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MarkeTrak VIII: Consumer satisfaction with hearing aids is slowly increasing

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... Cochlear implants are neuroprosthetic devices that partially restore auditory sensations for individuals with sever to profound hearing loss. A CI consists of an external microphone paired with a processor and a limited number of electrodes (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24), depending on the manufacturer) that are surgically implanted into the cochlea. The frequency allocation typically spans from about 100 Hz (but frequently higher) to 8 kHz, which is divided among the available electrodes implanted in the cochlea. ...
... Modern digital hearing aids are fairly successful in their ability to amplify specific frequency bands where the user's hearing loss is most significant. They typically cover a broader frequency range than CIs, often up to 10 kHz, providing a more naturalistic representation of sound [19]. ...
... Secondly, we can analyze the spectral content of the stimulation, as shown in Figure 4, which illustrates the harmonic differences between the instruments. The piano exhibits a sharp, broadband component in the attack that quickly converges on the first 9 harmonics, while the accordion shows a much broader spectral spread, distributed across the analyzed range (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). Additionally, we observe that the inharmonic content is more prevalent in the accordion recording, especially in the 6-8 kHz range, compared to the mostly harmonic nature of the piano. ...
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Background: This study investigated how different hearing profiles influenced melodic contour identification (MCI) in a real-world concert setting with a live band including drums, bass, and a lead instrument. We aimed to determine the impact of various auditory assistive technologies on music perception in an ecologically valid environment. Methods: The study involved 43 participants with varying hearing capabilities: normal hearing, bilateral hearing aids, bimodal hearing, single-sided cochlear implants, and bilateral cochlear implants. Participants were exposed to melodies played on a piano or accordion, with and without an electric bass as a masker, accompanied by a basic drum rhythm. Bayesian logistic mixed-effects models were utilized to analyze the data. Results: The introduction of an electric bass as a masker did not significantly affect MCI performance for any hearing group when melodies were played on the piano, contrary to its effect on accordion melodies and previous studies. Greater challenges were observed with accordion melodies, especially when accompanied by an electric bass. Conclusions: MCI performance among hearing aid users was comparable to other hearing-impaired profiles, challenging the hypothesis that they would outperform cochlear implant users. A cohort of short melodies inspired by Western music styles was developed for future contour identification tasks.
... 64% of respondents completely agree, and 26% mostly agree, which means that they agree in total in 90% of cases. According to Kochkin's research (2005), ninety percent of consumers are satisfied with the ability of their hearing instrument to improve communication in one-on-one situations, and slightly more than eight out of ten are satisfied by its performance in small groups, and according to Kochkin (2010), ninety-one percent of consumers are satisfied with the ability of their hearing aids to improve communication in one-on-one situations. More than three in four are satisfied in small groups (85%). ...
... With the 2nd claim (I often feel whistling/ buzzing in my ears while wearing a hearing aid.) 34% of respondents do not agree at all, and 28% mostly disagree, which means that a total of 62% of respondents estimate that they do not experience whistling/buzzing when using a hearing aid. According to research by Kochkin (2010), seven out of ten consumers are satisfied with whistling and feedback (69%). ...
... With the 5th claim (I do not feel the benefit of wearing a hearing aid.) 54% do not agree at all, and 26% mostly disagree, which means that a total of 80% of the respondents estimate that they have significant benefits from the hearing aid. According to Kochkin (2010), approximately three out of four consumers are satisfied with the clearness of tone and the sound of their hearing aids (77%) and the sound of their voice (73%). Seven out of ten are satisfied with directionality (71%), the naturalness of the sound (71%), ability to hear soft sounds (69%), and sound fidelity (68%). ...
Article
The aim of this work was to investigate the qualitative characteristics of hearing aid users (satisfaction with the use of hearing aids in everyday life) and to determine if there are any differences compared to published research in the literature. The sample of respondents consisted of 50 users of hearing aids, aged from 20 to 88 years. The sample was chosen by random selection from a previously selected sample of 398 hearing aid users. A special questionnaire was constructed for the research. The first part of the questionnaire consisted of variables: gender, age, type of hearing impairment, percentage of hearing loss, degree of hearing impairment, time of hearing aid use, and brand of hearing aid. The second part consisted of variables for the assessment of satisfaction with the use of hearing aids, that is, 15 statements to which respondents had to express their views on satisfaction with the use of hearing aids. This part of the questionnaire was carried out by surveying. The results showed that the majority of hearing aid users wear the hearing aid regularly, they benefit significantly from the hearing aid and it helps them in communication. They have no significant problems when using and handling the hearing aid. The variables gender, age, and time of hearing aid use had no statistically significant correlations with the applied set of variables (claims). Attitudes of hearing aid users can be an important factor in determining benefit and satisfaction with hearing aids.
... Recent European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA) surveys showed similar trends, with 20-40% of hearing aid owners using their hearing aids less than four hours per day (EHIMA 2018(EHIMA -2022. Therefore, a number of investigations have focused on factors influencing hearing aid satisfaction and acceptance with the goal of contributing to the improvement of hearing aid outcomes (Jerram and Purdy 2001;Kim et al. 2022;Kochkin 2010;Meyer et al. 2014;Neeman et al. 2012;Wong, Hickson and McPherson 2009). These investigations all pointed to experienced benefit as the key driver of hearing aid use and satisfaction. ...
... It seems that, by reporting their positive listening experiences, light was shed on the situations where hearing aids provide benefit, which in turn led to increased satisfaction and an overall enjoyable experience with hearing aids. If the experienced hearing aid benefit is a key driver for hearing aid satisfaction and acceptance (Jerram and Purdy 2001;Kim et al. 2022;Kochkin 2010;Meyer et al. 2014;Neeman et al. 2012;Wong, Hickson, and B. McPherson 2009), then asking hearing aid users to talk about their positive listening experiences could be one strategy to help achieve positive hearing aid outcomes. Kirkwood (2005) conducted a survey where 674 hearing aid dispensers were asked to share their views on factors determining a client's satisfaction with hearing aids. ...
... A secondary advantage of more satisfied hearing aid users is a possible "domino effect". Hearing aid users who are satisfied with their devices are more likely to recommend them to their family and friends (Kochkin 2010) and this has the potential to lead to an increase in hearing aid uptake. ...
Article
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Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether focusing on positive listening experiences improves hearing aid outcomes in experienced hearing aid users. Design: The participants were randomised into a control or positive focus (PF) group. At the first laboratory visit, the Client-Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI) questionnaire was administered followed by hearing aid fitting. The participants wore the hearing aids for three weeks. The PF group was asked to report their positive listening experiences via an app. During the third week, all the participants answered questionnaires related to hearing aid benefit and satisfaction. This was followed by the second laboratory visit where the COSI follow-up questionnaire was administered. Study sample: Ten participants were included in the control and eleven in the PF group. Results: Hearing aid outcome ratings were significantly better in the PF group in comparison to the control group. Further, COSI degree of change and the number of positive reports were positively correlated. Conclusions: These results point to the importance of asking hearing aid users to focus on positive listening experiences and talk about them. The potential outcome is increased hearing aid benefit and satisfaction which could lead to more consistent use of the devices.
... In 2010, a summary of previous MarkeTrak surveys indicated that benefit, sound quality, and value were the leading indicators of perceived hearing aid satisfaction. At this time, consumers had reported advanced signal processing improved hearing aid satisfaction in relation to feedback, wind noise, comfort with loud sounds, and so forth (Kochkin, 2010). More recently, Picou (2020) reported five important overall factors contributing to hearing aid satisfaction: hearing aid performance and sound, hearing care professional effectiveness, hearing aid physical qualities, hearing aid maintenance, and costs (upfront and ongoing). ...
... The other 1,758 (89.8%) respondents reported scores of 5 or higher on the satisfaction scale. This high level of satisfaction among hearing aid users is consistent with MarkeTrak data and similar across other studies, where consistently approximately 80% of hearing aid users are satisfied (Bertoli et al., 2009;Kochkin, 2010;Picou, 2020Picou, , 2022. This indicates that adequate comparisons can be made between these large-sample surveys. ...
... As with ratings of benefit, ratings of satisfaction were related to hearing aid fitting outcomes (sound quality, fit/comfort, and battery life). These results are consistent with those of MarkeTrak, with sound quality being one of their top determinants of hearing aid satisfaction (Kochkin, 2010;Picou, 2020), and consistent with previous reports of the sound quality predictor (Kapteyn, 1977). Combined with the benefit data, these findings highlight that good fitting outcomes increase the likelihood of high benefit and satisfaction ratings. ...
