British troops to wear smart earplugs in Afghan combat

tested similar

a pair of yellow ear defenders looking like 1970's headphones. these were for a local gunclub. a microphone slightly amplified background conversations but when a firearm was discharged the "bose" style noise cancelling system muted the speakers. well it did when the gun went off on the right, as that's where the single ambient microphone was pointing. when a bang happened on the left side of the wearer these headphones AMPLIFIED it! I'm sure the MoD have done 360 degree tests with these shiny new variety, hope so.

Soo.........

How are you going to hear someone shooting at you from a distance? Surely these are going to ruin on of the best senses a soldier has to pinpoint an enemy???

surely...

...hearing bullets and other such noises would be a plus in terms of ducking and other hi-tech approaches to not getting killed?

but then, i s'pose once you've signed that contract for queenie, it's all a bit moot...

Aliens - coz they might show us a sensible way...

Morse Code

So I presume morse code messages via gunfire are a no-no then... Shame

"Personalised Interfaced Hearing Protection (PIHP)" - surely "Personalised Interfaced Sound Sequencer" would have been a better name?

arrse on the reg

result!

=)

Knob pills?

Oh sorry, it was volume knob. I was beginning to wonder what kind of super-weapon the MoD had planned for our troops in Afghanistan - a 21st century version of Carry on up the Kybher perhaps. Now that's what I call Shock and Awe!

Ooh err missus!

Dying?

If you're doing it right, then very few of your own forces are actually dying in combat... the whole principle of combat is to "do unto others first"... then they can't do unto you...... stuff this playing fairly lark... never ever give the opponent a break...

If they surrender, then treat them fairly, but don't even let them have a chance of shooting your own troops...

"It's too quiet round here..."

This might just be me - but I'd want to hear the gunfire and explosions, so I might get at least a rough idea of whether it was getting closer or not.

Paris? She remains unfazed by lots of incoming.

i think you misunderstood

ok well the crux is that it is like those damn sony PSP headphones, they make the big bangs sound less, it doesnt cancel out at all, it moderates the volume.

So i guess it means the gunshot a distance away would be fine but the guy next to you opening up in response would then be quietened so that you can still hear the boss screaming like a little girl as the terrorists shoot his pansy ass...

Telegraph makes it up shocker!

"The Telegraph's headline writers believe that the PIHP plugs are similar to those "used by pop stars from Madonna to Take That to protect their hearing", which seems reasonable."

But is complete rubbish.

The earphone sported on stage by Madonna, Take That and many other talented pop stars and musicians are part of their In Ear Monitoring systems (IEM). They are, to all intensive purposes, headphones, not unlike the ones you and I would use to listen to mp3's on the bus. They may look a bit more fancy thanks to personal moulds, they may be a bit more expensive thanks to more elaborate drivers (speakers), they are most definitely not actively noise cancelling.

Yes, they provide some physical isolation from the racket on stage but using active noise cancellation on stage would lead to a most peculiar experience for the artist.

I can only guess that the Telegraph now regards seeing something in a photograph as a valid source for information.

Cheers,

Peter

Pop! goes the ear drum

This device sounds like it's using a limiter.

Rather ironically, one of the tools audio engineers have been using to deafen us for years. (Google 'loudness war')

Rusty say's

Given the wonderful MOD supply and logistics people. Where we have too little ammo, armour, helicopters, fixed wing planes, bombs, hardened vehicles, tanks and such (but too many MOD civil servants!).

I fully expect that they have ordered five pairs of these things and four will be kept in the UK for evaluation by the boffins. The last one will be held in readiness in Germany and can be loaned out in war zones with the production of 128 completed forms delivered three weeks in advance of the 24 hour peiod that they are required.

Remind me peeps whose army is known as the borrowers by the septics?

Odd isn't it that the Tallybin never seem to run out of Ammo, RPG's and suicide nutjobs.

Where can I get...

..some of those noise cancelling headphones that stop the infernal caterwauling by Madonna and Take That? I can't think of anything better!

Mine's the one with the Renee And Ronata tape in the pocket.

Only the MoD

would pay £500 for earplugs that can be purchased for less than £100.

http://www.frockstockandbarrel.co.uk/shootingProducts.htm

Just means..

They won't hear the Seppos coming up behind them. Bad move.

The Crack

Some UK Police Forces have been using the larger circumaural version of this for some years in the training environment, where historically 99.9% all their shooting actually takes place.

Their systems significantly enhance the shooter's normal hearing range whilst minimising the worst of the crack from all weapons in close proximity. Its permits you to to hear a whispered command from 50+ metres made via another's headphone system.

Police marksmen take stringent annual hearing tests and its worth noting that the majority of those who eventually fail are ex-servicemen who's hearing has already become impaired through unprotected military shooting.

The only current bugbear being the need to "double plug' when firing heavier calibre weapons such as the Colt M4 (M16) and, in particular the shorter barrel LM3 derivative.

In their current form these particular headsets are too unwieldy and impractical for continuous operational use but the more compact version, as described, could, if developed with user feedback, prove to be a significant improvement. Particularly when mated to an integral comms system.

But being the MOD, I very much doubt that active servicemen will ever be consulted until its far too late to address any concerns or observations.

the future is calling

I can hear it now, the subtle and tightly-controlled panic in the voice of the sergeant radioing in for reinforcements or air support: "we're outnumbered, pinned down, under fire and, oh Christ! running low on AA batteries"

RE "not hearing people shooting at you" commenters

Hmm. well, if they are shooting close enough for the headphones to mask the sound, then chances are you can either see them, or you are full of holes already - either way, you're going to know about it.

If they are far away, then the phones wouldn't mask it anyway. Besides, bullets are faster than sound in any case - you'd see rounds smacking the scenery/your mates before you hear any noise, such as the muzzle flash/bang with subsonic ammo, or the crack as the round goes supersonic upon leaving the barrel with regular rounds - by the time you can hear it, the slug has already reached you.

Physics 101, anyone?

Steven R

Title is Gunnery Sergeant

"This is the AK-47 assault rifle, the preferred weapon of your enemy; and it makes a distinctive sound when fired at you"

...or not. Gunny Highway would not approve.

Completely missing the point

This shouldn't be too difficult to grasp.

The primary purpose of ear defenders is to prevent YOUR GUN from damaging YOUR HEARING because, - in this regard - the sound waves are originating mere centimetres from your ears and therefore have a significant probability of inflicting cumulative damage to your hearing.

The type outlined in the article are not intended to obliterate all sound, merely to filter out the worst effects of immediately proximate gunfire.

That said, distant gunfire, whilst of enormous importance in many other respects, is largely irrelevant to the issue of ear defenders.

Yes, okay, they will also protect you from your colleague's gunfire if they are sufficiently close by - and yes, an enclosed space will also have a deleterious effects .........

but you get the picture; yes?

It's not cutting out ALL the sound..

I believe that they are not designed to cut out all the sound, just limit the frequencies when they go over X threshold. So, you'll still be able to hear people shooting at you, as much as before. However, it just won't hurt your ears as much when you get hit.