Noise study looking for volunteers to promote hearing health

Active-duty Airmen stationed here now have to the opportunity to participate in a new demonstration project focused on measuring noise levels starting April 2 – May 30.

The 23d Aerospace Medical Squadron is looking for volunteers to help conduct a total-noise exposure assessment as part of the Air Force’s new Total Exposure Health concept.

“This is all about providing better health care for our personnel,” said Maj. Sherrod Brown, 23d AMDS Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight commander. “What this noise demonstration is going to do is basically monitor noise exposures to people from a 24/7 perspective. It will allow the Air Force to provide better health care for essentially our most important weapon system, the human weapon system.“

Participants in the noise demonstration project will wear the sensor around-the-clock, with a few exceptions, for seven to 14 days. The system tracks louder noise exposures, letting study participants note what caused the sound. Participants can see which activities create hearing risk, and take appropriate precautions.

”For a person to volunteer, they must be active-duty stationed here at Moody AFB, have access to their own personal smartphone, not have any duty restrictions that prohibits them from having a smartphone on them during their work day, and must be willing to volunteer for the entirety of the program,” Brown stated.

The event will take place in two parts. The first part, April 2-4, will have volunteers meet with the assessors to have their ear canals measured and fitted for the measurement device.  The second part, May 11-30 will be the actual study where volunteers will wear the device.

“This device just measures and monitors,” Brown said. “If you have a spike in a noise level you will see a spike in that measurement, but it’s not doing any kind of recording of conversations, or noises that are made. The study will last seven to ten days and then at the end of the study the personnel will turn in the microphone and be given a $50 gift certificate.”