scholarly journals Effects of directional hearing aid settings on different laboratory measures of spatial awareness perception

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Micha Lundbeck ◽  
Giso Grimm ◽  
Volker Hohmann ◽  
Lars Bramsløw ◽  
Tobias Neher
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Spatial Awareness ◽  
Environmental Sound ◽  
Sound Sources ◽  
Target Signal ◽  
Laboratory Measures

Hearing loss can negatively influence the spatial hearing abilities of hearing-impaired listeners, not only in static but also in dynamic auditory environments. Therefore, ways of addressing these deficits with advanced hearing aid algorithms need to be investigated. In a previous study based on virtual acoustics and a computer simulation of different bilateral hearing aid fittings, we investigated auditory source movement detectability in older hearing- impaired (OHI) listeners. We found that two directional processing algorithms could substantially improve the detectability of left-right and near-far source movements in the presence of reverberation and multiple interfering sounds. In the current study, we carried out similar measurements with a loudspeaker-based setup and wearable hearing aids. We fitted a group of 15 OHI listeners with bilateral behind-the-ear devices that were programmed to have three different directional processing settings. Apart from source movement detectability, we assessed two other aspects of spatial awareness perception. Using a street scene with up to five environmental sound sources, the participants had to count the number of presented sources or to indicate the movement direction of a single target signal. The data analyses showed a clear influence of the number of concurrent sound sources and the starting position of the moving target signal on the participants’ performance, but no influence of the different hearing aid settings. Complementary artificial head recordings showed that the acoustic differences between the three hearing aid settings were rather small. Another explanation for the lack of effects of the tested hearing aid settings could be that the simulated street scenario was not sufficiently sensitive. Possible ways of improving the sensitivity of the laboratory measures while maintaining high ecological validity and complexity are discussed.

Hearing Aid Amplification Reduces Communication Effort of People With Hearing Impairment and Their Conversation Partners

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1299-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Beechey ◽  
Jörg M. Buchholz ◽  
Gitte Keidser
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Communication Task ◽  
Acoustic Environments ◽  
The Impact

Objectives This study investigates the hypothesis that hearing aid amplification reduces effort within conversation for both hearing aid wearers and their communication partners. Levels of effort, in the form of speech production modifications, required to maintain successful spoken communication in a range of acoustic environments are compared to earlier reported results measured in unaided conversation conditions. Design Fifteen young adult normal-hearing participants and 15 older adult hearing-impaired participants were tested in pairs. Each pair consisted of one young normal-hearing participant and one older hearing-impaired participant. Hearing-impaired participants received directional hearing aid amplification, according to their audiogram, via a master hearing aid with gain provided according to the NAL-NL2 fitting formula. Pairs of participants were required to take part in naturalistic conversations through the use of a referential communication task. Each pair took part in five conversations, each of 5-min duration. During each conversation, participants were exposed to one of five different realistic acoustic environments presented through highly open headphones. The ordering of acoustic environments across experimental blocks was pseudorandomized. Resulting recordings of conversational speech were analyzed to determine the magnitude of speech modifications, in terms of vocal level and spectrum, produced by normal-hearing talkers as a function of both acoustic environment and the degree of high-frequency average hearing impairment of their conversation partner. Results The magnitude of spectral modifications of speech produced by normal-hearing talkers during conversations with aided hearing-impaired interlocutors was smaller than the speech modifications observed during conversations between the same pairs of participants in the absence of hearing aid amplification. Conclusions The provision of hearing aid amplification reduces the effort required to maintain communication in adverse conditions. This reduction in effort provides benefit to hearing-impaired individuals and also to the conversation partners of hearing-impaired individuals. By considering the impact of amplification on both sides of dyadic conversations, this approach contributes to an increased understanding of the likely impact of hearing impairment on everyday communication.

scholarly journals Smartphone-Based System for Learning and Inferring Hearing Aid Settings

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (09) ◽  
pp. 732-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Aldaz ◽  
Sunil Puria ◽  
Larry J. Leifer
Keyword(s):  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
User Study ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Significant Preference ◽  
Environmental Sound ◽  
Sound Environment ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Hearing System