Article
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Purpose There is unexplained variability in self-reported hearing aid outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate determinants of hearing aid benefit and satisfaction ratings using a large-scale customer survey and to analyze the relation between demographic variables, hearing aid attributes, benefit, and satisfaction. Method The study used a retrospective design wherein 2,109 hearing aid users, recruited by Hearing Tracker and Hearing Loss Association of America, completed an online survey. The survey included questions about demographics, perceived hearing loss, devices, service delivery, cost, benefit, and satisfaction. The analytic approach included descriptive summaries and regression models to evaluate potential determinants of hearing aid benefit and satisfaction ratings. Results Hearing aid sound quality, fit and comfort, and battery life were related to both benefit and satisfaction. Respondents who rated these outcomes favorably were also likely to benefit from, and be satisfied with, their hearing aids. Benefit was also related to degree of hearing loss, hearing aid experience, and cost. Hearing aid users with greater self-perceived hearing loss, more hearing aid experience, and more expensive hearing aids reported more benefit. Satisfaction was also related to age, employment status, and brand. Younger respondents, those who were students, and those using certain brands reported more satisfaction. Conclusions The results highlight importance of good hearing aid outcomes (quality, fit/comfort, and battery life) for benefit and satisfaction ratings. Professionals who fit hearing aids should strive to focus on achieving these outcomes and researchers should strive to explain the remaining variability in ratings of benefit and satisfaction. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22280854
... MarkeTrak surveys in the United States showed that the overall HA satisfaction rate gradually increased from 53.5% in 1994 to 80% in 2020. [5][6][7] A previous European study also demonstrated that 72% to 86% of HA owners were highly satisfied with their devices. 8 In Korea, the overall HA satisfaction rate was 60.8%, which is relatively low compared to other countries. ...
... In other words, user satisfaction with HAs is critical to increasing HA adoption and usage. 5 Previous studies have been performed to examine the factors influencing HA satisfaction. A recent U.S. survey showed that the top three factors contributing to people's overall satisfaction with HAs were product quality, ease of use, and appearance of the HA. ...
... Furthermore, the MarkeTrak VIII survey found that the value factor (performance of the HA relative to price) was the third-highest correlated factor with overall HA satisfaction. 5 In terms of the HA use domain, binaural amplification had a 1.23 times higher satisfaction rate than that of unilateral. Binaural fitting showed a bigger benefit when listening in the presence of background noise. ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose: The purpose of this study is three-fold: 1) to evaluate factors influencing hearing aid (HA) satisfaction; 2) to provide a profile of HA satisfaction in daily life; and 3) to examine the reasons why people gave up using HAs. Materials and methods: Data for 1148 respondents were statistically analyzed and reported. Results: In the study, age (β=-0.03, p<0.01), level of education (β=1.21, p<0.01), HA purchase price (β=1.50, p<0.01), bilateral amplification (β=1.23, p<0.01), wearing time (β=0.28, p<0.01), and HA fitting and fine tuning on a regular basis (β=1.71, p<0.01) significantly influenced HA satisfaction. In addition, the authors observed that the most satisfactory factors were clarity of sound (53.5%), people's trust in their HA (61.7%), and listening from a quiet environment (72.8%) in the domains of sound quality, HA features, and listening environments, respectively. Finally, with multiple choices being possible, 65% of the 40 respondents who no longer used HAs answered that their HAs ended up in a drawer since the background noise was annoying and distracting. Conclusion: This study is significant in that it is a large-scale multi-center research to comprehensively examine the factors influencing HA satisfaction in South Korea. This data will provide helpful information that could lead to the successful rehabilitation of hearing loss with HAs.
... When looking at patient skills with batteries, a majority (88%) of users are satisfied with the process of having to change the battery (Kochkin, 2010). This attitude toward having to change hearing aid batteries when they die has been seen, of note, in hearing aid owners who use and do not use their devices. ...
... Thirty-six percent of hearing aid users report being between "somewhat dissatisfied" (10%), "dissatisfied" (5%), "very dissatisfied" (3%), or "totally dissatisfied" (18%) with their hearing aid battery life and express concern for the continued investment in batteries over the life of the hearing aid . When looking at hearing aid features, battery life had the highest negative rating (18%) in terms of satisfaction (Kochkin, 2010). Today, advances in hearing aid technology allow for wireless capability and streaming, along with assistive technologies that augment hearing aids. ...
... This information is necessary to understand the nuances of the patient experience and support patient-centered care. While there is work such as Kochkin (2010Kochkin ( , 2000 to discuss hearing aid use and satisfaction related to batteries, this study works to address the need for more understanding around how patients interact with their hearing aid batteries. Understanding how patients care for and manage their hearing aid batteries may inform future research questions examining personal factors that impact hearing aid battery dissatisfaction and perceptions. ...
Article
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Purpose The purpose of this study was to better understand the behaviors that hearing aid users engage in to manage batteries. Method Two arms of research, a survey of audiologists (n = 110) and qualitative interviews with adult hearing aid users (n = 13), were conducted. Surveys were distributed and collected both via paper and online methods. Descriptive analyses of survey results were conducted to report on common threads. Qualitative interviews were conducted with video recording for transcription purposes. These transcripts were then coded thematically to identify shared themes across participants. Results Results of this study highlight the variability in behavior between provider-recommended strategies (preemptive battery management) and the reactive/delay strategies that are implemented by users. Patient reports indicate several challenges related to changing their batteries including limited information on hearing aid batteries, physical/sensory challenges to the act, and the social impact of having to change hearing aid batteries. Concurrently, patients express a wide range of strategies to address other challenges including engaging in cost-conscious behaviors when managing batteries (both purchasing and deciding to replace) and maintaining a collection of easily accessible batteries for use. Conclusions Hearing aid batteries are a topic that reflect social and economic factors in a patient's life. While providers may report they cover these topics sufficiently, challenges related to batteries may need specific elucidation by the clinician to ensure adherence to recommendations and functioning devices.
... They may be evaluated through the use of structured validated questionnaires (e.g., Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile) or data logging (e.g., hours spent using hearing aids). In adults, HAid usage is estimated to be 8 to 9 hours per day (Iwahashi et al., 2013;Kochkin, 2010;Laureyns et al., 2020). Daily and efficient use of HAids is associated with higher levels of satisfaction and benefit (Jilla et al., 2020;Singh et al., 2015). ...
... To date, the majority of studies assessing hours of usage and HAid benefit have been conducted through surveys or interviews with HAids wearers (Iwahashi et al., 2013;Kochkin, 2010;Laureyns et al., 2020). Although very informative and useful for gaining an initial insight, this research design has particular limitations (Andrade, 2020). ...
Preprint
Full-text available
It is essential to understand the personal, behavioral, environmental, and other factors that correlate with optimal hearing aid fitting and hearing aid users' experiences in order to improve hearing loss patient satisfaction and quality of life, as well as reduce societal and financial burdens. This work proposes a novel framework that uses Encoder-decoder with attention mechanism (attn-ED) for predicting future hearing aid usage and SHAP to explain the factors contributing to this prediction. It has been demonstrated in experiments that attn-ED performs well at predicting future hearing aid usage, and that SHAP can be utilized to calculate the contribution of different factors affecting hearing aid usage. This framework aims to establish confidence that AI models can be utilized in the medical domain with the use of XAI methods. Moreover, the proposed framework can also assist clinicians in determining the nature of interventions.
... Sound quality has been shown to be an important factor for acceptance and satisfaction of hearing devices like hearing aids [1][2][3][4]. Especially for users with mild to moderate hearing loss, a perceived degradation in sound quality may outweigh the potential benefits of a hearing aid. Acoustically transparent hearing devices aim at reproducing the sound pressure at the eardrum, which would occur in the open ear in the same sound field. ...
... A minimum-phase impulse response was computed from the resulting magnitude spectrum and truncated to the desired length of 256 samples at 44.1 kHz. 2 Due to not explicitly randomizing the seed of the random number generator, some subjects shared the same pseudo-random order of scene presentation. A scene-wise analysis comparing the complete set of subjects with a subset of subjects with distinctly different orders of presentation showed similar results between both groups, so it is assumed that the order of presentation did not negatively influence the results. ...
... Among those aware, the majority recognized the importance of early intervention and hearing aid utilization. In addition Kochkin, (2010) also revealed that a significant proportion of participants had limited knowledge about hearing aids, their benefits, and how to properly use them. Many participants were unaware of the impact of untreated hearing loss on various aspects of their lives, such as communication, relationships, and overall well-being. ...
... These findings were consistent with that of Again, Kochkin, (2010) With respect to potential consequences of not using hearing aids, potential consequences identified by respondents include: increased risk of cognitive decline (67.3%), strained relationships with family and friends (57.7%), educed quality of life (48.1%), decreased job performance (40.4%) and social isolation (34.6%). ...
Article
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A hearing aid is a small electronic device that is worn in or behind the ear. It makes some sounds louder for a person with hearing loss to hear, communicate and participate more fully in daily activities. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and use of hearing aids among hearing impaired persons visiting ENT clinic at Tamale Teaching Hospital. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used and 52 hearing impaired persons were selected using a purposive sampling. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings suggest a significant proportion of respondents (36.5%) reported being slightly knowledgeable about the benefits of using hearing aids, (28.8%) considered themselves moderately knowledgeable about the benefits of hearing aids was whiles a small proportion (15.4%) of respondents claimed to be very knowledgeable about the benefits of hearing aids. Surprisingly, (19.3%) of respondents indicated that they had no knowledge at all about the benefits of hearing aids. However, there are challenges related to access, affordability (19.2%), and sustained use of hearing aids that need to be addressed. The deductions and inferences drawn from the results of the findings suggest that ENT Specialists, Audiologist in collaboration with management of TTH should develop and implement educational programs and awareness campaigns targeted at the hearing-impaired patients/clients visiting the clinic to improve their knowledge and understanding on the benefits of using hearing aids.
