Effect of wearing a ski helmet on perception and localization of sounds

Improving Spatial Hearing when Wearing Ski Helmets in Order to Increase Safety on Ski Slopes

This study investigated the effect of a new type of ear pads for ski helmets on the hearing performance of 13 young adults (mean age: 22 years). Free-field hearing thresholds and sound localization performance of the subjects were assessed in three conditions: without helmet, with a conventional helmet and with the modified helmet. Results showed that the modified helmet was superior to the conventional helmet in all respects, but did not allow for a performance level observed without a helmet. Considering the importance of precise hearing and sound localization during alpine skiing, acoustically improved ear pads of ski helmets, as demonstrated in this study, can essentially contribute to enhancing the safety on ski slopes.

Impact of listening to music while wearing a ski helmet on sound source localization

OBJECTIVES

In recreational skiing and snowboarding, listening to music may be associated with an increased injury risk due to impaired sound localization. Thus, we evaluated effects of listening to music at different sound levels on sound source localization while wearing a ski helmet.

DESIGN

within-subjects design.

METHOD

Sound source localization of 20 participants (50% females; age: 23.8±2.4years) was assessed in an anechoic chamber under six conditions: (1) head bare, (2) wearing a ski helmet, (3) wearing a ski helmet and insert ear phones, and (4-6) the latter and listening to music at 3 different sound levels of 45, 55, and 65dB sound pressure level (SPL), respectively.

RESULTS

One-way repeated measures ANOVA show that the percentage of correct sound localization was significantly affected by various conditions: F (5, 95)=138.2, p<.001 (ƞ²=0.88). Compared to the situation "head bare" with a correct score of 88%, increasing music sound levels of 45, 55 and 65dB SPL significantly decreased the ability to correctly localize the sound source to 54%, 45% and 37% correct scores, respectively. Also, angular errors [F (5, 95)=31.0, p<.001, ƞ²=0.62] and front rear confusion [F (2.8, 53.4)=57.9, p<.001, ƞ²=0.75] were significantly affected by wearing a ski helmet and listening to music simultaneously.

CONCLUSIONS

Listening to music while wearing a ski helmet impacts negatively on sound source localization. The extent of worsening strongly depends on the sound level.