Increased use of communication headsets found in various workplaces raises concerns regarding exposure to potentially hazardous noise levels. Current national and international standards specify a wide range of simple and specialized methods for the measurement of sound exposure under communication headsets. However, to date, quantitative data comparing the degree of agreement between the different measurement methods or their relative performance are lacking, and it is not known if occupational health and safety (OHS) or hearing loss prevention (HLP) stakeholders have the necessary training and equipment to integrate them in their daily practice. A three-step study addressing several knowledge gaps on this topic is presented in this thesis. First, a questionnaire survey distributed to OHS and HLP stakeholders has revealed that knowledge of specialized measurement techniques and access to the necessary equipment varies significantly depending on the training of the different professionals. There is therefore reason to specify several methods in measurement standards to meet the specific needs and expertise of the different stakeholders involved. Second, a series of experiments conducted with single and multiple expert participants indicated that the Type 1 artificial ear is not suited for sound exposure measurement with communication headsets, while Type 2 and Type 3.3 artificial ears are in good agreement with the acoustic manikin technique specified in the International standard ISO 11904-2. Finally, laboratory experiments were conducted to test the indirect calculation method proposed in the Canadian standard CSA Z107.56. Results revealed that the calculation method is suitable to identify possible situations of exposure over the regulatory limit (e.g. 85 dBA), but refinements are proposed to improve measurement accuracy. Overall, this thesis provides new knowledge to guide selection of the most suitable methods for the assessment of communication headset exposure taking into account expertise, access to equipment, and field logistic constraints. Results also have direct implications for future revisions of existing measurement standards. Finally, this work could be the basis for detailed guidelines on noise exposure measurements under communication headsets to better inform OHS and HLP professionals and ultimately prevent occupational noise-induced hearing loss.

Virtual Reality (VR) video is emerging as a new art form. Viewing VR video requires wearing the VR headset to fully experience the immersive surrounding of the content. However, the novel viewing experience of VR video creates new challenges and requirements for conventional video authoring tools, which were designed mainly for working with normal video on a desktop display. Designing effective authoring tools for VR video requires intuitive video interfaces specific to VR. This dissertation develops new workflows and systems that enable filmmakers to create and improve VR video while fully immersed in a VR headset. We introduce a series of authoring tools that enables filmmakers to work with video in VR: 1) Vremiere, an in-headset video editing application that enables editors to edit VR video entirely in the headset, 2) CollaVR, a networked system that enables multiple users to collaborate and review video together in VR, and 3) a set of techniques to assist filmmakers in managing and accessing interfaces in stereoscopic VR video without suffering depth conflicts. The design of these applications is grounded in existing practices and principles learned in interviews with VR professionals. A series of studies is conducted to evaluate these systems, which demonstrate the potential of in-headset video authoring.

Bakgrund: Procedurrelaterad smärta är vanligt förekommande hos barn inom barnsjukvården. Procedurer kan skapa oro och ångest hos barnet och sjuksköterskan bör erbjuda adekvat smärtlindring och använda en distraktionsmetod som kan hjälpa barnet att hantera smärtan.   Syfte: Att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att använda VR-glasögon som distraktion på barn i samband med procedursmärta.  Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ fokusgruppsintervjustudie med induktiv ansats. Ett ändamålsenligt urval gjordes och 13 sjuksköterskor som arbetar på barnkliniker i södra Sverige inkluderades. Intervjuerna analyserades efter en kvalitativ manifest innehållsanalys utifrån Graneheim och Lundmans modell.   Resultat: Sjuksköterskorna ansåg att VR-glasögon fungerade som distraktionsmetod vid smärtsamma procedurer på barn, dock hade en del barn behov av kontroll och andra var inte mogna för att använda dem. Denna distraktionsmetod kunde underlätta för sjuksköterskornas arbete men det fanns även svårigheter så som att det var tidskrävande och att den tekniska utrustningen kunde krångla.   Slutsats: I denna studie ansåg sjuksköterskorna att VR-glasögon oftast är en bra distraktionsmetod för barn som genomgår procedurrelaterad smärta. Har sjuksköterskan kunskap om dess för- och nackdelar kan de fungera som ett redskap för att barnet ska uppleva hälsa trots procedurrelaterad smärta. / Background: Procedural related pain is common for children in pediatric care. Procedures can make the child anxious and the nurse should offer adequate pain relief and use a distraction method that can help the child cope with the pain. Aim: To describe nurses’ experiences of using VR-headsets as a distraction for children with procedural pain.  Method: This study is a qualitative focus group interview study with inductive approach. An appropriate selection was selected and 13 nurses working in pediatric clinics in southern Sweden were included. The interviews were analyzed according to a qualitative manifest content using the model of Graneheim and Lundman.   Result: The nurses thought that VR-headsets served as a distraction for children during painful procedures, but some children needed to be in control of the situation and others were not mature enough to use them. This method of distraction could simplify the nurses’ work, but there are also difficulties such as time consuming and some technology issues.  Conclusion: In this study the nurses thought that VR-headsets work as a good distraction for children undergoing procedural pain. If the nurse has knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages, they can serve as a tool for the child to experience health despite procedural pain.

