Speech intelligibility benefits of hearing AIDS at various input levels

Journal of the American Academy of Audiology
Francis K KukBryan Crose

Abstract

Although the benefits of hearing aids are generally recognized for soft- and conversational-level sounds, most studies have reported negative benefits (i.e., poorer aided than unaided performance) at high noise inputs. Advances in digital signal processing such as compression, noise reduction, and directional microphone could improve speech perception at high input levels. This could alter our view on the efficacy of hearing aids in loud, noisy situations. The current study compared the aided versus the unaided speech intelligibility performance of hearing-impaired (HI) listeners at various input levels (from 50-100 dB SPL) and signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs; quiet, +6, +3, and -3 dB) in order to document the benefits of modern hearing aids. In addition, subjective preference between aided and unaided sounds (speech and music) at various input levels was also compared. The experiment used a factorial repeated-measures design. A total of 10 HI adults with symmetrical moderate to severe hearing losses served as test participants. In addition, speech intelligibility scores of five normal-hearing (NH) listeners were also measured for comparison. Speech perception was studied at 50 and 65 dB SPL input levels in quiet and also in noise...Continue Reading

Citations

May 3, 2018·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Baljeet Rana, Jörg M Buchholz
Nov 3, 2017·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Jing XiaErvin Hafter
Mar 23, 2021·Trends in Hearing·Anusha YellamsettyDavid A Eddins

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