Proceedings of the 11th Convention of the
European Acoustics Association
Forum Acusticum / EuroNoise 2025


Málaga, Spain
June 23 - 26, 2025





Session: A13.04 Advancements and challenges in military acoustics: physiological and audiological perspectives
Date: Monday 23 June 2025
Time: 14:00
Title: Sound Attenuation with Double Hearing Protection: A Comparison of Real-Ear and Behavioral Hearing Threshold Measurements
Author(s): Alon Hauptman
Shai Chordekar
Coral Dirks
Leah Fostick
Fink Nir
Pages: 3157-3161
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.61782/fa.2025.0781
PDF: https://dael.euracoustics.org/confs/fa2025/data/articles/000781.pdf
Conference proceedings
Abstract

This study explores the relationship between objective sound measurements and subjective hearing thresholds under double hearing protection. Both Real-Ear Measurement (REM) and subjective testing were used to examine attenuation with EasyView Otoblock earplugs and Optime 105 earmuff. Stimuli were delivered from a fixed frontal source (0° azimuth) across a frequency range of 500 to 12,000 Hz, allowing observation of attenuation patterns at both low and high frequencies. Descriptive analysis suggested consistent trends across participants. At higher frequencies (above 4 kHz), subjective results indicated more attenuation than objective REM values, whereas the opposite was observed at lower frequencies (below 4 kHz), where REM showed more attenuation. These patterns may reflect the contribution of bone conduction (BC) when air conduction (AC) is significantly reduced. While the sample size limits statistical generalization, the findings highlight the value of integrating subjective data alongside objective measurements in evaluating hearing protection performance. The use of a realistic protection configuration and fixed sound direction offers practical insights into how auditory information is transmitted under high-attenuation conditions. These insights may support the development of more effective hearing protection devices for environments with hazardous noise exposure.