rHF JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAl SOCIETY OF AMFRICA .

VOLUME 18, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER, 1946

Effects of Ear Protective Devices on the Intelligibility of Speechin Noise*

K. D. KRYTER'['
Psycho-AcousticLaboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge,Massachusetts
(Received August 10, 1946)

Articulation tests were conductedto determine the intelligibility of speechin the presence
of noise when listenersdid not wear earplugsand when listenerswore earplugs (NDRC Ear
Wardens). It was found that with a reverberating signal from a public-addresssystem and in
the presenceof noisethat raisesthe open-earspeechthresholdby 60 db or more, the wearing
of Ear Wardens increasesthe intelligibility of speech.But, with direct person-to-personspeech,
the ambient noise must be of sufficient intensity to raise the speech threshold by 80 db or
more before Ear Wardens may be used without interfering with the reception of speech.Since
in some military and industrial situations noise is generated that raises the threshold for
hearing speechby more than 80 db, the use of suitable earplugs, under those conditions will:
(a) maximize the receptionof speechand (b)afford protectionagainst the deafening,fatigue,
and annoyanceeffectscommonly attributed to sustainedintense noise.

quiet and in noise of various intensities. The

URING thewar
some industries themilitary
expressed servicesand
considerablein- earplugs tested were V-51R Ear Wardens.
terest in earplugs as a protective device to be (Fig. 1.)
usedin the presenceof gun blasts and high levels Ear Wardens are the result of a development
of ambient noise. Both laboratory and field tests started at the University of California at Los
have subsequentlyshownthe usefulnessof prop- Angelesand completed
at the Psycho-Acoustic
erly designed earplugs under those conditions. Laboratory, Harvard University under the aus-
For example, the U.S. Army found that person- pices of the Office of Scientific Research and
nel exposed to gun blast often suffer serious Development?'
cumulative deafness,whereas personnelwearing PROCEDURE
properly fitted earplugs incur no hearing loss.1
Earplugs have also been used to reduce tempo- The articuIation testing method used in these
rary deafness,annoyance, and fatigue resulting experimentsto assessthe intelligibility of speech
from the loud, sustained noises encountered in involved speakers reading monosyllabic word
military vehicles and in industries.' lists (Psycho-AcousticLaboratory PB Lists) to
However, speech communication is often re- listenerswho re.corded the words they heard.
quired in many situations where high levels of The percentage of words correctly understood
ambient noisemake the useof earplugsdesirable, was taken as the measureof intelligibility. a
and, sinceearplugsattenuate speechto the same
degree that they attenuate noise of the same
spectrum, the question arises as to what effect
earplugs have on the reception of speech. To
answer this question a number of speechintelli-
gibility ("articulation") tests were conductedin
* This work was begun under Contract OEMsr-658 Fro. 1. Photograph of three sizes of the neoprene Ear
betweenthe Officeof ScientificResearchand Development Wardens V-51R.
and Harvard University, where it is continuing under
Contract N5ori-76 with the U.S. Navy, Office of Research • W. A. Shaw et al., Psycho-AcousticLaboratory report
and Inventions (Project Order II). The data contained OSRD No. 5122 (1 July 1945). This report covers the
herein have been reported previously;see K. D. Kryter development of Ear Wardens and also presentsmeasure-
et.al., Psycho-AcousticLaboratory report OSRD No. 3541 ments of the attenuation of pure tones by Ear Wardens
(1 June 1944). (This and other Psycho-AcousticLabora- and other types of earplugs. Ear Wardens attenuate all
tory reports are available through Publication Board, audible frequenciesby 20 to 40 db, which is near the
U.S. Department of Commerce,Washington,D.C.) maximum attenuation achieved by any type of plug.
• Now at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. a For a complete description of articulation testing
* Willard Machie, Colonel, M.C., A.U.S., Transactions methods and test materials, see J.P. Egan, Psycho-
of American Academy of Ophthalmologyand Otolaryn- AcousticLaboratory report, OSRD No. 3802 (November 1.
gology (November-December 1944). 1944).
413

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 414 K. D. KRYTER

A and B. For each experimental condition tests

were conductedwith group A listening open ear
(not wearing Ear Wardens) and group B wearing
Ear Wardens. Each test was then duplicated
except that group A now wore Ear Wardens and
group B listened open ear. The scoresobtained
for open-ear listening in the duplicated testing
conditions were averaged as were the scores
F<7 t 715 150I i
300 i
600 I
1200 41 F>4800i
2 O0 obtained for personsusing Ear Wardens.
•50 300 600 1200 2400 4800

FREQUENCY- OCTAVES
EXPERIMENT I--PUBLIC-ADDRESS SYSTEM IN
FIG. 2. Octave band analysisof noiseusedin public-address REVERBERANT ROOM
systemand person-to-person articulationtests.
The major portion of the articulation tests
Presentation of Speech was conducted in a "reverberant" chamber 4

