The objective of this project is to develop an unobtrusive, wearable system that will prevent occupational hearing loss while being compatible with personal 2-way communication systems. The novel and patented dose Busters USA approach to industrial hearing conservation involves monitoring actual, protected personal noise exposure on a daily basis. If this exposure level is maintained below 50% of the permissible exposure level (PEL) on a daily basis, the worker is unlikely to experience noise-induced hearing loss on-the-job. Experience with Beta versions of the personal noise-monitoring system demonstrate that it is possible to reduce virtually all-industrial exposures to an acceptable level with the hearing protection that is compatible with the dose Busters USA system. Factors that lead to unacceptably high exposures are quality of hearing protector fit and duration of hearing protector wearing time. The dose Busters USA system accounts for both of these variables; therefore actual protected exposure is quantified. The worker is empowered with redundant information that allows him to modify his hearing protector wearing habits and therefore reduce his personal exposure. If the protected exposure level remains too high, exposures must be lowered via management intervention. To make the system universally acceptable to industry, it must be cost-effective, it must be compatible with 2-way radio communications and it must be unobtrusive for the user. In this project, these three issues will be addressed. A wireless communication platform will be utilized to enhance personal communication via 2-way radio. In addition, the communication system will enhance worker safety by providing establishing a wireless mechanism for transmitting effective audio warnings. The audio communication / warning system will be designed to take advantage of occluding in-the-ear duplex transceivers, ensuring clarity even in noisy environments. ? ?