Background: Previous research has shown that hearing aid wearers can successfully self-train their instruments’ gain-frequency response and compression parameters in everyday situations. Combining hearing aids with a smartphone introduces additional computing power, memory, and a graphical user interface that may enable greater setting personalization. To explore the benefits of self-training with a smartphone-based hearing system, a parameter space was chosen with four possible combinations of microphone mode (omnidirectional and directional) and noise reduction state (active and off). The baseline for comparison was the “untrained system,” that is, the manufacturer’s algorithm for automatically selecting microphone mode and noise reduction state based on acoustic environment. The “trained system” first learned each individual’s preferences, self-entered via a smartphone in real-world situations, to build a trained model. The system then predicted the optimal setting (among available choices) using an inference engine, which considered the trained model and current context (e.g., sound environment, location, and time). Purpose: To develop a smartphone-based prototype hearing system that can be trained to learn preferred user settings. Determine whether user study participants showed a preference for trained over untrained system settings. Research Design: An experimental within-participants study. Participants used a prototype hearing system—comprising two hearing aids, Android smartphone, and body-worn gateway device—for ˜6 weeks. Study Sample: Sixteen adults with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (HL) (ten males, six females; mean age = 55.5 yr). Fifteen had ≥6 mo of experience wearing hearing aids, and 14 had previous experience using smartphones. Intervention: Participants were fitted and instructed to perform daily comparisons of settings (“listening evaluations”) through a smartphone-based software application called Hearing Aid Learning and Inference Controller (HALIC). In the four-week-long training phase, HALIC recorded individual listening preferences along with sensor data from the smartphone—including environmental sound classification, sound level, and location—to build trained models. In the subsequent two-week-long validation phase, participants performed blinded listening evaluations comparing settings predicted by the trained system (“trained settings”) to those suggested by the hearing aids’ untrained system (“untrained settings”). Data Collection and Analysis: We analyzed data collected on the smartphone and hearing aids during the study. We also obtained audiometric and demographic information. Results: Overall, the 15 participants with valid data significantly preferred trained settings to untrained settings (paired-samples t test). Seven participants had a significant preference for trained settings, while one had a significant preference for untrained settings (binomial test). The remaining seven participants had nonsignificant preferences. Pooling data across participants, the proportion of times that each setting was chosen in a given environmental sound class was on average very similar. However, breaking down the data by participant revealed strong and idiosyncratic individual preferences. Fourteen participants reported positive feelings of clarity, competence, and mastery when training via HALIC. Conclusions: The obtained data, as well as subjective participant feedback, indicate that smartphones could become viable tools to train hearing aids. Individuals who are tech savvy and have milder HL seem well suited to take advantages of the benefits offered by training with a smartphone.

Localization of Sound Sources in Normal Hearing and in Hearing Impaired People

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 683-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Niewiarowicz ◽  
Tomasz Kaczmarek
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Sound Sources ◽  
Hearing Ability ◽  
Modified Method ◽  
Noise Type ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
New System

Abstract This article presents results of investigations of the angle of directional hearing acuity (ADHA) as a measure of the spatial hearing ability with a special emphasis on people with hearing impairments. A modified method proposed by Zakrzewski has been used - ADHA values have been determined for 8 azimuths in the horizontal plane at the height of the listeners' head. The two-alternative-forced-choice method (2AFC), based on a new system of listeners' responses (left - right instead of no difference - difference in location of sound sources) was the procedure used in the experiment. Investigations were carried out for two groups of subjects: normal hearing people (9 persons) and hearing impaired people (sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus - 9 persons). In the experiment different acoustic signals were used: sinusoidal signals (pure tones), 1/3 octave noise, amplitude modulated 1/3 octave noise, CCITT speech and traffic noises and signals corresponding to personal character of tinnitus for individual subjects. The results obtained in the investigations showed, in general, a better localization of the sound source for noise type signals than those for tonal signals. Inessential differences exist in ADHA values for particular signals between the two groups of subjects. On the other hand, significant differences for tinnitus signals and traffic noise signals were stated. A new system of listeners' responses was used and appeared efficient (less dispersion of results compared to the standard system).

scholarly journals Survey of Hearing Aid Conditions for Hearing Impaired Persons While Driving

2020 ◽  
pp. 132-136
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Ikeda ◽  
Shigeyuki Minami
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Safe Driving ◽  
Actual Usage ◽  
Hearing Ability ◽  
Acquired Hearing Loss ◽  
The Impact

Hearing impaired persons are required to drive with hearing aids to supplement their hearing ability, however, there has not been sufficient discussion regarding the impact of the use of a hearing aid on driving a vehicle. In order to investigate the actual usage and driving conditions of using hearing aids while driving a vehicle, this paper uses a questionnaire to survey (1) how easy it is to drive when wearing hearing aids, and (2) how often hearing aids are not worn while driving. Concerning the ease of driving when wearing a hearing aid, it was suggested that people with congenital hearing loss were more likely to rely on visual information, and those with acquired hearing loss continue to use their experience of hearing. When the level of disability is high, it is difficult to drive when using the hearing aid, and when the disability level is low, it is easier to drive. Regarding the frequency of driving without wearing hearing aids, about 60 % of respondents had such an experience. Those who often drive without hearing aids had experienced headaches due to noise from wearing hearing aids compared to those who wear hearing aids at all times. Hearing aids are necessary assistive devices for hearing impaired persons to obtain hearing information, and to provide a safe driving environment. Therefore, this paper addresses issues to maintain a comfortable driving environment while wearing a hearing aid.