... PACE data included demographic information related to exercise and self-reported hearing status, self-perceived hearing ability during group exercise classes, and factors that act as barriers and facilitators for communication while participating in group exercise. The question structure and scale for the measurement of perceived hearing ability were based on those used in the SESMQ and previous MarkeTrak surveys (Jennings et al., 2014;Kochkin, 2010;Picou, 2020). Data collection for this project was completed during the Covid-19 pandemic. ...
... Other users reported lack of hearing aid use while at Physical Activity and Communication Evaluation group exercise. In the broader hearing aid literature, sound quality and effective noise management are important for hearing aid users and are associated with longer duration of use throughout the day (Kochkin, 2010;Picou, 2020). However, the primary barriers to hearing aid use in this study were not related to sound but were instead centred around physical features and comfort. ...
Article
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Background: Hearing loss and physical inactivity among adults are well documented, but the relationship between functional hearing ability and successful communication at group exercise is not well-understood. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate adults’ functional hearing ability in group exercise environments and to analyze the role of hearing accessibility on the ability to hear and communicate during group exercise classes. The study aimed to learn about the relationship between hearing accessibility (e.g., self-reported hearing loss, hearing aid use and room acoustics) and the ability to hear and communicate during group exercise classes. Methods: Participation in the study included the completion of an online survey titled Physical Activity and Communication Evaluation (P.A.C.E.). The inclusion criteria for this study were: (1) age of 18 years or older; (2) self-reported history of participation in group exercise classes; and (3) ability to complete the survey in English. Multiple stepwise linear regression was completed to describe the relationship between self-reported hearing measures and group exercise participation with age and severity of self-reported hearing loss (summed across ears) as predictors and the ability to hear and understand conversations at group exercise classes as dependent variables. Results: A total of 110 participants (age range 21-83 years) completed the online survey with 32 participants self-reporting hearing loss in at least one ear, with 10 of them using hearing aids during exercise participation. Self-reported hearing loss severity significantly affected the following variables: participants’ ability to hear other participants when more than one conversation was occurring at the same time (p=0.002), understand the spoken instructions without looking at the instructor (p<0.001), and understand the spoken instructions when the instructor was speaking to the group in quiet listening conditions (p<0.001). Conclusions: The results indicated that self-reported hearing loss affected the ability to hear and understand conversations at group exercise classes.
... At minimum, speech stimuli should be presented to each ear individually and ideally in the bilateral HA condition. In addition to assessing speech recognition in quiet, it is recommended that speech also be assessed in the presence of background noise using a SNR of +10 or +5 dB (142,(154)(155)(156). Testing in background noise is important because it is often the patient's greatest complaint (154), and it simulates common realworld communication situations (155,156). ...
... At minimum, speech stimuli should be presented to each ear individually and ideally in the bilateral HA condition. In addition to assessing speech recognition in quiet, it is recommended that speech also be assessed in the presence of background noise using a SNR of +10 or +5 dB (142,(154)(155)(156). Testing in background noise is important because it is often the patient's greatest complaint (154), and it simulates common realworld communication situations (155,156). ...
Article
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Clinics are treating a growing number of patients with greater amounts of residual hearing. These patients often benefit from a bimodal hearing configuration in which acoustic input from a hearing aid on 1 ear is combined with electrical stimulation from a cochlear implant on the other ear. The current guidelines aim to review the literature and provide best practice recommendations for the evaluation and treatment of individuals with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss who may benefit from bimodal hearing configurations. Specifically, the guidelines review: benefits of bimodal listening, preoperative and postoperative cochlear implant evaluation and programming, bimodal hearing aid fitting, contralateral routing of signal considerations, bimodal treatment for tinnitus, and aural rehabilitation recommendations.
... Therefore, differing models of healthcare provision may contribute to the differences and similarities observed in the conduct of audiologists. Furthermore, the decision-making process and the patient approach can influence the adoption rate of HAs, as described in previous surveys [18][19][20]. ...
... Moreover, in Portugal, audiologists are represented by APtA, a not-for-profit organization without legal authority and, therefore, without regulatory and supervisory competencies. Currently, regulatory functions are the responsibility of the Ministry of Health, rather than being reallocated to this organization, which maintains an oversight of the knowledge, skills and practice of audiology as a profession, in addition to being an advisory member of the Ministry of Health on issues related to the profession [20]. Our results reflect this situation, with distrust of professional bodies and low adherence to regulatory guidelines of professional bodies. ...
Article
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Ethical standards in audiology have been continuously improved and discussed, leading to the elaboration of specific regulatory guidelines for the profession. However, in the field of auditory rehabilitation, audiologists are still faced with circumstances that question their ethical principles, usually associated with the support of the hearing aids industry. The study explores the decision-making process and ethical concerns in auditory rehabilitation as they relate to the practice of audiology in Portugal. An online questionnaire constructed by the authors was used and sent to the email addresses of a list of audiologists, registered with the Portuguese Association of Audiologists. The questionnaire was answered by 93 audiologists with clinical experience in auditory rehabilitation for more than one year. The collected data demonstrated that audiometric results and clinical experience are the most important factors for decision-making in auditory rehabilitation practice. Moreover, incentives from the employers or manufacturers were identified as the main cause of ethical dilemmas. This study highlights the ethical concerns regarding the clinical practice of auditory rehabilitation in Portugal, revealing that the decision-making process is complex and, specifically in this field, the current practice may not be adequate for effective compliance with professional ethical standards.
... Now-a-days in audio and wireless applications the usage of digital filter is increasing more due to the less hardware requirement and the speed of conversion. The hearing aid application needs fast performance, less hardware,an efficient methodology, and less power consuming digital filter (Das, 2010;Kochkin, 2010). A hearing aid is an electro-acoustic gadget which is framed to amplify sound, with the keeping speech more reliable shown in Fig. 1. ...
... Several algorithms have been discussed in literature to decrease the computation effort and construct an eminent filter for hearing aid application. One of the technique is discussed in Kochkin (2010) to reduce the number of multipliers for every tap of the filter. A hardware and power efficient architecture has been achieved by the use of canonical signed digit (CSD) representation. ...
Article
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With the development of more compact and powerful methods of designing a digital logic on a silicon chip, most of the signal processing is being implemented in the digital domain. The implementation of an efficient reconfigurable digital decimation filter is presented in the work. In this paper we focuses with the implementation and design of a decimation filter which is used for hearing aid applications. We design decimation filter with the help of the canonic signed digit (CSD) representation. In decimation filter the cascaded integrated comb filter is designed using without multiplier less. The half band and corrector filters are designed using CSD. The decimation filter has been implemented on Xilinx FPGA using Virtex-2 technology and number of slices ,number of LUTs and number of registers are reported and also proposed design is implemented in synopsis design compiler for ASIC implementation and calculated area, power and delay. The resulting architecture is hardware efficient and consumes less power compared to conventional decimation filters. Compared to the normal decimation filter architecture, the proposed decimation filter architecture has less hardware saving of 60% and in addition, it decreases the power consumption of 80%, respectively and the proposed architecture is well suited for decimation filters of the hearing aids.
... Attitude of an individual toward hearing loss and hearing aids is one of the key factors for the delay in seeking help. 9 Several factors were attributed to PHLs' attitude toward their hearing loss and these include acceptance (denial), coping with hearing loss, and perceived disability. For example, PHL seek help more quickly if the perceived disability due to their hearing loss is higher or if they have accepted their hearing loss. ...
... 27 The percentage of PHL seeking help for their hearing loss varies across different countries. 9,28 For example, in a Eurotrak survey, 48% of PHL sought help and adopted a hearing aid as opposed to only 14% in Japan. In some developing countries like China and India, the percentage has been reported between 1 and 8%. ...
Conference Paper
Abstract This study examined the social representation of hearing loss and hearing aids in people with hearing loss (PHL) in India, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom and the United States using Social Representation Theory. The study helps to understand collective view of PHL about hearing loss and hearing aids. The results will aid to develop culutrally appropriate public education campaigns, marketing material and appropriate rehabilitation for PHL with the aim to reduce delay in seeking help and improve hearing aid adoption. Summary Background and Objective: Despite the negative consequences of hearing loss, people with hearing loss (PHL) wait about 10 years before seeking professional help and adopt hearing aid. Much of the knowledge in hearing help-seeking and hearing aid adoption have used attitude theories and stigma theory. However, the strategies developed based on these theories have not resulted in any substantial improvements to help-seeking behavior. Thus, it is essential to consider alternative theories (e.g., Theory of Social Representations) which have been successfully used in disability research to better understand how PHL perceives hearing loss and hearing aids to improve help seeking ad hearing aid adoption. The aim of the current study was to examine the social representation of hearing loss and hearing aids in PHL in India, Republic of Korea (ROK), United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Social representation refers to values, practices, customs, ideas, and beliefs that are shared between individuals in a society or group. Design: The study used a cross-sectional survey design. 424 participants were recruited using a consecutive sampling method in four countries (India, ROK, UK and US). Data was collected using a free association task self-reported questionnaire and analyzed using qualitative (i.e., content analysis) and quantitative (similarities analysis, prototypical analysis, and Chi-square analysis) techniques. Results: The free associations of the PHL relating to hearing loss were grouped into 37 categories. The most commonly reported categories were ‘communication difficulties,’ ‘negative mental state,’ ‘ageing,’ ‘assessment and management,’ ‘causes of hearing loss,’ ‘hearing ability or disability,’ ‘hearing instruments,’ and ‘symptoms of hearing loss.’ Similarities analysis and prototypical analysis highlighted two main negative categories ‘negative mental state’ and ‘communication difficulties’ which form the central elements of social representation of hearing loss. PHL associated hearing loss mainly as a negative phenomenon but with some positive and neutral aspects. ROK respondents reported a greater number of neutral associations compared to other countries. In terms of the hearing aids, the free associations were grouped into 45 categories. The frequently reported categories across all countries were ‘beneficial,’ ‘cost and time’ and ‘appearance and design.’ Approximately 50% of the associations reported were negative. There were variations in terms of the categories that were predominant in the social representation of each country. ‘Others' actions and attitude’ category was predominantly reported by PHL in India. ‘Disturbance’ and ‘dissatisfaction’ of hearing aids and the ‘repairs and maintenance of hearing aids’ categories were mainly reported from the ROK and the US, respectively. Overall, there were cross cultural similarities and differences in PHL’s social representation of hearing loss and hearing aids, although more similarities than differences were noted. Conclusions: The study provides an insight into how PHL collectively view hearing loss and hearing aids. We believe that these findings will help to develop our understanding of the influence of culture on the social representation of hearing loss and hearing aids. The results will aid the development of culturally appropriate public education campaigns, marketing material and appropriate rehabilitation for PHL with the aim to improve help-seeking and hearing aid adoption.