Com o avanço técnico-científico e a necessidade de rapidez nas comunicações dos diversos segmentos da economia e da vida moderna, a utilização de fones de ouvido não se restringe mais somente aos serviços de Telefonia (telefonistas, atendentes, técnicos e cabistas), operadores de telemarketing ou teleatendimento, mas também a outras profissões como pilotos de aeronaves e de helicópteros, músicos, operadores de áudio e vídeo, além de profissionais de inúmeras outras atividades que necessitam utilizar fones para comunicações, como na indústria naval, do petróleo, da mineração (telemineração, mineração remota), etc. Com isso, a avaliação de risco de surdez ocupacional deve ser adequada à realidade de milhares de pessoas hoje envolvidas com a utilização de fones de ouvido. Essa questão se amplia quando se considera uma legião de pessoas que diariamente passa horas ouvindo música em seus tocadores digitais de música com o volume tão alto que qualquer um ao lado delas pode também ouvir os mesmos sons. Principalmente devido aos outros tipos de exposição, mais difundidos, a exposição ocupacional ao ruído é um assunto bastante discutido, e há, inclusive, critérios adequados de avaliação dos níveis sonoros, que estão, no entanto, voltados para os sons que podem ser medidos na zona auditiva em campo aberto, mas não no interior do pavilhão auricular, que é o caso do presente trabalho. Considerando tal lacuna relacionada aos critérios adotados na avaliação dos níveis sonoros, este trabalho objetiva: estudar os trabalhos sobre as medições sonoras que são atualmente realizadas no interior do pavilhão auricular; demonstrar que o estudo da avaliação do nível sonoro em atividades que utilizam fones de ouvido ainda é incipiente, complexo e oneroso; identificar qual(is) norma(s) é(são) mais adequada(s) para avaliar os níveis de ruído em fones. Para tanto, fez-se uma revisão da literatura, utilizando como materiais e métodos, de forma comparativa, os resultados das experiências e dos estudos do autor e de outros especialistas frente às normas disponíveis pertinentes relativas aos critérios metodológicos de medição dos níveis de ruído em fones de ouvido. Concluindo, esta pesquisa traz importantes parâmetros necessários para uma avaliação confiável e subsídios para o desenvolvimento de uma Instrução Técnica ou elaboração de uma Norma de Higiene Ocupacional NHO específica para este tipo de avaliação. / New electronic technologies have improved the communication systems in general ways, and consequently sound devices have become better, cheaper and widely used. In the professional field, millions of workers use every day headsets and headphones talking to clients, transmitting information and news to control centers, and also listening music. It is a common practice among telephone operators, telemarketing attendees, pilots, musicians, police officers, etc; also, young people using modern sound and video players with individual speakers. If on one side the communication systems are much better, on other way the sound pressure levels inside of headsets or headphones are a big concern, especially when people are listening their favorite songs. Sometimes the sound levels are so high that anyone around is able to listen its music. It is a fact very known that the acoustic energy may destroy the cochlea cells after long noise exposures at high levels. Therefore, million of users of those electronic apparatus are exposure to a potential hearing loss risk in spite of experimenting pleasure moments or just doing their job. The problem of hearing losses is more complicate to headset or headphone users because there is not criterion very well established as it is common to general workers. The standards for prevention of hearing losses are addressed to environment noise that is measured outside of the auricular pavilion. The technology applied to measure sound levels inside of auricular pavilion is complex and there are a few instruments available in the market. However, the most important limitation is absence of technical criteria that define which acoustic situations could be considered a hearing loss risk. Considering all these limitations, this paper has the following objectives: review technical articles that present evaluations of noise inside of auricular pavilion; demonstrate that published studies in this matter are embryonic face to complexity and costs involved with; identify the most appropriate standard to evaluate noise levels inside of auricular pavilion. Thus, the Material and Methods adopted in this paper are based on a comparative review of the literature available, including results from experiences developed by the own author, and other data published by several experts. The numbers, records and levels, etc presented here are related to the respective methods or criteria. Therefore, the information, data, discussion, analyses, and conclusions presented in this paper are addressed to motivate new studies and debates that may result in a new national or international standard easier and less expensive than those are complied today. New proceedings should be developed with clear instructions that avoid misunderstanding and guide different practitioners to reproduce studies with similar methodologies. Concluding, this paper introduces important parameters that are necessary to evaluate noise generated by headphones in workplaces, and, also, gives some guidelines and subsidies to develop a measuring procedure or a technical standard related to occupational hygiene in this matter.

