Custom moulded earplugs versus foam canal tips for the Communications Earplug (CEP):

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Teresa Houston
6 years ago
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1 Custom moulded earplugs versus foam canal tips for the Communications Earplug (CEP): A summery of comparison studies Center for Man in Aviation Yuval Steinman Human Factor Researcher

2 Disclosure Information 84 th Annual AsMA Scientific Meeting Yuval Steinman I have no financial relationships to disclose. I will not discuss off-label use and/or investigational use in my presentation 2

Introduction I Problems with the CEP s foam canal tips (f-cep) (survey results) 15% rated the comfort of the CEP with foam tips as good Complaints about the CEP

3 Introduction I Problems with the CEP s foam canal tips (f-cep) (survey results) 15% rated the comfort of the CEP with foam tips as good Complaints about the CEP Irritation Pressure in ear canal pain Foam tips do not fit Proper insertion takes too long Further decrease in comfort after 2 hours use Falls out Rigid cables Hygiene 3

4 Introduction II CEP is supplied with 3 types of foam tips: Standard Slim Short The absence of proper guidance in the use of the CEP Aircrew do not know how to choose the right foam tip Insertion of the foam tip is not done correctly 4

5 Introduction III Custom moulded ear plugs Tailor made to match the contour of the ear Soft Flexible Comfortable Easy to insert Are custom moulded ear plugs the solution for our CEP problems??? 5

6 Methode I Population 40 subjects (pilots and loadmasters) Chinook, cougar and Apache Currently evaluating NH90 Helmet types HGU-56/P IHADSS Alpha 200 Alpha 900 6

7 Method II Questionnaire Likert scale Five Likert items Open questions Aspects Earplug fit Earplug comfort Usability Speech intelligibility User feedback 7 Questionnaire filled after adaptation period (>10 hours)

8 Method III Attenuation performance using the real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT) method 8

9 Results Comparison between CEP with custom moulded earplug and CEP with foam tips Aspect Much worse Worse No difference Better Much better Earplug fit Earplug Comfort Usability Speech intelligibility

10 Results Noise attenuation HGU-56/P (n=10) 10

11 Results Noise attenuation Alpha 200 (n=10) 11

12 Results Noise attenuation IHADSS (n=10) 12

13 Discussion The use of CEP, in both configurations, improved overall attenuation significantly compared to the helmets alone. c-cep performed better then f-cep Fit Comfort Usability No difference was found between the two configurations Noise attenuation Speech intelligibility 13

14 Discussion II 10% of the participants reported a decrease in fit, comfort and usability when using the c-cep. Causes: Earplugs that were not fabricated correctly Did not receive instruction in proper use of the c-cep Discomfort was related to helmet fit and ear cup depth (cushion) 14

15 Steps taken Introduction of c-cep in the RNLAF Helmet fit is performed with CEP Information flyers/demonstrations for the aircrew in proper use of the c-cep How to put the helmet on If needed adjustments are made to the custom moulded earplug Contact with manufacturer to improve custom moulded earplug design 15

16 The future Improve the manufacturing procedure of the custom moulded earplugs Ear canal imprints Production if the earplug CEP as part of the helmet 16

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