Every day, warfighters are exposed to noise levels that can negatively affect combat performance and cause hearing damage. From impulse blasts due to ammunition discharge or continuous sound from loud machinery, excessive noise is part of the military experience. The effect of all this noise directly impacts mission success.
In the presence of an impulse blast from gunfire or mine explosion, a soldier without adequate hearing protection will experience instant deafness for an amount of time directly correlated to the decibel level of the noise. Disorientation and lack of situational awareness add up to a potentially deadly situation where the soldier cannot hear verbal commands, is vulnerable to ambush and may be unable to distinguish friendly forces from hostiles.
Innovative hearing protection technology provides exceptional situational awareness for greater tactical success and enhancing soldier survivability.
OTTO Engineering is collaborating with tactical operators in all branches of the military to design and manufacture a better type of hearing protection for today’s warfighters. The result is OTTO’s NoizeBarrier® line of hearing protection. The NoizeBarrier® TAC headset gives today’s warfighters the hearing protection they need with the advanced situational awareness and communications clarity required to prevail in combat. In addition, OTTO’s Multiport Hub PTT simplifies communications with advanced audio steering when using multiple communications devices.
Proprietary NoizeBarrier® technology can enhance combat performance in three ways:
1) Improve Communications Clarity
With NoizeBarrier® hearing protection, soldiers do not have to rely on their ability to interpret hand motions or read lips to react quickly and follow orders. Proprietary situational awareness technology allows normal-level sounds to be easily heard, while suppressing loud noise and impulse blasts to internationally accepted safe levels.
Some headsets indiscriminately distort and cut-out incoming transmissions when the noise in the surrounding environment is too loud. Essential transmissions can be fragmented or even lost, which clearly jeopardizes the safety of the mission. With the NoizeBarrier® TAC there is no clipping of transmitted commands or shut-down of situational awareness, allowing soldiers to remain focused, alert and primed for mission success.
2) Simplify Control of Communications Devices
In today’s combat arena, soldiers are connected to multiple communication devices. Control of the devices can be distracting and compromise safety and combat performance. The Multi-Port Hub PTT is designed to integrate seamlessly with the NoizeBarrier® TAC headset to centralize control of as many as three different communication devices. Incoming transmissions from different devices are sent to separate ears (audio steering) for clarity and safety in critical engagements. In short, the Multiport Hub simplifies communications and helps soldiers maintain situational awareness, clarity and focus during critical operations.
3) Safety is paramount to winning the mission
Providing today’s soldiers with advanced hearing protection that allows for exceptional situational awareness is a win-win for all. With the right hearing protection, soldiers won’t be tempted to go into combat without protecting their hearing. They will be confident they can hear clearly, execute effectively and maintain greater safety overall.