Com o avanço técnico-científico e a necessidade de rapidez nas comunicações dos diversos segmentos da economia e da vida moderna, a utilização de fones de ouvido não se restringe mais somente aos serviços de Telefonia (telefonistas, atendentes, técnicos e cabistas), operadores de telemarketing ou teleatendimento, mas também a outras profissões como pilotos de aeronaves e de helicópteros, músicos, operadores de áudio e vídeo, além de profissionais de inúmeras outras atividades que necessitam utilizar fones para comunicações, como na indústria naval, do petróleo, da mineração (telemineração, mineração remota), etc. Com isso, a avaliação de risco de surdez ocupacional deve ser adequada à realidade de milhares de pessoas hoje envolvidas com a utilização de fones de ouvido. Essa questão se amplia quando se considera uma legião de pessoas que diariamente passa horas ouvindo música em seus tocadores digitais de música com o volume tão alto que qualquer um ao lado delas pode também ouvir os mesmos sons. Principalmente devido aos outros tipos de exposição, mais difundidos, a exposição ocupacional ao ruído é um assunto bastante discutido, e há, inclusive, critérios adequados de avaliação dos níveis sonoros, que estão, no entanto, voltados para os sons que podem ser medidos na zona auditiva em campo aberto, mas não no interior do pavilhão auricular, que é o caso do presente trabalho. Considerando tal lacuna relacionada aos critérios adotados na avaliação dos níveis sonoros, este trabalho objetiva: estudar os trabalhos sobre as medições sonoras que são atualmente realizadas no interior do pavilhão auricular; demonstrar que o estudo da avaliação do nível sonoro em atividades que utilizam fones de ouvido ainda é incipiente, complexo e oneroso; identificar qual(is) norma(s) é(são) mais adequada(s) para avaliar os níveis de ruído em fones. Para tanto, fez-se uma revisão da literatura, utilizando como materiais e métodos, de forma comparativa, os resultados das experiências e dos estudos do autor e de outros especialistas frente às normas disponíveis pertinentes relativas aos critérios metodológicos de medição dos níveis de ruído em fones de ouvido. Concluindo, esta pesquisa traz importantes parâmetros necessários para uma avaliação confiável e subsídios para o desenvolvimento de uma Instrução Técnica ou elaboração de uma Norma de Higiene Ocupacional NHO específica para este tipo de avaliação. / New electronic technologies have improved the communication systems in general ways, and consequently sound devices have become better, cheaper and widely used. In the professional field, millions of workers use every day headsets and headphones talking to clients, transmitting information and news to control centers, and also listening music. It is a common practice among telephone operators, telemarketing attendees, pilots, musicians, police officers, etc; also, young people using modern sound and video players with individual speakers. If on one side the communication systems are much better, on other way the sound pressure levels inside of headsets or headphones are a big concern, especially when people are listening their favorite songs. Sometimes the sound levels are so high that anyone around is able to listen its music. It is a fact very known that the acoustic energy may destroy the cochlea cells after long noise exposures at high levels. Therefore, million of users of those electronic apparatus are exposure to a potential hearing loss risk in spite of experimenting pleasure moments or just doing their job. The problem of hearing losses is more complicate to headset or headphone users because there is not criterion very well established as it is common to general workers. The standards for prevention of hearing losses are addressed to environment noise that is measured outside of the auricular pavilion. The technology applied to measure sound levels inside of auricular pavilion is complex and there are a few instruments available in the market. However, the most important limitation is absence of technical criteria that define which acoustic situations could be considered a hearing loss risk. Considering all these limitations, this paper has the following objectives: review technical articles that present