Descripción del proyecto
Unos métodos innovadores para medir el esfuerzo y el valor de la escucha
El ruido excesivo en el lugar de trabajo tiene efectos perjudiciales como el estrés, la fatiga y los problemas de salud mental, que luego repercuten en la productividad, las bajas por enfermedad y la jubilación anticipada. Las personas con deficiencias auditivas o que trabajan en entornos ruidosos suelen hacer un esfuerzo adicional para mantener el rendimiento, lo que puede provocar un aumento del estrés y la fatiga. Pero también hay resultados positivos asociados, como un mejor rendimiento laboral, una mayor diversión, un aumento de la seguridad y una mayor implicación social. El equipo del proyecto EASYLI, financiado con fondos europeos, pretende optimizar el equilibrio desarrollando un novedoso conjunto de herramientas que evalúe tanto el esfuerzo dedicado a la escucha como el valor derivado de ella. En EASYLI se formará a seis becarios de investigación para desarrollar esta caja de herramientas, que empleará diversos métodos, como el análisis de escenas acústicas en tiempo real, la acústica virtual y las medidas fisiológicas y subjetivas.
Objetivo
Disturbing noise is the most frequent workplace complaint. Noise and high levels of listening difficulty and effort lead to stress and fatigue, which are further linked with mental health problems, productivity loss, increased sick leave and early retirement (annual burden 476-580 billion Euros in Europe).
In demanding or noisy work situations, or for people with impaired hearing, high effort may be needed to maintain performance. This can have adverse consequences such as stress and fatigue. However, applying effort to listening leads to positive consequences as well (good work performance, pleasure, safety, societal participation). In EASILY, our stance is to optimize the ratio between the costs and benefits of effortful listening (listening value) in order to understand and reduce its socioeconomic burden.
As we lack tools to measure listening value, EASYLI will train 6 research fellows to develop and apply an innovative, interdisciplinary toolbox of ambulatory and laboratory measures of listening effort and listening value. They will gain inter-sectoral knowledge, apply real-time acoustic scene analysis, virtual acoustics, and physiological and subjective measures in laboratory and real-life occupational conditions. With this approach, EASYLI aims to detect fatigue early, and examine how individualized interventions (e.g. machine learning-based speech enhancement algorithms, hearing aids) optimize listening value.
EASYLI consists of 5 academic partners and 4 non-academic partners representing hearing-aid and communication systems industries, audiology, and occupational sectors with challenging acoustic environments. The EASYLI doctorate programme will train a new generation of leading entrepreneurial scientists, and will stimulate employment by developing tools that allow early identification and prevention of listening related fatigue and stress.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiologycognitive neuroscience
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesacoustics
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineotorhinolaryngology
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementemployment
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN-ID - HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral Networks - Industrial DoctoratesCoordinador
1081 HV Amsterdam
Países Bajos