Abstract
Passive earplugs are used to prevent workers from noise-induced hearing loss. However, earplugs often induce an acoustic discomfort known as the occlusion effect. This phenomenon corresponds ...to an increased auditory perception of the bone-conducted part of physiological noises at low-frequency and is associated with the augmentation of the acoustic pressure in the occluded earcanal. In this work, we report a new concept of passive earplugs for mitigating the occlusion effect between 100 Hz and 1 kHz. The strategy consists in reducing the input impedance of the earplug seen from the earcanal by using quasi-perfect broadband absorbers derived from the field of meta-materials. The proposed “meta-earplug” is made of 4 critically coupled Helmholtz resonators arranged in parallel. Their geometry is optimized using an evolutionary algorithm associated with a theoretical model of the meta-earplug input impedance. The latter is validated against a finite-element approach and impedance sensor measurements. The meta-earplug is manufactured by 3D printing. Artificial test fixtures are used to assess the occlusion effect and the insertion loss. Results show that the meta-earplug induces an occlusion effect approximately 10 dB lower than foam and silicone earplugs while it provides an insertion loss similar to the silicone earplug up to 5 kHz.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The occlusion effect is commonly experienced by in-ear device wearers as an increased loudness sensation of bone-conducted low frequency sounds. A widespread theory proposed by Tonndorf and based on ...a simplified electro-acoustic model describes the phenomenon as the removal of the open earcanal high-pass filter effect due to a perfect or partial occlusion. However, this filter has not been clearly defined and several ambiguities remain. Revisiting the model, a second order high-pass filter effect for the volume velocity transferred between the earcanal wall and the eardrum is highlighted. This filter remains for partial occlusion but vanishes for perfect occlusion. In the latter case, the volume velocity transferred from the earcanal cavity to the middle ear through the eardrum drastically increases, which explains the predominance of the occluded outer ear pathway on the hearing by bone-conduction at low frequencies.
Acoustic performances of two concepts based on the integration of an elastic membrane in the front wall of a cavity and Helmholtz resonator embedded in a melamine matrix are studied. Membranes are ...made of acrylic material, this latter is first characterized with a uniaxial test in order to extract the mechanical properties needed to model the membrane. Analytical, numerical and experimental investigations are performed so as to determine the acoustical potential of the proposed systems in terms of absorption and transmission loss. The contribution to the sound absorption can be positive or negative at the resonator resonances, an analytical model is proposed to highlight the physical phenomena related to these effects. In addition, a multiphysics numerical model combining the acoustic-mechanical interaction has been developed and validated by comparison with the experimental data measured using an impedance tube. The studied concepts could offer significant enhancements of sound transmission loss properties in the low frequencies but also on acoustic absorption in specific frequency bands.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The sound attenuation of double hearing protectors (DHPs), earplugs combined with earmuffs, generally falls short of the sum of each single protector's attenuation when used independently. This ...phenomenon, referred to as the DHP effect, is found to be related to structure-borne sound transmission involving the outer ear and can also be observed on acoustic test fixtures (ATFs). At present, it still remains not fully understood, and no available model can help demonstrate the associated sound transmission mechanisms. In this work, a finite element model is proposed to study the DHP effect on an ATF between 100 Hz and 5 kHz. Power balances are calculated with selected configurations of the ATF in order to (i) quantify the contribution of each sound path, and study the effects of (ii) the artificial skin and (iii) acoustic excitation on the ATF exterior boundaries. The DHP effect is shown to originate from the structure-borne sound power injected from the ATF boundaries and/or earmuff cushion. The important influence of earcanal wall vibration is highlighted when the skin is accounted for. The simulation results allow for gaining more insight into the sound transmission through a DHP/ATF system.
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