Protecting service members is a real challenge. I have a couple of papers investigating hearing protection and voice use in noisy military environments. https:

Protecting service members is a real challenge. I have a couple of papers investigating hearing protection and voice use in noisy military environments. https://journals.lww.com/ear-hearing/abstract/2021/11000/evaluation_of_extended_wear_hearing_aids_as_a.8.aspx https://journals.lww.com/ear-hearing/abstract/2021/11000/eva... In this study, we evaluated whether an extended-wear hearing aid could feasibly work as a hearing protection device. There were some issues, especially comfort, but perhaps once those issues are solved, extended-wear hearing aids might be a way to protect hearing while still enabling people to hear important situational and environmental sounds even if they have some hearing loss. https://pubs.asha.org/doi/full/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00150 https://pubs.asha.org/doi/full/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00150 In this study we found an important effect of noise exposures and temporary threshold shifts on voice problems among service members. To quote myself: "A fourth hypothesis is that the relationship between voice concerns, hearing difficulties, and TTS arises from the trade-offs of wearing hearing protection in high-level noise environments. The use of hearing protection presents a challenge when selecting an appropriate vocal loudness level for effective communication (Brungart et al., 2012; Vaziri, 2018). In particular, individuals who wear hearing protection in high-noise environments tend to speak quietly, making them difficult to understand. People may overcompensate by talking too loudly (placing their vocal health at risk) or by removing their hearing protection so they can communicate more effectively (thus increasing TTS and placing their hearing at risk)."