Sound Attenuation of Neoprene Wetsuit Hoods as a Function of Dive Depth and Acoustic Frequency: Hyperbaric Chamber Trials

Data gathered during testing will help develop strategies to protect Navy divers from loud underwater sounds.

Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, Groton, Connecticut

The U.S. Navy is interested in strategies that divers could employ to protect them from loud underwater sounds. Sonar transmissions and other forms of underwater sound, such as that produced by noisy underwater tools, are an occupational hazard for U.S. Navy divers.

At the time this research was conducted, the U.S. Navy guidance for diver exposure to underwater sound accounted for the diver wearing a wetsuit hood but did not account for any changes in the hood's sound attenuation properties with dive depth. Characterizing how the hood's attenuation properties change with depth and frequency is critical to creating appropriate guidance for diver's exposure to underwater sound.