Abstract

Miners generally work with noisy tools and equipment in closed spaces that promote reverberation. To protect themselves against ambient noise, they wear conventional hearing protection such as earmuffs or earplugs. However, these hearing protectors mask all types of signals, including voices and alarms. Scientists attempted to design a hearing protector that would reduce the perceived noise from the tools and equipment, while letting the voices and alarm signals through. Two prototypes of hearing protectors equipped with digital circuits were developed and tested. The tests demonstrated some capacity in the laboratory on a pure sound. However, in an actual situation, the performances were disappointing. Further work will be necessary to make the concept functional.