... However, the designer does not have the advance information to design a solution for an unknown client in an unknown, volatile acoustic world. As a result, while hearing aids do improve the lives of many people, there is still a fraction of about 20% of patients who are not satisfied with the sound quality of their hearing aids [6]. ...
Preprint
Hearing Aid (HA) algorithms need to be tuned ("fitted") to match the impairment of each specific patient. The lack of a fundamental HA fitting theory is a strong contributing factor to an unsatisfying sound experience for about 20% of hearing aid patients. This paper proposes a probabilistic modeling approach to the design of HA algorithms. The proposed method relies on a generative probabilistic model for the hearing loss problem and provides for automated inference of the corresponding (1) signal processing algorithm, (2) the fitting solution as well as a principled (3) performance evaluation metric. All three tasks are realized as message passing algorithms in a factor graph representation of the generative model, which in principle allows for fast implementation on hearing aid or mobile device hardware. The methods are theoretically worked out and simulated with a custom-built factor graph toolbox for a specific hearing loss model.
... However, research has shown that hearing aids, the primary treatment for hearing loss, can help reduce the negative implications of hearing loss by improving quality of life and reducing depressive symptoms (Oyler, 2018;Tsimpida • • • et al., 2022). Despite this, many adults who own hearing aids do not use them (Kochkin, 2010), with one of the potential reasons being that they do not know how to correctly care for and manipulate their hearing aids (McCormack & Fortnum, 2013). This underuse of hearing aids is even more prevalent for older adults living in skilled nursing facilities, where many of them require assistance with their hearing aids (Cohen-Mansfield & Taylor, 2004). ...
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Purpose The purpose of the present study was to develop and evaluate an in-person hearing aid training program designed for health care workers and personal care aides (PCAs) who care for older adults. Method Participants were 18 health care workers and PCAs whose clients were older adults. This was a randomized controlled study in which half of the participants were assigned to the experimental group (n = 9) and the other half to a control group (n = 9). The experimental group was administered a hearing aid training program that was developed in this study for health care workers and PCAs. Participants in the control group were trained on a task similar in complexity and administration time to the hearing aid training program. The Practical Hearing Aid Skills Test–Revised Version 2 (PHAST-Rv2) was administered before and immediately after training. A 2 × 2 mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the pre- and post-training scores between and within the experimental and control groups. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the differences between pre- and post-training scores on each of the administered PHAST-Rv2 tasks. In addition, participants were asked about their experience helping clients with their hearing aids. Results Mean pre- and post-training PHAST-Rv2 scores for the experimental group were 59.50% and 95.84%, respectively, and 57.66% and 59.96%, respectively, for the control group. Results from a 2 × 2 mixed ANOVA with time point (pre- and post-training) as the within-subject variable and group (experimental and control) as the between-subject variable demonstrated that hearing aid training significantly improved PHAST-Rv2 scores for the experimental group. Post-training, the tasks that the experimental group improved on the most were brushing the microphone port, cleaning the dome, placing the hearing aids in the charger, and inserting the hearing aid into the model ear. No demographic variables were significantly correlated with the participants' improvement on the PHAST-Rv2 post-training score. Conclusion A hearing aid training program designed specifically for health care workers was shown to be an efficient and effective way to improve how well health care workers can care for and operate a hearing aid.
... İC kullanımına bağlı memnuniyet temel olarak cihazın sağladığı ses kalitesine göre belirlenir. Bu kapsamda ses kalitesi kavramı sesin netliği, doğallığı, zenginliği/aslına uygunluğu ile yüksek şiddetteki ses seviyelerinde rahatsız olmama ve kişinin kendi sesini tıkanma hissi (oklüzyon etkisi) olmadan duyma olarak tanımlanabilir (Kochkin, 2010). İşitme cihazından gelen sesin kalitesi kullanıcının işitme eşikleri, yaşı, konuşmayı anlama performansı, işitsel deprivasyon süresi, bilişsel durumu gibi kişisel faktörlere (Abrams ve Kihm, 2015) ve çok bantlı kompresyon, geri bildirim mekanizması, direksiyonel mikrofon, gürültü kesme algoritması gibi cihaz teknik özelliklerine bağlı olarak farklılık gösterir (Völker, Ernst ve Kollmeier, 2018). ...
Article
Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı işitme cihazı ince ayar uygulamasında kullanılmak üzere bireylerin ortam sesleri ve dinleme tercihlerini ve alışkanlıklarını değerlendirmek amacı ile Ortam Sesi Tercihleri ve Dinleme Alışkanlıkları (OST-DA) ölçeğinin Türkçe adaptasyonunu, geçerlik ve güvenirlik incelemesini normal işiten bireylerde yapmaktır. Ayrıca normal işiten (Nİ), işitme engeli olup işitme cihazı kullanamayan (İE) ve işitme cihazı kullanan (İC) bireylerde OST-DA ölçek maddeleri arasında fark olup olmadığının araştırılması da planlanmıştır.Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışma 18-68 yaş arası (37,73±12,89) Nİ, İE’li ve İC’li 489 katılımcı ile yürütülmüştür. OST-DA ve İşitme Engeli Ölçeği-Erişkin (İEÖ-E) Tarama ölçeği elektronik olarak uygulanmıştır.Bulgular: OST-DA ölçeğinin Türkçe sürümünün genel Cronbach’s α ve Spearman-Brown katsayıları sırasıyla 0,90 ve 0,93 olarak bulunmuştur. Doğrulayıcı faktör analizi sonuçları χ^2=492,871,sd=209〖,χ〗^2/sd=2,358, Yaklaşık Hataların Ortalama Karekökü=0,066; Karşılaştırmalı Uyum İndeksi=0,905, Uyum İyeliği İndeksi (GFI)=0.874 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Nİ, İE’li ve İC’li grupların OST-DA skorları arasında Tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA) testinde anlamlı fark bulunmuştur (p<0,01). Tukey HSD test sonuçlarına göre Nİ ve İE’li bireylerin (p<0,001) ve İE’li ve İC’li bireylerin (p<0,001) ölçek skorları arasında fark bulunmuştur. Sonuç: OST-DA Türkçe sürümü psikometrik değerlendirmesi ölçeğin yüksek düzeyde güvenirliğe ve kabul edilebilir geçerliğe sahip olduğunu göstermektedir. OST-DA ölçeği işitme cihaz uygulamalarında uzmana bireylerin ses tercihleri ve alışkanlıkları hakkında destek bilgiler sağlayacak bir ön tarama aracı olarak klinik ve araştırma uygulamalarında kullanılabilir.
... A study (6) investigated satisfaction with one's own voice among users of hearing aids and found that only 58% of respondents attributed a rating of "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the sound of their own voice. ...
