SBIR-STTR Award

In 2012, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed an insert-type hearing protector fit-testing computer program called HPD WellFit. The program was and is very successful, and it won the 2013 NIOSH Bullard-Sherwood Research-to-Practice Award. Michael & Associates licensed HPD WellFit from the CDC in 2013 and spent a year with the NIOSH programmer modifying it for use in general industry. The result of this work is FitCheck Solo. More than 200 copies of FitCheck Solo have been sold to the military and general industry. FitCheck Solo is intuitive and easy to use and it has been very popular with users as tens-of-thousands of hearing protector fit-tests have been performed. This proposal involves developing an Android Tablet-based version of FitCheck Solo. The Android system will be cost-effective and portable and will include important and innovative additional features, including single-subject F-MIRE hearing protector measurements, real-time analyzer octave band measurements of noise exposures and a complete audiometer function. Additionally, the FitCheck headphones that have been in use for many years will be updated for maximum ambient noise reduction and improved comfort. While the FitCheck Solo program will be scalable and will perform attenuation measurements on all types of insert hearing protectors, the F-MIRE capability will allow this instrument to measure hearing protector attenuation on all other types of hearing protectors, including earmuffs, helmets and double protection.

This project involves the development of an Android-based hearing protective device fit-testing system. The system will employ FitCheck Solo on the Android to measure attenuation provided by insert-type hearing protectors. FitCheck Solo is a well-known, popular field measurement system that has been in use since 2013. FitCheck Solo has a significant presence in both the military and commercial sectors. The FitCheck Solo-based system will be scalable to allow testing on any number of individuals. The proposed system will also be capable of performing F-MIRE (Field-Microphone in Real Ear) hearing protector attenuation measurements on a single test subject. The F-MIRE measurements can be made on any type or combination of hearing protection, such as earmuffs, helmets, double protection and even active noise control devices. Thus, the proposed system can measure the protection provided by any type of hearing protection. Finally, the system will be capable of making ambient noise measurements in octave bands. This combination will be very valuable for the hearing conservationist, allowing comparisons of attenuation afforded an individual and exposure levels to determine protected exposure levels. The protected exposure level is the only metric directly related to the potential of noise-induced hearing loss.