The Impact of Wearing Ballistic Helmets on Sound Localization

Abstract

Auditory localization performance was measured for test subjects wearing each of 4 ballistic helmets pre-selected by the United States Army. Data were collected at the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Auditory Localization Facility (ALF) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). Localization response measurements were collected for subjects wearing the TC2001, MICH LW Fast, Sentry, and MICH helmet to understand the effect helmets may have on the user's ability to localize sounds. Results indicate that helmets that occluded even a portion of the ear degraded the user's ability to localize sound, to a greater extent than those for which the ear remained unoccluded, as determined by overall angular error, percentage of errors > 45 deg, and front-back confusions. Localization performance was best when the subjects were wearing the TC2001 helmet, followed by the MICH LW Fast, Sentry, and finally the MICH helmet.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA582227

Entities

People

  • Billy J. Swayne
  • Hilary L. Gallagher

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustics
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Anechoic Chambers
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Hearing Protection
  • Measurement
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Research
  • Motor Skills
  • Neurobehavioral Manifestations
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Protective Equipment
  • United States

Readers

  • Auditory Neuroscience/Auditory Physiology.
  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Military Engineering.