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Purpose To analyze, by electroacoustic verification at 65 dB SPL, the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII), with the speech self-perception algorithm activated and deactivated in elderly hearing aid users. Methods This is a cross-sectional observational study. The participants were 40 older adults with mild to severe bilateral symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss, aged between 60 and 80 years, who attended a hearing center, users of Rexton receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) devices, My Core platform with speech Self-perception algorithm. After an audiological evaluation, the hearing aids were programmed using the NAL/NL2 prescriptive method and fine-tuned according to individual needs. The speech self-perception algorithm was calibrated and after performing the electroacoustic verification, the Speech Intelligibility Index was quantified. Electroacoustic verification was performed with and without the self-perception of speech algorithm enabled. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS Statistics software, version 28.0. The statistical significance value was equal to 5% (p ≤ 0.05). Results In the right ear, without activation of the algorithm, the average SII was 58.9% (±14.7) and with activation, 57.85% (±14.8). In the left ear, without activation of the algorithm, the SSI was 63.1% (±15.13) and with activation, 61.9% (±15.2). There was statistical significance between the SII obtained with the algorithm on and off (p<0.001). In both ears, with the self-perception activated algorithm activated, the mean SII was lower than without. Conclusion There is a reduction in SII with the self-perception of speech algorithm activated in strong mode. Keywords: Hearing loss; Hearing aids; Algorithms; Aging; Technology
... Estudo (6) investigou a satisfação com a própria voz em indivíduos usuários de próteses auditivas e constatou que apenas 58% dos entrevistados atribuíram a classificação de "satisfeito" ou "muito satisfeito" com o som de sua própria voz. ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose To analyze, by electroacoustic verification at 65 dB SPL, the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII), with the speech self-perception algorithm activated and deactivated in elderly hearing aid users. Methods This is a cross-sectional observational study. The participants were 40 older adults with mild to severe bilateral symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss, aged between 60 and 80 years, who attended a hearing center, users of Rexton receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) devices, My Core platform with speech Self-perception algorithm. After an audiological evaluation, the hearing aids were programmed using the NAL/NL2 prescriptive method and fine-tuned according to individual needs. The speech self-perception algorithm was calibrated and after performing the electroacoustic verification, the Speech Intelligibility Index was quantified. Electroacoustic verification was performed with and without the self-perception of speech algorithm enabled. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS Statistics software, version 28.0. The statistical significance value was equal to 5% (p ≤ 0.05). Results In the right ear, without activation of the algorithm, the average SII was 58.9% (±14.7) and with activation, 57.85% (±14.8). In the left ear, without activation of the algorithm, the SSI was 63.1% (±15.13) and with activation, 61.9% (±15.2). There was statistical significance between the SII obtained with the algorithm on and off (p<0.001). In both ears, with the self-perception activated algorithm activated, the mean SII was lower than without. Conclusion There is a reduction in SII with the self-perception of speech algorithm activated in strong mode. Keywords: Hearing loss; Hearing aids; Algorithms; Aging; Technology
... [14] Kochkin has reported that the performance in a noisy environment is a major reason why suitable HA candidates may not use their devices. [15] Currently, available behavioral tests, including speech tests in quiet environments, HA thresholds, or real ear measurements, may not accurately reflect the auditory performance of users in real-world scenarios. Therefore, to determine the optimal amplification parameters for HA users, speech tests should be regularly performed in noisy environments that simulate everyday situations. ...
Article
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Aims: Digital noise reduction (DNR) minimizes the effect of noise on speech signals by continuously monitoring frequency bands in the presence of noise. In the present study, we explored the effect of DNR technology on speech intelligibility in individuals using hearing aids (HAs) and investigated implications for daily use. Methods and material: Eighteen participants with bilateral moderate sensorineural hearing loss (aged 16-45 years) were included. Bilateral receiver-in-the-ear HAs were fitted in the participants. The adaptive and nonadaptive (with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of +5 and −5 dB, respectively) Turkish matrix sentence test (TURMatrix) in noise and free-field hearing assessments, including hearing thresholds with hearing aids, speech recognition thresholds (SRT), and speech discrimination scores, were conducted in two different conditions: HA in the DNR-on and DNR-off conditions. Results: No significant difference was observed between free-field hearing assessments with the HA in the DNR-off and DNR-on conditions (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the adaptive and nonadaptive TURMatrix revealed significant differences between the scores under the DNR-on and DNR-off conditions (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, under the DNR-on condition, there was no correlation between free-field hearing assessments with HA and TURMatrix results (P > 0.05). However, a significant correlation was observed between SRT scores with HA and TURMatrix scores (adaptive and nonadaptive, +5 and −5 dB SNR, respectively) under the DNR-off condition (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study findings suggest that DNR can improve speech intelligibility in noisy environments. Therefore, DNR can enhance an individual's auditory comfort by improving their capacity to grasp speech in background noise.
... Only three experienced HA wearers used their own HAs for less than 10 h per day. Overall satisfaction for participants' own HAs in noisy conditions averaged 3 (out of 5, i.e., acceptable or neutral) as assessed by a subset of questions from the MarkeTrak questionnaire (Kochkin, 2010). The three nonwearers had participated in HA studies, previously. ...
Article
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This study measured electroencephalographic activity in the alpha band, often associated with task difficulty, to physiologically validate self-reported effort ratings from older hearing-impaired listeners performing the Repeat-Recall Test (RRT)—an integrative multipart assessment of speech-in-noise performance, context use, and auditory working memory. Following a single-blind within-subjects design, 16 older listeners (mean age = 71 years, SD = 13, 9 female) with a moderate-to-severe degree of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss performed the RRT while wearing hearing aids at four fixed signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of −5, 0, 5, and 10 dB. Performance and subjective ratings of listening effort were assessed for complementary versions of the RRT materials with high/low availability of semantic context. Listeners were also tested with a version of the RRT that omitted the memory (i.e., recall) component. As expected, results showed alpha power to decrease significantly with increasing SNR from 0 through 10 dB. When tested with high context sentences, alpha was significantly higher in conditions where listeners had to recall the sentence materials compared to conditions where the recall requirement was omitted. When tested with low context sentences, alpha power was relatively high irrespective of the memory component. Within-subjects, alpha power was related to listening effort ratings collected across the different RRT conditions. Overall, these results suggest that the multipart demands of the RRT modulate both neural and behavioral measures of listening effort in directions consistent with the expected/designed difficulty of the RRT conditions.
... Hearing loss greatly reduces this ability, even when the sound input to the ear is amplified by a hearing aid (Bronkhorst, 2000). Consequently, difficulties with communication in everyday noisy situations continue to be the most common complaint from hearing-aid users (Kochkin, 2010;Lesica, 2018). Potential solutions to this challenge are limited by the very design of hearing aids as sound processing devices. ...
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Restoring normal speech perception in everyday noisy acoustic environments remains an outstanding challenge for hearing aids. Speech separation technology is improving rapidly but hearing instrument technology cannot fully exploit this advance without knowing which sound sources the user wants to hear. Even with high-quality source separation, the hearing aid must know which speech streams to enhance and which to suppress. Advances in EEG-based decoding of auditory attention raise the potential of a neuro-steered hearing instrument that selectively enhances the sound sources that a hearing-impaired listener is focusing their attention on. Here, we present a real-time brain-computer interface (BCI) system implementing this concept. Our system combines a stimulus-response model based on canonical correlation analysis (CCA) for real-time EEG attention decoding with a multi-microphone hardware platform enabling low-latency real-time speech separation through spatial beamforming. In this paper, we provide an overview of the system and its various components and discuss prospects and limitations of the technology. We illustrate its application with case studies of listeners steering acoustic feedback of competing speech streams via real-time attention decoding. A software implementation code of the system is publicly available for further research and explorations.
... A adaptação da prótese auditiva é um processo múltiplo e complexo, que não se limita apenas ao período de testes e a escolha do dispositivo. Muitas pesquisas demonstram que ausência de orientação e acompanhamento inadequado implicará no abandono do uso das próteses auditivas (1) . Estima-se que a não utilização de próteses auditivas -já adquiridas -em adultos alcance até 24% dos usuários (2,3) . ...
Article
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Purpose To develop and verify the usability of an internet-based system for telemonitoring and guidance of the hearing aid user as well as monitoring the long-term performance in a pilot group. Methods The system “I can hear, but I can’t understand” was developed based on recommendations in the literature regarding layout, design, and content for guidance and advice. Three stages were followed: planning, design and content development, and pilot testing. The sample consisted of 43 adults and older adults with any type and degree of hearing loss, who had been regularly using a hearing aid for at least 30 days and at most 24 months, with reading skills and no evidence of cognitive impairments. The individuals were followed up for 8 to 12 months. The users’ performance was monitored with the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale. The usability of this material was assessed with the System Usability Scale. Results Improved performance and increased self-reported daily use of the hearing aid were observed after the period of guidance and telemonitoring via the system for all research participants. In all analyzes of the SUS scale, it was possible to observe a performance superior to 70 points, demonstrating good usability of the system. In the analysis of the performance of the SSQ, in the three moments of the research, a positive response was observed in all domains, thus showing progress in the use of hearing aids, with significant data for the domain of Hearing Speech. Conclusion The system “I can hear, but I can’t understand” proved to be an easy-to-use and effective tool to telemonitor hearing aid users. Keywords: Hearing Aids; Elderly; Adults; Distance Counseling; Internet-Based Intervention; Telehealth; Technological Development,Patient Satisfaction
... Fitting hearing aids is a multiple complex process that is not limited only to the period of tests and the choice of the device. Many pieces of research demonstrate that the absence of guidance and inadequate follow-up lead people to abandon the use of hearing aids (1) . It has been estimated that the non-use of already acquired hearing aids in adults reaches up to 24% of users (2,3) . ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose To develop and verify the usability of an internet-based system for telemonitoring and guidance of the hearing aid user as well as monitoring the long-term performance in a pilot group. Methods The system “I can hear, but I can’t understand” was developed based on recommendations in the literature regarding layout, design, and content for guidance and advice. Three stages were followed: planning, design and content development, and pilot testing. The sample consisted of 43 adults and older adults with any type and degree of hearing loss, who had been regularly using a hearing aid for at least 30 days and at most 24 months, with reading skills and no evidence of cognitive impairments. The individuals were followed up for 8 to 12 months. The users’ performance was monitored with the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale. The usability of this material was assessed with the System Usability Scale. Results Improved performance and increased self-reported daily use of the hearing aid were observed after the period of guidance and telemonitoring via the system for all research participants. In all analyzes of the SUS scale, it was possible to observe a performance superior to 70 points, demonstrating good usability of the system. In the analysis of the performance of the SSQ, in the three moments of the research, a positive response was observed in all domains, thus showing progress in the use of hearing aids, with significant data for the domain of Hearing Speech. Conclusion The system “I can hear, but I can’t understand” proved to be an easy-to-use and effective tool to telemonitor hearing aid users. Keywords: Hearing Aids; Elderly; Adults; Distance Counseling; Internet-Based Intervention; Telehealth; Technological Development,Patient Satisfaction
... When it comes to communication, difficulty understanding speech in the presence of background noise is the primary complaint among those treated for hearing loss (Kochkin 2010). Communicating in background noise is a universal challenge because there is so much noise in the world around us. ...
