The acoustical environment in airplanes is adverse to spoken communication, regardless of one's hearing ability. For hard of hearing people, these listening conditions result in miscommunications, social isolation and potentially life threatening circumstances. Commonly used hearing aids aggravate the problem by indiscriminately amplifying the airplane's high ambient noise along with the desired sound of pilot announcements and flight attendant communications. Passenger headsets do not provide a suitable output for most hard of hearing people. Available assistive listening devices and assistive listening systems are not compatible with airplane sound systems. Open captioning on TV monitors while helpful for prerecorded information does not address real time pilot announcements and the one-on-one communication needs of hard of hearing travelers interacting with flight attendants and neighboring passengers. Phase I will test the feasibility of creating a cost effective and user friendly assistive listening system specifically designed to interface with existing airplane sound systems and featuring infrared receiving capabilities for in-flight interpersonal communications. Our plan to create and commercialize a new assistive listening system electronically and mechanically tailored to the airplane environment will be researched and evaluated with the participation of hard of hearing people and a commercial airline.
An estimated 10% of the population in the USA have a significant hearing loss and can benefit from the use of hearing aids and assistive listening devices in hostile listening environments. With airline traffic exceeding 40 million passengers per year, addressing the needs of the growing market of hearing impaired travelers is potentially significant to the airline industry as well as individuals with a hearing loss.
