with electronic gain systems were tested under two gain settings: unity and max. Testing without any device (open ear) was conducted as a control. Study sample: Ten participants with audiometric requirements of 25dBHL or better at 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000Hz in both ears. Results: Detection task performance varied with different signals and speaker locations. The test identified performance differences among certain TCAPS and protectors, and the open ear.Conclusions: A computer-controlled detection subtest of the Detection-Recognition/Identification-Localisation-Communication (DRILCOM) test battery was designed and implemented. Tested in a proof-of-concept experiment, it showed statistically-significant sensitivity to device differences in detection effects with the small sample of participants (10). This result has important implications for selection and deployment of TCAPS and HPDs on soldiers and workers in dynamic situations.