Firearm suppressors reduce the muzzle blast of a gunshot through a series of baffles contained in a canister. The American National Standards Institute has no firearm suppressor testing standards. A recent NATO test standard, AEP 4875, ignores the contribution of the ground reflection at the shooter’s ears and is not representative of how firearms are typically fired. The aim of this study is to commence empirical development of a standard to assess the noise reduction of firearm suppressors for hearing conservation purposes. Fourteen firearms with and without a suppressor were evaluated with high velocity and low velocity (subsonic) ammunition. Twelve microphones were positioned in a ring 3 meters from the muzzle with 30° spacing and 1.5 meters above the ground. One microphone was positioned at 1 meter to the left of the muzzle and two microphones were positioned at 15 centimeters from the right and left ears of the firearm operator. The suppressors were effective in reducing the peak sound pressure levels between 3 and 28 dB and A-weighted equivalent energy (LAEQ) between 2 and 24 dB.
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7 May 2018
175th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America
7–11 May 2018
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Noise: Paper 4pNS5
December 16 2019
Developing a method to assess noise reduction of firearm suppressors for small-caliber weapons
William J. Murphy;
William J. Murphy
1
Division of Applied Research and Technology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
, Cincinnati, OH, 45226-1998, USA
; [email protected]
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Stephen M. Tasko;
Stephen M. Tasko
4
Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Western Michigan University
, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
; [email protected]
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James E. Lankford;
James E. Lankford
5
School of Allied Health and Communication Disorders, Northern Illinois University
, Dekalb, IL, USA
; [email protected]
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Deanna K. Meinke;
Deanna K. Meinke
6
Audiology and Speech-Language Sciences, University of Northern Colorado
, Greeley, CO, USA
; [email protected]; [email protected]
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Donald S. Finan;
Donald S. Finan
6
Audiology and Speech-Language Sciences, University of Northern Colorado
, Greeley, CO, USA
; [email protected]; [email protected]
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Michael Stewart;
Michael Stewart
7
Communication Sciences and Disorders, Central Michigan University
, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA
; [email protected]
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Edward L. Zechmann
Edward L. Zechmann
8
Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
, Cincinnati, OH, USA
; [email protected]
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Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 33, 040004 (2018)
Article history
Received:
November 12 2019
Accepted:
November 27 2019
Connected Content
This is a companion to:
Developing a method to assess noise reduction of firearm suppressors for small-caliber weapons
Citation
William J. Murphy, Adam R. Campbell, Gregory A. Flamme, Stephen M. Tasko, James E. Lankford, Deanna K. Meinke, Donald S. Finan, Michael Stewart, Edward L. Zechmann; Developing a method to assess noise reduction of firearm suppressors for small-caliber weapons. Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 7 May 2018; 33 (1): 040004. https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001132
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