The speechwas presentedin two different which approximatesthe acousticalconditionsof

ways:
engine rooms or any hard-surfacedroom where
Experiments
I andII--Speech overa public-high noise levels are likely to be found. To
addresssystem.--For these tests, the listening simulate further the situation aboard submarines,
crew was seated in a semi-circle 12 feet from a warships, etc., speech was presented over a
loudspeaker.The personreading the tests, the public-addresssystem.
microphone, and the preamplifiersweresituated Articulation Test Results
in a separate,quietroom.The acousticfrequency
responseof the public-addresssystemfrom the Figure 3 showsthe results of the articulation
microphoneto the listener'spositionwas essen- tests. It is seen that with the introduction of
tially uniform (4-3 db) from 200 to 7000 c.p.s.
The voice level at the microphone was kept 'oot • • • , , • • J • •J
constant,but the intensity of the speechemitted
by the loudspeakerwas varied over a wide range
by changingthe amplifiergain for different tests. ..•' .&' o •" o
ExperimentIII--Direct person-to-person speech. •o
--In this experimentthe talkers read the word
tests directly to the listeners.The listening crew
was seated in a semi-circleapproximately seven 20I '" :"' ."' Y-/o - I
feet from the talker.

Noise Conditions 015 •5 ' 35 45 55 •5 715 85 95 105 115

SOUND LEVEL OF SPEECH IN DECIBELS RE 0.0002 Dy NE /CM •
In a number of tests electronically generated
noise was introduced into the test room via I•) ;0 310 410 510 610 ;0 810 •0 I(•0 II0
SENSATION LEVEL OF SPEECH IN DECIBELS ABOVE THRESHOLD
loudspeakers. A frequencyspectrumof the noise
is shownin Fig. 2. This spectrumsimulatesthe FIG. 3. Showingthe relation betweenarticulationand
speech levelwith noiselevelas the parameter.For each
noise found in the engine room of a submarine point plotted two speakerseach read 100 wordsover a
and is similar to the noise found in many indus- public-address
systemin a reverberantroom. In loud
noise,Ear Wardensimprovedarticulation. Note should
trial and military situations. An ERPI Sound be made of the fact that the "engine-room"noiseraised
Level Meter (flat-weighting network) was em- the speechthreshold,the zero-articulationpoint, 20 db
lessthan its soundlevel as measuredby the ERPI meter.
ployedfor making sound-levelmeasurements
of
the speechand of the noise. 4This reverberant chamber was a large irregularly-
shapedroomapproximately 23 by 32 feet in sizeand was
Listening Crew not acousticallytreated, having painted, plaster walls.
The listening crew, which consistedof eight The reverberationperiod (time required for a soundto
decay 60 db in intensity after the sourceof soundwas
men of collegeage, was divided into two groups, turnedoff) for a 500 c.p.s.tonewas 1.6 seconds.

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 EFFECTS OF EARPLUGS ON SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY 415

more than 80 db of noise into the test room the

articulation scores for listening with the ears I00I I I I I
80
// ....
ß.......
ß --
plugged are as high as or higher than the scores • !
for listening open ear, and this relationship holds
true for speechof all intensities. F /Y // r,;" I•ß.....• NO
EaRPLUGS
I
/ / g t L'-----•
/ / / • •.[c.o,c _
Constant Signal-to-Noise Ratio
/& • REVERBERANT
ROOM
The wearing of earplugs, of course, does not
for most noisesalter the effective signal-to-noise o1'
5
• •25 .•{•'
•5 55 45 55 65 75 85 95 •05
ratio reaching the listener's eardrum, since the SOUNDLEVELOF SPEECHIN DECIBELS RE 0.0002 DYNE/ CM
noise and speech components of the same fre-
• ilo 210 510 410 •10 iO 710 810 910 I•0 II0
quencies are attenuated equally. To illustrate SENSATION LEVEL OF SPEECH'N DECIBELS ABOVE THRESHOLD
further what happens when earplugs are worn,
FIG. 5. Showing the relation between articulation and
speech intelligibility is plotted against speech speech level in a reverberant room and in a non-reverberant
level in Fig. 4, with signal-to-noiseratio as the (anechoic) chamber. At each speech level tested two
speakers each read 100 words over the public-address
parameter. system. Because of reverberation, the maximum articula-
A reduction of the over-all level of speech tion achievedin the regular test room was about 10 points
below that reached in the anechoic chamber.
plus noise from high to medium values with
signal-to-noiseratio constant improves articula-
presenceof 80 db or more of noise; while in the
tion. Earplugs produce this effect and hence the
presenceof lessnoisethe useof earplugsdecreases
dotted curves (listening with ears plugged) in
speechintelligibility.
Fig. 4 lie above the solid curves (listening with
ears open) at the higher speechlevels. EXPERIMENT II--TESTS IN ANECHOIC CHAMBER
Also shown in Fig. 4 is the relationship be-
tween articulation and speech level with noise Although the reverberant test room is prob-
as a parameter. This function indicates more ably more similar acoustically to most situations
clearly, perhaps,than doesFig. 3 that intelligi- where high noise levels are found than is an
bility is increasedwhen earplugsare worn in the anechoic(non-reverberant) chamber, it is of gen-
eral interest to ascertain what influence reverber-
ation has upon speech intelligibility. Therefore
i i i i i i
additional tests with a public-address system
were conductedin a quiet, anechoicchamber.5
• 8o ' Articulation Test Results

