Effects of variations in the tragus expansion angle on physical comfort for in-ear wearables

Wang, Mengcheng; Fan, Hao; Yu, Shuhui; Zhao, Xiao; Wang, Long; Li, Wenhua; Wang, Lei; Yu, Mingjiu; Chu, Jianjie; Zhang, Shuai; Chen, Dengkai

doi:10.1080/00140139.2022.2032377

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Since the prototypes used in this study were intrusive devices, attributes of both the physical and functional comfort are likely to affect the participants’ perception of global comfort participants (Doutres et al, 2019, Wang et al, 2022b). To obtain more information about the sensitivity of the participants’ perception of global discomfort and comfort among the 20 prototypes), a tragus-expansion rating scale was designed for this study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most in-ear wearables composed even partially by hard materials cause at least some expansion of the tragus cartilage when fitted into the external ear. The tragus expansion angle (TEA) quantifies the outward degree of the tragus cartilage expansion induced by in-ear wearables fitted into the human ear (Fan et al, 2020; Wang et al, 2022b). The tragus cartilage provides the best sensitivity for external stimuli among the ear cartilages (Blondé-Weinmann et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Variations in the Tragus Expansion Angle on Users’ Comfort for In-ear Wearables

Fan,

Wang,

Zhao

et al. 2023

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual

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Tragus expansion angle (TEA) is an angular variable that quantifies the degree of outward expansion of the tragus cartilage induced by in-ear wearables worn in the human ear. However, the TEA cannot be measured directly, and the mechanism that explains how expansion variations affect users’ comfort experience is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to establish a quantitative relationship between variations in the tragus expansion angle and users’ comfort experience. TEA was measured on 400 healthy participants and normalized using a measuring device (ATMC prototype) and Tragus Expansion Index (TEI). Our results show that the comfort range across variations in TEA was similar for both sexes, yet compared to females, males could tolerate larger variations both in TEA and TEI. A quantitative relationship was established using TEI values, (dis)comfort ratings and GaussAmp function, which can be employed for ergonomic design purposes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%