evaluations of noise inside of auricular pavilion; demonstrate that published studies in this matter are embryonic face to complexity and costs involved with; identify the most appropriate standard to evaluate noise levels inside of auricular pavilion. Thus, the Material and Methods adopted in this paper are based on a comparative review of the literature available, including results from experiences developed by the own author, and other data published by several experts. The numbers, records and levels, etc presented here are related to the respective methods or criteria. Therefore, the information, data, discussion, analyses, and conclusions presented in this paper are addressed to motivate new studies and debates that may result in a new national or international standard easier and less expensive than those are complied today. New proceedings should be developed with clear instructions that avoid misunderstanding and guide different practitioners to reproduce studies with similar methodologies. Concluding, this paper introduces important parameters that are necessary to evaluate noise generated by headphones in workplaces, and, also, gives some guidelines and subsidies to develop a measuring procedure or a technical standard related to occupational hygiene in this matter.

Virtual three-dimensional (3D) auditory displays utilize signal-processing techniques to alter sounds presented through headphones so that they seem to originate from specific spatial locations around the listener. In some circumstances bone-conduction headsets (bonephones) can provide an alternative sound presentation mechanism. However, existing 3D audio rendering algorithms need to be adjusted to use bonephones rather than headphones. This study provided anchor points for a function of shift values that could be used to adapt virtual 3D auditory displays for use with bonephones. The shift values were established by having participants adjust phase and amplitude of two waves in order to cancel out the signal and thus produce silence. These adjustments occurred in a listening environment consisting of air-conducted and bone-conducted tones, as well as air- conducted masking. Performance in the calibration condition suggested that participants understood the task, and could do this task with reasonable accuracy. In the bone-to-air listening conditions, the data produced a clear set of anchor points for an amplitude shift function. The data did not reveal, however, anchor points for a phase shift function the data for phase were highly variable and inconsistent. Application of shifts, as well as future research to establish full functions and better understand phase are discussed, in addition to validation and follow-up studies.

The objective of the current study is to evaluate the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets to measure driving performance. This is desirable because they are several orders of magnitude less expensive and, if validated, could greatly extend the powers of simulation. Out of several possible measures of performance that could be considered for evaluating VR headsets, the current study specifically examines drivers’ latent hazard anticipation behavior both because it has been linked to crashes and because it has been shown to be significantly poorer in young drivers compared to their experienced counterparts in traditional driving simulators and in open road studies. The total time middle-aged drivers spend glancing at a latent hazard and the average duration of each glance was also compared to these same times for younger drivers using a VR headset and fixed-based driving simulator. In a between-subject design, forty-eight participants were equally and randomly assigned to one out of four experimental conditions – two young driver cohorts (18 – 21 years) and two middle-aged driver cohorts (30 – 55 years) navigating either a fixed-based driving simulator or a VR-headset-based simulator. All participants navigated six unique scenarios while their eyes were continually tracked. The proportion of latent hazards anticipated by participants which constituted the primary dependent measure was found to be greater for middle-aged drivers than young drivers across both platforms. Results also indicate that the middle-aged participants glanced longer than their younger counterparts on both platforms at latent hazards, as measured by the total glance duration but had no difference when measured by the average glance duration. Moreover, the difference in the magnitude of performance between middle-aged and younger drivers was the same across the two platforms. There were also no significant differences found for the severity of simulator sickness symptoms across the two platforms. The study provides some justification for the use of virtual reality headsets as a way of understanding drivers’ hazard anticipation behavior.