Combat Sound Detection: 1. Monaural Listening in Quiet

Abstract

The presence of enemy personnel is often revealed by the noises they or their equipment make. A predictive model was devised which took account of the spectral and temporal distribution of energy in the sounds, and the spectral sensitivity of the ears detecting them. Predictions were compared with actual detections for 20 ears as they listened for 24 different recorded sounds (walking noises, rifle bolt, etc.). Correlations between predictions and detections ranged from .89 to .98. The same model was then used with data from a recent survey of hearing in the combat arms to predict detection of the same sounds. Preliminary data indicate that simple detection (the performance measured in these studies) does not reveal the true differences between ears with hearing losses and those in the normal range. Auditory performance is expected to be best described by the ear's ability to identify the sounds, rather than simply detect them.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1976
Accession Number
ADA035084

Entities

People

  • David C. Hodge
  • G. R. Price

Organizations

  • Human Engineering Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ambient Noise
  • Background Noise
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Data Analysis
  • Detection
  • Enemy Personnel
  • Engineering
  • Hearing Disorders
  • Hearing Loss
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Instrumentation
  • Noise
  • Recording Systems
  • Surveys
  • Tape Recorders
  • United States Military Academy

Readers

  • Auditory Neuroscience/Auditory Physiology.
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.