Article
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Speech-in-noise testing has been proposed as a useful part of the audiometric test battery dating back to the earliest years of the field of audiology. Many speech-in-noise tests have been developed and used to varying degrees. However, multiple barriers have prevented speech-in-noise testing from being used widely in the clinic. The purpose of this article is to provide a resource to audiologists and other hearing health professionals who want to know (1) what tests are available for use, (2) the rationale behind specific tests, and (3) important considerations when selecting one or more tests to use clinically. In addition, data are presented for four speech-in-noise tests with the purpose of comparing outcomes as a function of age and hearing status. The four tests (QuickSIN, Words in Noise [WIN], Listening in Spatialized Noise–Sentences [LiSN-S], and Coordinate Response Measure [CRM]) were completed by 30 individuals from three groups: 10 young adults with normal hearing, 10 older adults with normal hearing, and 10 older adults with hearing loss. The results suggest that, despite significant differences in performance between groups, group overlap was present such that some individuals from one group performed similar to some individuals of other groups; therefore, individual performance was more important than associated group. When selecting an appropriate speech-in-noise test to use clinically, audiologists should carefully consider the purpose of their testing and the type of information they desire as an outcome. A quick-resource table and appendix is provided to aid audiologists and other health professionals in their selection of an appropriate speech-in-noise test.
... Sound quality has been consistently ranked as a top priority for hearing aid users and is found to be the top correlate of consumer satisfaction and preference in both premium and entry-level hearing aids (Kochkin, 2010;Saleh et al., 2022;Picou, 2020). To address the quality of sound external to the device, hearing aid manufacturers use digital signal processing (DSP) strategies such as noise reduction algorithms and directional microphones to help reduce reverberation and background noise. ...
Article
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Purpose The purpose of the study was to obtain, analyze, and compare subjective sound quality data for the same test stimuli using modified multistimulus MUSHRA (Multiple Stimulus with Hidden Reference and Anchors) based procedures (viz., MUSHRA with custom anchors and MUSHRA without anchor) and the single-stimulus Gabrielsson's total impression rating procedure. Method Twenty normally hearing young adults were recruited in this study. Participants completed sound quality ratings on two different hearing aid recording data sets—Data Set A contained speech recordings from four different hearing aids under a variety of noisy and processing conditions, and Data Set B contained speech recordings from a single hearing aid under a combination of different noisy, reverberant, and signal processing conditions. Recordings in both data sets were rated for their quality using the total impression rating procedure. In addition, quality ratings of Data Set A recordings were obtained using a MUSHRA with custom anchors, while the ratings of Data Set B recordings were collected using a MUSHRA without anchor. Results Statistical analyses revealed a high test–retest reliability of quality ratings for the same stimuli that were rated multiple times. In addition, high-interrater reliability was observed with all three rating procedures. Further analyses indicated (a) a high correlation between the total impression rating and the two modified MUSHRA ratings and (b) a similar relationship between the average and standard deviation of the subjective rating data obtained by the total impression rating and MUSHRA with custom anchors on Data Set A, and the total impression rating and the MUSHRA without anchor on Data Set B. Conclusion Both sound quality procedures, namely, the MUSHRA-based procedures and the total impression rating scale, obtained similar quality ratings of varied hearing aid speech recordings with high reliability.
... Wong et al. (2003) also noted that experienced users are more likely to adapt faster to the new HAs than first-time users. Kochkin (2010) found that the users with above-average success with HAs required fewer visits (one or two) to the clinic to achieve the desired outcome. In contrast, almost 50% of users with belowaverage success had visited the clinic more than 4 times. ...
Article
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Purpose This study was aimed at understanding the effect of time taken to adapt to the new hearing aids (HAs) and the timeline of HA adjustments performed over more than a year of rehabilitation on self-reported HA outcomes. Method A self-report of the time it took to get accustomed to the new HAs and adjustment of the HAs during a year of rehabilitation collected from 690 HA users using a nonstandardized questionnaire were analyzed. The abbreviated version of the Speech, Spatial, and Quality of Hearing questionnaire and the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids were used as the self-reported HA outcome. Result Out of 690 participants, 442 (64%) got accustomed to HAs within 2 months. Ninety-one participants (13%) did not get accustomed to the HAs at all, out of which 74 (81%) were first-time HA users. Eighty-four participants (12%) did not receive any HA adjustments after their initial fitting, and 49 (7%) had their HAs adjusted four or more times during the 1 year of rehabilitation. Three hundred ninety (57%) participants got their HA adjusted only at the 2-month follow-up visit, showing the intent to adjust given an opportunity. The stepwise multiple linear regression results showed the significant impact of getting accustomed to the HA and having HA adjusted at multiple instances on the self-reported HA outcomes. Conclusion This study showed the importance of getting accustomed to the HA and having a minimal number of adjustments to have a better long-term self-reported HA outcome.
... Wind noise captured in microphone signals is an important factor of intelligibility and quality loss in speech communications, and occurs for virtually all outdoor scenarios. Hearing-device users particularly suffer from wind noise presence, more than from other noise types [1]. Wind acoustics are highly non-stationary, especially in case of strong wind as it adopts a turbulent behaviour close to microphones. ...
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In this paper we present a method for single-channel wind noise reduction using our previously proposed diffusion-based stochastic regeneration model combining predictive and generative modelling. We introduce a non-additive speech in noise model to account for the non-linear deformation of the membrane caused by the wind flow and possible clipping. We show that our stochastic regeneration model outperforms other neural-network-based wind noise reduction methods as well as purely predictive and generative models, on a dataset using simulated and real-recorded wind noise. We further show that the proposed method generalizes well by testing on an unseen dataset with real-recorded wind noise. Audio samples, data generation scripts and code for the proposed methods can be found online (https://uhh.de/inf-sp-storm-wind).
... Sweetow & Sabes(2006) (Anderson & Kraus, 2013;Burk & Humes, 2007;Burk & Humes, 2008;Sommers et al., 2015;Stropahl et al., 2020;Tye-Murray, 2009). 하지만 실 질적으로 임상적 적용 측면에서는 10% 미만의 일부 청각전문 가들만이 난청인에게 청능훈련을 제공하는 것으로 나타났다 (Bloom, 2004;Kochkin, 2010;Sweetow & Sabes, 2010 Burk et al., 2006;Ferguson et al., 2014;Kawata et al., 2022;Smith et al., 2009;Stecker et al., 2006) (Boothroyd, 2010;Hawkins, 2005;Makhoba & Joseph, 2016;Sweetow & Palmer, 2005 (Boothroyd, 1987;Levitt, 2011;Sommers et al., 2015;Sweetow & Sabes, 2006 ...
Article
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the demand for auditory training provision and survey beneficiary experience.Methods: A total of 161 participants (80 hearing professionals and 81 elderly hearing aid users) were surveyed online or in-person. Both groups completed 26 questions related to their experience of providing or receiving auditory training, awareness of need, and preference.Results: The hearing professional group was strongly aware of the need to provide auditory training to improve communication problems in elderly individuals using hearing aids, and the absence of a systematic auditory training program was the biggest factor in not providing auditory training. The elderly hearing aid user group also recognized the need for auditory training to improve communication problems, but they responded that the hassle of visiting a clinic for training and lack of training time were factors that made participation in auditory training difficult.Conclusion: Hearing professionals should expand the scope of aural rehabilitation services to provide effective auditory training programs that fit the concept of rehabilitation, rather than simply providing hearing aid fitting management services to improve communication skills. Therefore, hearing professionals should conduct an intervention program after hearing aid fitting for elderly hearing aid users so that hearing rehabilitation can be comprehensively performed according to auditory and cognitive perceptual changes. In addition, efforts are required to solve limitations that make it difficult for elderly individuals who use hearing aids to participate in auditory training, such as the development of a web-based auditory training program.
... A further limitation in study design is the lack of focus on issues of importance to patients, likely to include hearing difficulty when communicating in the presence of background noise, a common symptom of sensorineural hearing, particularly when asymmetric, and is associated with limited social interaction and increased isolation. [17][18][19] Community-based digits-in-noise tests revealed that 1 in 10 United Kingdom adults has some difficulty understanding speech in background noise, 20 and those with unilateral hearing loss have a particular difficulty in these listening environments. 21 In addition, the two most widely used hearing classification systems for patients with VS, the Gardner-Robertson (GR) scale and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) scale, do not assess speech intelligibility in background noise. ...