• 60 - s/.,.5oa
' / '/'• The results of the tests conducted in the
"quiet" of the reverberant test room and the
o

• 40 anechoicchamber are presentedin Fig. 5. (Tests

z were not conducted in the anechoic chamber in
- (?s os) (so os) •
NOISE NOISE '•. the presenceof noise.) In the reverberant room
o. 20 -- LEVEL LEVEL •
there was always a low level of noisepresentsince
-
NO EARPLUGSthe room was not soundproofed,but the listeners
ß................ EARPLUGS

0 515 615 715 815 915 IOõ ,,5 when wearing Ear Wardens in the reverberant
I

SOUNDLEVELOF SPEECHIN DECIBELSRE 0.0002 DYNE/CM room were effectively in the quiet, i.e., the room
noise was attenuated below the listeners' thresh-
s'o ,'o ;o •'o •'o ,;o ,,'o
SENSATION LEVEL OF SPEECH IN DECIBELS ABOVE THRESHOLD
old. Consequently,exceptat the highestspeech
levels, the two functions for articulation with
FIc. 4. Showing the relation between articulation and earplugs (cf. Fig. 5) are nearly coincident.The
speech level with signal-to-noiseratio (solid and dotted
lines) and noise level (dashedline) as the parameters. 5 The walls of this room were covered with wedges of
Thesefunctionsare basedon the data presentedin Fig. 3, absorbent material having an absorbent coefficient of
which were obtained in the reverberant test room. about .999 for frequenciesabove 200 ½.p.s.

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 416 K.D. KRYTER

20-decibel difference between the curves obtained componentsof the speechsignal constitute unin-
in the anechoic chamber when listeners wore telligible "noise" that interferes with speech
Ear Wardens and when they did not wear Ear reception and (b) that masking effectsof rever-
Wardens represents the effective amount of berant speechbecomeincreasinglygreater at the
attenuation of the speechdue to the earplugs.6 higher over-all levels.
The articulation functions obtained in the According to the suppositionsgiven above, the
anechoicchamber also reveal that speech80 db improvement in articulation as the consequence
or more above threshold is heard as well when of wearing earplugs (cf. Figs. 3 and 4) is caused
the listeners wear earplugs as when they do not. by reverberation effects, and if no reverberation
It follows,therefore,that wearingearplugswould had been present in Experiment I, the scores
not affect speech intelligibility in the presence for open-ear and earpluggedlistening in intense
of a noise that raises the threshold by 80 db noise probably would have been the same.
or more.
EXPERIMENT III--PERSO N-TO-PERSON TESTS
Reverberant vs. Anechoic Conditions
In the followingexperiment, the public-address
The divergence(around 10 percentag•points) system was not employed. Instead, the talkers
of the articulation functions for the two test read the word tests directly to the listening crew.
rooms at the higher speechlevels is presumably The talkers spoke at whatever voice level they
causedby the reverberation present in the regu- thought necessary to make themselves under-
lar test room and absent in the anechoic chamber. stood. The same reverberant room, noise, and
It is also seen that the deleterious effects of testing methods used in Experiment I were
reverberation on intelligibility increaseas speech employed.
intensity is raised: the curves obtained in the
reverberant room bend down at the higher speech Effect of Ear •Vardens on Voice Level
levels while the functions obtained in the an-
Before presenting the speech-intelligibility
echoic chamber remain flat out to the highest
data, the reader's attention is drawn to the fact
speech intensity tested. The result can be ex-
that the wearing of earplugscausedthe speakers
plained by assuming: (a) that the reverberation
to change their voice level. This is shown in
Fig. 6. In the noise, plugging the ears results in
a drop of one to two decibelsin voice level. To
the speaker,his own voice soundsrelatively loud
when he wears earplugs in the presenceof noise.
Apparently the Ear Wardens attenuate the am-
bient noise without lowering to as great an
extent the speaker'sown speech,which he hears
both by bone conduction through his head and
EARPLUGSby air-borne sound.
O oNO
ß ....... ß EARPLUGS

