Hearing screening for school children: utility of noise-cancelling headphones

published_or_final_versio

The Effect of Using Noise Cancellation Earplugs In Open-Plan Offices On The Offices On The Work Well-Being And Work Performance Of Software Professionals

The popularity of open-plan offices has been on the rise recently and expanded to all sectors of working life. While moving to open-plan offices brings savings to companies, open-plan offices have been connected with various different negative consequences, such as noise. Noise has been found to be a central cause of dissatisfaction towards working in an open-plan office and lead to subsequent negative outcomes, such as decreased self-perceived health and weakened cognitive performance. There- fore, it is important to study the ways and technologies that could possibly mitigate the negative effects of noise on work well-being and work performance. This explorative study investigates both the objec-tively measured and subjectively perceived effects of adopting noise cancellation earplugs by open- plan office workers in a software company. In physiological measurements, the usage of noise cancellation earplugs was not found to affect work stress or work strain nor affect the stress-recovery balance. In psychological measurements, the perceived effects of using the earplugs on work well-being and work performance were small but rather negative than positive. This could be due to negative perceived comfort and usage experiences with the earplugs. Besides open-plan offices, the findings are mostly generalizable to other office settings as well

Therapeutic Listening Communication in Children with Autism and Hyperacusis

Hyperacusis, or auditory hypersensitivity, is defined as abnormally sensitive hearing and in some cases an extreme sensitivity, where normally tolerated sounds are perceived as excessively, even painfully loud. This is a debilitating condition for children with autism, causing activity limitations and participation restrictions, also leading to peer isolation and habitual sound avoidance behaviors. This research explores a means of modifying the auditory environment of a child with hyperacusis in a safe, effective way for the purpose of improving attention span and facilitating learning. The small pilot study (n=4) was a single-subject, multiple-baseline design, conducted with school-aged children in the special education classroom setting. The researcher and associate have designed, developed, constructed, and safety tested the electronic device used in the study; it combines existing sound therapies of white and pink noise generation, noise cancelling headphones, and receives wireless communication from the teacher(s), in a small, wearable package that allows individual preference in user control of the audio levels. Research consisted of twelve classroom sessions, 15 to 30 minutes in length, with subjects wearing the device during normal classroom instruction. Some sessions added controlled levels of white or pink noise and some did not. Sensory and behavioral data for each child in the study was captured pre- and post-study from both the caregiver/parent and the teacher using the nationally recognized Sensory Profile 2™ tool. The researcher also observed each session, recording qualitative data about student behaviors and classroom interactions along with the physical aspects of wearing and functioning of the device. Study results were compiled and found to be generally favorable; the study subjects overall showed varying amounts of improvement in attentiveness during classroom activity and interaction, while wearing of the device was readily accepted across all participants. Research results indicated where some improvements to the device could be made; teacher and parent comments were all positive and supportive of the concept. This study has shown the device may have a beneficial result toward the research objective and warrants further research on a larger scale

Ultra-broadband active noise cancellation at the ears via optical microphones

High frequency noise has generally been difficult to be cancelled actively at a person's ears, particularly for active headrest systems aiming to free the listener from noise cancellation headphones. One of the main challenges is to measure the noise precisely at the ears. Here we demonstrate a new error sensing methodology with an optical microphone arrangement for active noise cancellation (ANC). It can measure the noise accurately for ANC without any obstructions at the listener's ears. The demonstrated system, or virtual ANC headphone as we call it, is shown to provide more than 10 dB attenuation for ultra-broadband noise - up to 6000 Hz - inside the ears in a complex sound field. The bandwidth of the controllable noise significantly exceeds the results from the state-of-the-art system, which is below 1000 Hz. The proposed method leads to the next generation of personal hearing protection system and can open up a whole new area of sound control research

Rock, Rap, and Rage: Which genre elicits negative emotional contagion

Previous studies have analyzed the effects of the heavy metal and rap music genres, both together and separately, to study the music’s influence on aggressive behavior. A lack of studies analyzing the effect of one group against the other are available to assess which group it is that elicits higher negative emotional contagion. The current study is a follow-up to a pilot study conducted to assess whether it was heavy metal or rap music that elicited higher negative emotional contagion. Personality type using the 10-Item Big Five Inventory and the Trait Anger Scale allowed the researcher to compare several personality dimensions with their reactions to the music they were assigned to. There was no significant findings in the current research which is contradictory to the pilot study conducted in 2019

Decreasing delirium through music (DDM) in critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Delirium is a highly prevalent and morbid syndrome in intensive care units (ICUs). Changing the stressful environment within the ICU via music may be an effective and a scalable way to reduce the burden of delirium. Methods/design The Decreasing Delirium through Music (DDM) study is a three-arm, single-blind, randomized controlled feasibility trial. Sixty patients admitted to the ICU with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation will be randomized to one of three arms (20 participants per arm): (1) personalized music, (2) non-personalized relaxing music, or (3) attention-control. Music preferences will be obtained from all enrolled participants or their family caregivers. Participants will receive two 1-h audio sessions a day through noise-cancelling headphones and mp3 players. Our primary aim is to determine the feasibility of the trial design (recruitment, adherence, participant retention, design and delivery of the music intervention). Our secondary aim is to estimate the potential effect size of patient-preferred music listening in reducing delirium, as measured by the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU). Participants will receive twice daily assessments for level of sedation and presence of delirium. Enrolled participants will be followed in the hospital until death, discharge, or up to 28 days, and seen in the Critical Care Recovery Clinic at 90 days. Discussion DDM is a feasibility trial to provide personalized and non-personalized music interventions for critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients. Our trial will also estimate the preliminary efficacy of music interventions on reducing delirium incidence and severity. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT03095443. Registered on 23 March 2017

