The Effects of Simulated Hearing Loss on Aviator Performance and Cognitive Workload During Simulated Flight
Abstract
Army aviators require a level of hearing acuity to communicate in high operational tempos, which includes the use of multiple radios while performing flight operations. Military operations, including rotary-wing aircraft noise, present short-term risks to the communication abilities of Army aircrew and long-term risks to aviator hearing health in the form of hearing loss, which can be temporary or permanent. Hearing loss can render an aviator more susceptible to the adverse effects of degraded communication signal quality and consequently lead to an increased allocation of mental resources to hear, referred to as listening effort. Army aviation hearing standards, which are primarily based on pure tone testing and speech recognition scores in quiet, do not necessarily predict the functional impact of hearing loss. Given this, the current study aimed to first determine the scope of hearing loss in Army aviators over the past five years and analyze the impact of current threshold requirements on in-flight performance data from pilots presented with simulated hearing loss. Poster presented at the Military Health System Research Symposium, 14-17 August, 2023 in Kissimmee, FL.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 21, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1210149
Entities
People
- Heath Jones
- J. R. Stefanson
- Jennifer Noetzel
- Kichol Lee
- Kyle Hale
- Paula Henry
- Ryan Mackie
Organizations
- United States Army