Evaluation of an Articulation-Index Based Model for Predicting the Effects of Adaptive Frequency Response Hearing Aids

1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 676-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Fabry ◽  
Dianne J. Van Tasell
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Function ◽  
Frequency Response ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Articulation Index ◽  
Intelligibility Ratings ◽  
High Pass

The Articulation Index (AI) was used to evaluate an “adaptive frequency response” (AFR) hearing aid with amplification characteristics that automatically change to become more high-pass with increasing levels of background noise. Speech intelligibility ratings of connected discourse by normal-hearing subjects were predicted well by an empirically derived AI transfer function. That transfer function was used to predict aided speech intelligibility ratings by 12 hearing-impaired subjects wearing a master hearing aid with the Argosy Manhattan Circuit enabled (AFR-on) or disabled (AFR-off). For all subjects, the AI predicted no improvements in speech intelligibility for the AFR-on versus AFR-off condition, and no significant improvements in rated intelligibility were observed. The ability of the AI to predict aided speech intelligibility varied across subjects. However, ratings from every hearing-impaired subject were related monotonically to AI. Therefore, AI calculations may be used to predict relative—but not absolute—levels of speech intelligibility produced under different amplification conditions.

Decreased Use of Hearing Aids following Training in Hearing Tactics

1998 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 703-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Daily Average ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Hearing Aid Use ◽  
Randomized Controlled Studies ◽  
Report Data

In this report data on hearing aid use were combined from three randomized controlled studies on behavioural hearing tactics. Daily average hearing aid use at pretreatment and posttreatment were analysed for 63 older hearing-impaired persons who had either received treatment or acted as controls. Analysis showed a significant, albeit weak, decrease in daily hearing aid use for those subjects who had received the treatment. The utility of amount of hearing aid use as an indicator of rehabilitation success is discussed.

Hearing Impaired Children's Preference for, and Performance with, Four Combinations of Directional Microphone and Digital Noise Reduction Technology

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (09) ◽  
pp. 832-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea L. Pittman ◽  
Mollie M. Hiipakka
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Children With Hearing Loss ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Noise Management

Background: Before advanced noise-management features can be recommended for use in children with hearing loss, evidence regarding their ability to use these features to optimize speech perception is necessary. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between children's preference for, and performance with, four combinations of noise-management features in noisy listening environments. Research Design: Children with hearing loss were asked to repeat short sentences presented in steady-state noise or in multitalker babble while wearing ear-level hearing aids. The aids were programmed with four memories having an orthogonal arrangement of two noise-management features. The children were also asked to indicate the hearing aid memory that they preferred in each of the listening conditions both initially and after a short period of use. Study Sample: Fifteen children between the ages of 8 and 12 yr with moderate hearing losses, bilaterally. Results: The children's preference for noise management aligned well with their performance for at least three of the four listening conditions. The configuration of noise-management features had little effect on speech perception with the exception of reduced performance for speech originating from behind the child while in a directional hearing aid setting. Additionally, the children's preference appeared to be governed by listening comfort, even under conditions for which a benefit was not expected such as the use of digital noise reduction in the multitalker babble conditions. Conclusions: The results serve as evidence in support of the use of noise-management features in grade-school children as young as 8 yr of age.

Relationship of Acoustic Gain to Aided Threshold Improvement in Children

1978 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Jirsa ◽  
Thomas W. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Variable Volume ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children

Aided threshold improvement obtained by 12 hearing-impaired children was compared to the acoustic gain of their hearing aids using both the traditional 2-cc coupler and a variable volume coupler designed to approximate real ear volume in children. Results indicated that acoustic gain determined in the 2-cc coupler underestimated aided threshold improvement by approximately 8.7 dB. Use of the variable volume coupler to determine acoustic gain, however, adequately predicted aided improvement at comfort setting. Use of the variable volume coupler in hearing-aid fittings for children is discussed with special emphasis on preventing over-amplification.

Low-Frequency Response of Hearing Aids and Judgments of Aided Speech Quality

1980 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry L. Punch ◽  
Edwin L. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Response ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Paired Comparison ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Cutoff Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Connected Discourse ◽  
Experimental Trials

Connected discourse was processed by a master hearing aid via two channels that were independently adjusted to seven discrete settings of low-cutoff frequency. Signals were tape-recorded and played back in a paired-comparison format to 12 listeners with gradually sloping sensorineural hearing loss, who selected the speech channel preferred for its sound quality. Four experimental trials were administered, each of which consisted of 21 randomized paired conditions. Results across the four trials revealed high intersubject and intrasubject response agreement. Listeners indicated strong and systematic preferences for speech reproduced by circuitry having progressively extended low-frequency emphasis. Findings confirm earlier experimental observations that hearing-impaired listeners are capable of making repeatable paired-comparison preference judgments of the quality of hearing-aid processed speech. Additionally, results demonstrate definitively that low-cutoff frequency is sufficiently robust to be regarded as the probable source of a potent perceptual basis for such judgments. The clinical implication is that hearing-impaired listeners can be expected to exhibit strong preferences for the quality of speech reproduced by hearing aids having relatively extended low-frequency response.

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