The Effects of Preferred Music on Laparoscopic Surgical Performance: A Randomized Crossover Study

Introduction: Music can have a positive effect on stress and general task performance. This randomized crossover study assessed the effects of preferred music on laparoscopic surgical performance in a simulated setting. Methods: Sixty medical students, inexperienced in laparoscopy, were included between June 2018 and November 2018. A randomized, 4-period, 4-sequence, 2-treatment crossover study design was used, with each participant acting as its own control. Participants performed four periods, consisting of five peg transfer tasks each period, on a laparoscopic box trainer: two periods while wearing active noise-cancelling headphones and two periods during music exposure. Participants were randomly allocated to a sequence determining the order of the four periods. The parameters time to task completion, path length and normalized jerk were assessed. Mental workload was assessed using the Surgical Task Load Index questionnaire. Also, heart rate and blood pressure were assessed. Results: Participants performed the peg transfer task significantly faster [median difference: − 0.81 s (interquartile range, − 3.44–0.69) p = 0.037] and handled their instruments significantly more efficient as path length was reduced [median difference, − 52.24 mm (interquartile range, − 196.97–89.81) p = 0.019] when exposed to music. Also, mental workload was significantly reduced during music [median difference, − 2.41 (interquartile range, − 7.17–1.83) p = 0.021)]. No statistically significant effect was observed on heart rate and blood pressure. Conclusion: Listening to preferred music improves laparoscopic surgical performance and reduces mental workload in a simulated setting. Trial registration: Trial registration number: NCT04111679

Nighttime Quiet in the Intensive Care Unit: An Integrative Review

Excessive environmental noise in the ICU often negatively impacts patient sleep. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have published recommendations for hospital decibel levels, but the literature indicates that noise levels in the ICU often exceed these values. Patients experience disturbed sleep and rarely enter into N3 and REM sleep. The integrative review examined both the patients’ and healthcare workers’ perception of noise in the ICU environment to identify contributors and suggested interventions to mitigate these occurrences. In addition, this study evaluated objective measurements of patient sleep to further determine how well patients were sleeping in this environment. Utilizing the PRISMA model, 1,124 articles were screened and narrowed down according to the problem statement, questions, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 43 articles were included in this review. The articles identified multi-component bundles and strategies to be effective in decreasing environmental noise, although there was no standard intervention used across multiple studies. Objective measurements of sleep including polysomnography, actigraphy, and circadian rhythm studies revealed that patients are not sleeping well in this environment. While multiple studies have investigated different means of decreasing noise in the ICU environment, this is a complicated and multi-factorial issue. Additional research studies with more patients should be conducted to formulate a best-practice nighttime bundle for the ICU environment

Transplantation and Personal, Preferred Music: A Quality of Life Study

This project is a multiple methods, open-label, clinical experiment that provided iPods, headphones, and personal, preferred music to transplant patients to improve their quality of life. In total, the study enrolled 46 participants and collected 188 data points. Study participants were randomized to one of two study groups, either the control group or the iPod group, via electronic coin toss and data was collected using a modified version of the EQ-5D health survey to conduct in-person interviews every other day. Data was analyzed both quantitatively using linear regression, ANOVA, and Tukeys HSD test, and qualitatively by identifying common themes from the open-ended participant response. Overall, the study received a positive response from the participants, though the results from the quantitative analysis were ambiguous. There are some limitations to this studys analysis and some identified areas for improvement, which can be addressed in similar, future studies

A Two-Step Adaptive Noise Cancellation System for Dental-Drill Noise Reduction

This paper introduces a two-step dental-drill Noise Reduction (NR) technique based upon the Adaptive Noise Cancellation (ANC) system. The proposed technique is particularly designed for the NR headphone, which the patients should be wearing while having their dental treatment. In the first step, a tone-frequency extraction algorithm is proposed to estimate the main sinusoidal frequency of the dental-drill noise. The estimated sinusoidal signal is therefore removed significantly from the dental-drill noise by the use of the ANC system. Then, by using another ANC system and a high-pass filter in the second step, the residual high-frequency components of the dental-drill noise are eliminated sufficiently. Computer simulations based on recorded dental-drill sounds and real speech signals demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed two-step ANC system for dental-drill noise reduction, both in terms of the noise attenuation performance and the speech quality of the enhanced speech signal, as compared to the conventional two-microphone ANC system under ideal situation. Moreover, results of a subjective listening test with 15 listeners are also given to guarantee satisfied speech quality of the enhanced speech signal employing the proposed two-step dental-drill NR technique