Article
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Background Evidence on hearing outcome measures when assessing hearing preservation following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for adults with vestibular schwannoma (VS) has not previously been collated in a structured review. Objective The objective of the present study was to perform a scoping review of the evidence regarding the choice of hearing outcomes and other methodological characteristics following SRS for adults with VS. Methods The protocol was registered in the International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (INPLASY) and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses extension guidelines for scoping reviews. A systematic search of five online databases revealed 1,591 studies, 247 of which met the inclusion criteria. Results The majority of studies (n = 213, 86%) were retrospective cohort or case series with the remainder (n = 34, 14%) prospective cohort. Pure-tone audiometry and speech intelligibility were included in 222 (90%) and 158 (64%) studies, respectively, often summarized within a classification scheme and lacking procedural details. Fifty-nine (24%) studies included self-report measures. The median duration of follow-up, when reported, was 43 months (interquartile range: 29, 4–150). Conclusion Evidence on hearing disability after SRS for VS is based on low-quality studies which are inherently susceptible to bias. This review has highlighted an urgent need for a randomized controlled trial assessing hearing outcomes in patients with VS managed with radiosurgery or radiological observation. Similarly, consensus and coproduction of a core outcome set to determine relevant hearing and communication outcome domains is required. This will ensure that patient priorities, including communication abilities in the presence of background noise and reduced participation restrictions, are addressed.
... In contrast with a bone transducer, using speech is more accessible as no specialized equipment is required other than a simple feedback system (e.g., screen of a sound level meter) if the vocal effort is to be monitored. Additionally, it is deemed relevant to use speech as a stimulation source since it is often associated with discomforts in real life situations (Dillon, 2012;Doutres et al., 2019;Kochkin, 2010;Terroir et al., 2021). Using one's own voice as a stimulation source is, however, associated with some limitations. ...
Article
The occlusion effect (OE) occurs when the earcanal becomes occluded by an in-ear device, sometimes leading to discomforts experienced by the users due to the augmented perception of physiological noises, or to a distorted perception of one's own voice. The OE can be assessed objectively by measuring the amplification of the low-frequency sound pressure level (SPL) in the earcanal using in-ear microphones. However, as revealed by methodological discrepancies found in past studies, the measurement of this objective occlusion effect (OE obj ) is not standardized. With the goal of proposing a robust yet simple methodology adapted for field assessment, three experimental aspects are investigated: (i) stimulation source and the stimulus's characteristics to induce the phenomenon, (ii) measurement method of the SPL in earcanal, (iii) indicator to quantify the OE obj . To do so, OE obj is measured on human participants in laboratory conditions. Results obtained with a specific insert device suggest using the participant's own voice combined with simultaneous measurements of the SPLs based on the noise reduction method and using a single value indicator leads to a simple yet robust methodology to assess OE obj . Further research is necessary to validate the results with other devices and to generalize the methodology for field assessment.
... Nearly 90% of hearing-impaired people suffer from binaural hearing loss [37,38] and prefer the simultaneous use of hearing aids in both ears [39]. When installed in both ears, hearing aids also help in localizing the sound source and improve hearing in noisy environments [40]. ...
... Understanding speech in the presence of competing sounds is particularly challenging for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners (Marrone, Mason and Kidd, 2008) and difficulties with speech in noise are a major factor limiting satisfaction with and usage of hearing aids (HAs) (Kochkin, 2010). Signal processing approaches that have been employed to try to improve the perception of speech in noise via HAs include both the use of spatial filtering (beamforming) to emphasise sounds from the direction of the target source and methods that attempt to separate target and masking sounds based on their spectrotemporal characteristics, such as binary masking (Kim and Loizou, 2010). ...
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A signal processing approach combining beamforming with mask-informed speech enhancement was assessed by measuring sentence recognition in listeners with mild-to-moderate hearing impairment in adverse listening conditions that simulated the output of behind-the-ear hearing aids in a noisy classroom. Two types of beamforming were compared: binaural, with the two microphones of each aid treated as a single array, and bilateral, where independent left and right beamformers were derived. Binaural beamforming produces a narrower beam, maximising improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), but eliminates the spatial diversity that is preserved in bilateral beamforming. Each beamformer type was optimised for the true target position and implemented with and without additional speech enhancement in which spectral features extracted from the beamformer output were passed to a deep neural network trained to identify time-frequency regions dominated by target speech. Additional conditions comprising binaural beamforming combined with speech enhancement implemented using Wiener filtering or modulation-domain Kalman filtering were tested in normally-hearing (NH) listeners. Both beamformer types gave substantial improvements relative to no processing, with significantly greater benefit for binaural beamforming. Performance with additional mask-informed enhancement was poorer than with beamforming alone, for both beamformer types and both listener groups. In NH listeners the addition of mask-informed enhancement produced significantly poorer performance than both other forms of enhancement, neither of which differed from the beamformer alone. In summary, the additional improvement in SNR provided by binaural beamforming appeared to outweigh loss of spatial information, while speech understanding was not further improved by the mask-informed enhancement method implemented here.
... The drastic improvement in the economy affected about 1 in 5 people (18%) with moderate-severe hearing loss in the U.S. when deciding to purchase HA. 12 Our findings were in line with previous surveys indicating that the higher the household income, the greater the availability of HA. Furthermore, 27% of the non-adopters responded that they do not use HA because they cannot afford the cost. ...
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Background: The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to identify differences in the characteristics of adopters and non-adopters of hearing aids (HAs); and 2) to investigate factors influencing the purchase of HA. Methods: This study was conducted among 1,464 subjects (818 male and 646 female) with hearing loss. A national face-to-face survey was performed from August 2019 to October 2020 by otologists or HA experts. The questionnaire consisted of three domains: demographic, audiological, and HA-related domains. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed after adjusting for degree of hearing loss. Results: The mean age of the participants was 70.4 ± 12.2 years. Of the 1,464 respondents, 1,190 (81.3%) had already purchased HA. We identified educational level, household income, hearing loss period, place of HA purchase, and government HA assistance program status as factors influencing HA adoption. Among these factors, third party reimbursement was the most important factor affecting HA purchase intent. The main reasons for not adopting HA were feeling that their hearing was adequate, inability to afford HA, and perceptions that HA are uncomfortable. Conclusion: Various factors are involved in the purchase of HA, but disabled registration status and third party reimbursement were identified as the most critical factors. In the future, the government should take a more active role in increasing the distribution of HA to patients with hearing loss.
... One way to improve hearing is the use of hearing aids (HA) with digital signal processing being worn either behind or in the ears. If correctly fitted (employing the correct setting of appropriate and adequate HA parameters to compensate for the hearing loss in the best possible way), an HA enables those with hearing impairment to listen, communicate, and participate effectively in daily activities [3,9,10,19,20]. ...
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Hearing aids can be effective devices to compensate for age- or non-age-related hearing losses. Their overall adoption in the affected population is still low, especially in underdeveloped countries in the subpopulation experiencing milder hearing loss. One of the major reasons for low adoption is the need for repeated complex fitting by professional audiologists, which is often not completed for various reasons. As a result, self-fitting procedures have been appearing as an alternative. Key open questions with these digital tools are linked to their effectiveness, utilized algorithms, and achievable end-results. A digital self-fitting prototype tool with a novel quick four-step fitting workflow was evaluated in a study on 19 individuals with moderate hearing loss. The tool was evaluated in a double-blinded, randomized study, having two study aims: comparing traditional audiological fitting with the new self-fitting tool, which can also be used as a remote tool. The main reported results show moderately high usability and user satisfaction obtained during self-fitting, and quasi-equivalence of the performance of the classical audiological fitting approach. The digital self-fitting tool enables multiple sessions and easy re-fitting, with the potential to outperform the classical fitting approach.
... However, despite such compensation, many users still report difficulty coping with noisy environments. 1,2 This suggests that the effects of hearing loss cannot simply be compensated away through the use of amplification. ...
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Hearing aids continue to acquire increasingly sophisticated sound-processing features beyond basic amplification. On the one hand, these have the potential to add user benefit and allow for personalization. On the other hand, if such features are to benefit according to their potential, they require clinicians to be acquainted with both the underlying technologies and the specific fitting handles made available by the individual hearing aid manufacturers. Ensuring benefit from hearing aids in typical daily listening environments requires that the hearing aids handle sounds that interfere with communication, generically referred to as “noise.” With this aim, considerable efforts from both academia and industry have led to increasingly advanced algorithms that handle noise, typically using the principles of directional processing and postfiltering. This article provides an overview of the techniques used for noise reduction in modern hearing aids. First, classical techniques are covered as they are used in modern hearing aids. The discussion then shifts to how deep learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence, provides a radically different way of solving the noise problem. Finally, the results of several experiments are used to showcase the benefits of recent algorithmic advances in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, speech intelligibility, selective attention, and listening effort.
... Indeed, approximately 42% of hearing aid users report dissatisfaction with the performance of their hearing aids in windy situations. 1 Considering the increased use of hearing aids by adults at younger ages, 2 who tend to lead more active lives, finding effective solutions to counteract wind noise becomes pertinent to ensuring successful hearing aid adoption and rehabilitation. ...
