The Effects of Operating Room COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment on Speech Perception and Listening Effort

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the combination surgical mask+N95 mask+face shield in operating room on speech perception and listening effort during the COVID-19 process.

METHODS: The experimental part of the study was carried out in three phases. Thirty-five participants who were found to have normal hearing in Phase I were included in Phase II and Phase III. Speech stimuli were given with a surgical mask in phase II, and a combination of surgical mask+N95 mask+face shield in phase III. The tests performed in free field, in the presence of 60 dB wideband background noise. In the descriptive part of the study, the listening effort of 184 operating room professionals was examined with a 17-item questionnaire.

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Key information

Conditions

Speech Perception COVID-19 Communication Barriers Coronaviridae Infections Coronavirus Infections Infections Lung Diseases Nidovirales Infections Operating Rooms Pneumonia Pneumonia, Viral Protective Devices RNA Virus Infections Respiratory Tract Diseases Respiratory Tract Infections Virus Diseases

Age range

Up to 55 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Biruni University

Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:
Operating room nurses and technicians whose medical history was not a vestibular disease and ear surgery, who were shown to have normal hearing (NH) by hearing tests.

Exclusion criteria

presence of hearing and vestibular loss

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

Change in speech perception score under operating room PPE conditions

Time frame: November 2021

Speech perception was assessed using a standardized speech perception test while participants were wearing operating room personal protective equipment.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Ondokuz Mayıs University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2021
Primary completion: 2021
Study completion: 2021
First posted: Apr 1, 2026
Registry last updated: Apr 1, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed