Influência dos protetores auditivos na inteligibilidade da voz

João Cândido Fernandes

Autores/as

João Cândido Fernandes Universidade Estadual Paulista

Palabras clave:

Equipos de protección individual, Tapones y conchas, Protectores auditivos, Inteligibilidad de la voz, Índice de discriminación del habla

Resumen

Aunque no es el método más adecuado para combatir el ruido, los protectores auditivos son el equipo de protección auditiva personal más utilizado para prevenir la pérdida de audición inducida por el ruido (NIHL). Sin embargo, al mismo tiempo que protegen al trabajador, los protectores interfieren en la comunicación, influyendo en la comprensión de la voz.
Este estudio analizó la influencia de los protectores auditivos (tapones y conchas) en la inteligibilidad de la voz en sujetos con audición normal, en situaciones de silencio y con ruido ambiental. Para alcanzar este objetivo, se llevó a cabo un estudio experimental utilizando variables independientes:
- 5 condiciones de uso del EPI: sin protector, 2 tapones y 2 conchas;
- Un tipo de ruido de fondo: ruido rosa;
- 4 niveles de prueba: 60, 70, 80 y 90 dB(A);
- 6 relaciones señal/ruido (S/N): sin ruido, +5, +10, cero, -5 y -10 dB;
- 5 repeticiones para cada caso, en total 600 ensayos, con 10 monosílabos en cada uno. La variable medida fue el porcentaje de palabras (monosílabos) correctas en la prueba. Este porcentaje se denominó índice de discriminación del habla (IDH)". Las pruebas se realizaron en el laboratorio de acústica y vibraciones del campus de Bauru de la Unesp.

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