The traditional headset with a boom microphone often picks up disruptive background and impulse noises that can disrupt the communication.
(Below) INVISIO’s X5 headset that is placed in the ear is small and discreet, non-intrusive and comfortable. It can easily be used under any helmet type, hazmat suit and respirators. The headset combines a dual hi-fi speaker and an INVISIO Bone Conduction microphone in the same earpiece, which does not pick up any disruptive background noise and provides a market leading hearing protection in combination with the control unit INVISIO X50, also shown on the image. The person in the photo has nothing to do with the cited text.
During military operations, extreme situations and environments are the norm. Operatives are exposed to many kinds of loud noises, like small arms and heavy machine gun fire, vehicles and explosions, with noise levels that can reach over 160 dB and interfere with the mission critical communication. Inaudible communication in the midst of a battle situation can mean the difference between mission success and failure, ultimately with lives at stake. The ability to communicate and to receive instructions, despite not being able to hear one’s own voice, is truly mission critical for soldiers engaged in a military operation.
High noises not only drown all other sounds travelling through the air, but can also damage the operatives hearing. Hearing loss and tinnitus are most commonly caused by exposure to high impulse noises, typically above 90 dB. To live with a hearing loss or tinnitus is a pain and has a big impact on the quality of life. This is costly also for governments.
Currently the US government spends more than one billion dollars per year on compensation and treatment for veterans with impaired hearing and tinnitus contracted during military service.
New technology offers better solutions Traditionally, the market for communication headsets has been dominated by circumaural headsets, which are based on noise-reducing cups worn over the ears with an external boom microphone. The alternative to cups is to place the speaker in the ear. A very small speaker is placed directly in the outer ear or ear canal. The advantage of in-ear solutions is that they are small in size, light weight, comfortable in warm and humid environments, can be worn with many types of equipment and can provide superior hearing protection. In-ear solutions where the microphone is placed outside the ear often has the same problem as all external microphones; it picks up noise and
• 31 million Americans have suffered hearing loss at work, and hearing loss is the most common work related injury • A third of all Americans who have returned from a tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan visited a hearing specialist and 72 percent of them had hearing loss • Each year, the federal government of the United States spends more than one billion USD on compensation and treatment for veterans with impaired hearing and tinnitus contracted during military service
• Between 2000 and 2004, the number of war veterans receiving compensation for hearing loss increased by 168 percent Source: Stephen A. Fausti, PhD; Debra J. Wilmington, PhD; Patrick V. Helt, MA; Wendy J. Helt, MA; Dawn Konrad- Martin, PhD. Hearing health and care: The need for improved hearing loss prevention and hearing conservation practices – August 2005
G3 DEFENCE 43
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