When the speakerwears earplugsin the quiet,

I I he raises his voice level by three to four decibels
ROOM
,/'//• 75
NO)SE
815 915
since his own voice now sounds weaker to him
NOISE LEVEL )N DECIBELSRE 0 0002 DYNE/CMe
becauseof attenuation of the air-borne compo-
FIO. 6. Showing the effect of noiselevel on the average
speech intensity used by the eight speakers with and nents of the speechwave.
without earplugs.The speechand noise levels were meas-
ured at the listener's position (7 feet from the speaker). Articulation Test Results
When the residualroom noisewas present,wearing ear-
plugscausedthe speakersto increasetheir voice level by
3 db whereaswearingearplugsin noiseresultedin a slight The results of the person-to-persontests (Fig,
lowering of the voice level--one to two db. 7) show that in 100 db of noise, which would
raise the speechthreshold by 80 db, the articu-
6 This is near the same amount of attenuation ascertained
by pure-tone measurements.See reports referred to in
lation scoresare just as high when the listening
footnotes 1 and 2. crew wears Ear Wardens as when they do not.

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 EFFECTS OF EARPLUGS ON SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY 417

I00,
The scoresare slightly lower in noise when the
speakerswear earplugs than when they do not,
because of the aforementioned drop in voice 80•

level as the result of wearing earplugs. Again,.

as found in the experimentwith-the public- _

address
system,
thewearing
of Ear Wardens
in 60--

high noise levels does not have a deleterious

effect on intelligibility even though the intensity
of receivedspeechis near minimumaudibility; 40--

in the experiment
employing
a public-address _

system,however,Ear Wardensprovedto be
beneficial when used in noise levels which caused SPEAKER LISTENERS
o
NO EARPLUGS NO EARPLUGS
no more than a 60-db rise in speechthreshold. ß .......
EA RPLUGS
ß EARPLUGS
NO EARPLUGS
EARPLUGS
•'---& NO EARPLUGS EARPLUGS

Acoustic Differences in Speech Signals ROOM

715 815
I
95
I
I05
NOISE

Although both studies (Experiments I and NOISELEVELIN DECIBELSRE 0.0002 DYNE/CM

•
III) were conducted in the same test room, Fro. 7. Showing the relation between articulation and
conditions were such that the speech signals noise level for direct person-to-personspeechin a rever-
berant room. Each point was determined by the reading
differed acoustically. In the first experiment the of two 50-word tests by each of eight speakers to nine
listeners.
intensity of the received speech was increased
by changing the gain of the amplifier, whereas
speechthreshold by 80 decibelsor more; with a
in the person-to-persontests the speakers in-
reverberant signal, earplugs may be worn in
creasedtheir voice levels by shouting the words.
The pitch of the shouting voice is higher than even lessnoisewithout affecting intelligibility.
The results of these tests conducted in an
that of the normal voice; also, the mouth is not
"engine-room" noise can be generalized to in-
as efficienta radiator 6f low frequenciesas is
clude other types of noises if we evaluate the
the loudspeaker. Since reverberation is more
severe for low frequencies than for high fre- noisesin terms of their speechmasking prop-
quencies,there were presumably more reverbera- erties. That is to say, in the presenceof a noise
of any spectrum that masks or raises the thresh-
tion componentspresentwith the public-address
old for hearing speech by more than 80 db, the
system than with person-to-personspeech. In
use of Ear Wardens should not decrease the
addition, the listeners were closer to the source
when person-to-personspeechwas used (7 feet) reception of speech.
It is not uncommon to find noises that mask
than when the public-addresssystemwas utilized
(12 feet). speech by considerableamounts. For example,
All the conditions mentioned above would it is found that in engine rooms of submarines,
tend to make for more reverberation with the in military tanks and tractors and in some mili-
public-addresssystem than with the person-to- tary airplanes, the thresholdof hearing of speech
person speechand hence, as shown by the tests is elevated by 90 to 110 db, and Fletcher reports
conducted in the anechoicchamber, enhance the that the shift in threshold in subway noise is 60
effectiveness of the Ear Wardens. db, and in boiler factory noise 80 db. 7
Obviously, in the above-mentioned military
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS and industrial situationsthe wearing of earplugs
would not impair, and in some cases, where
The articulation tests indicate that, in an consider4ble reverberationis present,their use
anechoic environment or with a non-reverberant
would improve the reception of speech.
signal, earplugswill not lower speechintelligi- 7 Harvey Fletcher, Speechand Hearing (D. Van Nostrand
bility if noiseis presentthat raisesthe open-ear Company, Inc., New York, 1929), p. 187.

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