Article
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Many hearing aid users are negatively impacted by wind noise when spending time outdoors. Turbulent airflow around hearing aid microphones caused by the obstruction of wind can result in noise that is not only perceived as annoying but may also mask desirable sounds in the listening environment, such as speech. To mitigate the adverse effects of wind noise, hearing aid developers have introduced several technological solutions to reduce the amount of wind noise at the hearing aid output. Some solutions are based on mechanical modifications; more recently, sophisticated signal processing algorithms have also been introduced. By offering solutions to the wind noise problem, these signal processing algorithms can promote more optimal use of hearing aids during outdoor activities. This article reviews how wind noise is generated in hearing aids, outlines the technological challenges in wind noise management, and summarizes the technological solutions that have been proposed and/or implemented in modern hearing aids.
... However, it becomes a dramatic social difficulty for individuals with hearing impairment (Bess and Tharpe, 1986;Mick et al., 2014;Most et al., 2012). Hearing impaired (HI) individuals are challenged by the difficulty of listening in noise, even when assisted by hearing aids (Kochkin, 2010;Moore, 2007, pp. 233-267) or cochlear implants (Nelson and Jin, 2004;Nelson et al., 2003;Taitelbaum-Swead and Fostick, 2017). ...
Article
The understanding of linguistic messages can be made extremely complex by the simultaneous presence of interfering sounds, especially when they are also linguistic in nature. In two experiments, we tested if visual cues directing attention to spatial or temporal components of speech in noise can improve its identification. The hearing-in-noise task required identification of a five-digit sequence (target) embedded in a stream of time-reversed speech. Using a custom-built device located in front of the participant, we delivered visual cues to orient attention to the location of target sounds and/or their temporal window. In Exp. 1 ( ), we validated this visual-to-auditory cueing method in normal-hearing listeners, tested under typical binaural listening conditions. In Exp. 2 ( ), we assessed the efficacy of the same visual cues in normal-hearing listeners wearing a monaural ear plug, to study the effects of simulated monaural and conductive hearing loss on visual-to-auditory attention orienting. While Exp. 1 revealed a benefit of both spatial and temporal visual cues for hearing in noise, Exp. 2 showed that only the temporal visual cues remained effective during monaural listening. These findings indicate that when the acoustic experience is altered, visual-to-auditory attention orienting is more robust for temporal compared to spatial attributes of the auditory stimuli. These findings have implications for the relation between spatial and temporal attributes of sound objects, and when planning devices to orient audiovisual attention for subjects suffering from hearing loss.
... The OE contributes to the lack of comfort associated with wearing hearing protection devices, in particular for earplugs whereas earmuffs are less concerned, and partly explains their non-use [2]. Hearing aid users can also be affected by the OE [3], which is, however, greatly reduced by using vents or open-fit hearing aids [4]. Bone-conducted sound propagates into the body from the excitation source (e.g., vocal cords, bone-transducer, etc.) to the basilar membrane of the cochlea in the inner ear, which results in a hearing sensation. ...
Article
The occlusion effect is commonly experienced as the altered perception of one’s own physiological noise when the earcanal entrance is blocked. Objectively, this phenomenon corresponds to an acoustic pressure increase in the occluded earcanal. The occlusion effect originates from the earcanal wall normal vibration and depends on the spatial distribution of the latter. At low frequencies, this spatial distribution can be characterized by the position of its centroid along the earcanal middle axis. This paper describes the principle of an acoustical method for estimating this centroid position at low frequencies. The proposed method consists in measuring the eardrum acoustic pressure transfer function between the earcanal open and occluded by an external capped duct coupled to the earcanal entrance of a subject submitted to a bone-conducted stimulation. The centroid position is then estimated at the antiresonance frequency of the coupled system using an associated electro-acoustic model. The proposed method is evaluated and investigated numerically using a 3D finite element model of an outer ear. The sensitivity of the method is shown to increase with frequency. To maximize the method accuracy, the radius of the coupling duct must be as large as possible (in the limits of the earcanal entrance dimension) and any incomplete seal between the duct and the earcanal entrance must be avoided. Also, the coupling position of the duct and its temperature must be known as precisely as possible. On the contrary, the proposed method does not require the knowledge of the eardrum acoustic impedance.
... Even so, hearing aid wearers demonstrate a wide range of aided benefit. Individuals who are satisfied with their hearing aids describe speech as clear, natural, and having high fidelity (Kochkin, 2010). Individuals who are dissatisfied with their hearing aids describe speech as sufficiently loud but unclear, of low sound quality, and difficult to understand (Bennett et al., 2018). ...
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Purpose A broad area of interest to our group is to understand the consequences of the “cue profile” (a measure of how well a listener can utilize audible temporal and/or spectral cues for listening scenarios in which a subset of cues is distorted. The study goal was to determine if listeners whose cue profile indicated that they primarily used temporal cues for recognition would respond differently to speech-envelope distortion than listeners who utilized both spectral and temporal cues. Method Twenty-five adults with sensorineural hearing loss participated in the study. The listener's cue profile was measured by analyzing identification patterns for a set of synthetic syllables in which envelope rise time and formant transitions were varied. A linear discriminant analysis quantified the relative contributions of spectral and temporal cues to identification patterns. Low-context sentences in noise were processed with time compression, wide-dynamic range compression, or a combination of time compression and wide-dynamic range compression to create a range of speech-envelope distortions. An acoustic metric, a modified version of the Spectral Correlation Index, was calculated to quantify envelope distortion. Results A binomial generalized linear mixed-effects model indicated that envelope distortion, the cue profile, the interaction between envelope distortion and the cue profile, and the pure-tone average were significant predictors of sentence recognition. Conclusions The listeners with good perception of spectro-temporal contrasts were more resilient to the detrimental effects of envelope compression than listeners who used temporal cues to a greater extent. The cue profile may provide information about individual listening that can direct choice of hearing aid parameters, especially those parameters that affect the speech envelope.
Article
Wind noise interference can adversely affect the performance of behind-the-ear hearing aids, particularly when used outdoors. In this study, we developed a novel strategy to mitigate this problem. Our methodology involved a modified microphone enclosure design, preprocessing stages of beamforming and wide dynamic range compression (which are inherent in conventional hearing aids), and advanced deep-learning-based noise reduction methods. We first explored the cavity aspect ratios and wall slanting of the microphone enclosure’s design and determined that noise could be reduced by modifying the upper and lower enclosure widths from 0.8 mm (for both) to 1.1 and 0.5 mm, respectively. In terms of signal processing, a one-dimensional convolutional neural networks model achieved wind noise detection with accuracy of 99.25% in various scenarios. The U-Net deep learning architecture was implemented for noise reduction and substantially improved short-time objective intelligibility (STOI) by 18.97%-209.09% compared with traditional high-pass filters. Training with a voice database further improved the STOI. In terms of the mean opinion score–listening quality objective and STOI metrics, all combinations of preprocessors with U-Net outperformed U-Net alone, and beamforming was the optimal preprocessing method. In conclusion, adaptive signal preprocessing based on wind classification, microphone enclosure optimization, and U-Net deep learning techniques effectively reduced wind noise interference, improving the outdoor usability and listening experience provided by hearing aids.
Article
Although there is a strong trend of satisfaction with hearing aids, recent consumer surveys indicate that there are still challenges with understanding speech in background noise and low penetration of wireless technologies using many modern-day communication and audio devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. For some listening and communication settings, many patients could benefit from assistive technology that exceeds the capabilities of their hearing aids. When patients are not wearing their hearing aids, such as during sleep, concerns about environmental awareness and safety begin to arise. This article describes some current assistive technologies and accessories that facilitate accessibility to other devices and to satisfy the patient's listening and communication needs.
Article
This work presents a method for designing the weighting parameter required for Wiener-based binaural noise reduction methods. This parameter establishes the desired trade-off between noise reduction and binaural cue preservation in hearing aids. The proposed strategy was specially derived for the preservation of the interaural level difference, interaural time difference and interaural coherence binaural cues. It is defined as a function of the average input noise power at the microphones, providing robustness against the influence of joint changes in noise and speech power (Lombard effect), as well as signal-to-noise ratio variations. A theoretical framework based on the mathematical definition of the degree of homogeneity is presented and applied to a generic augmented Wiener-based cost function. The theoretical insights obtained are supported by computational simulations and psychoacoustic experiments using the multichannel Wiener filter with a noise interaural transfer function preservation technique (MWF-ITFv), as a case study. Statistical analysis indicates that, compared to a purely fixed weighting parameter, the proposed structure for the weighting parameter and the design method of its fixed part provide significant robustness against changes in the noise binaural cues at the cost of a small noise reduction performance decrease and speech binaural cue distortion.
Thesis
Ob ein schwerhöriger Patient mit seiner Hörgeräteversorgung ein zufriedenstellendes Ergebnis erzielt, hängt primär nicht von dem Hersteller und dem Alter einer Hörgeräteversorgung ab. Des Weiteren ist es für die Verbesserung in den Sprachverständlichkeitstests nicht von signifikantem Nachteile an einem Tinitus erkrankt zu sein. Wie schon Kollmeier 2011 untersuchte, zeigt sich auch bei dieser Studie ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen der Verbesserung im Göttinger Satztest und der Verbesserung im Freiburger Einsilbertest. Bezogen auf die in der Hilfsmittelrichtlinie genannten Forderungen fällt auf, dass das Ziel der Verbesserung im Göttinger Satztest deutlich häufiger erreicht wurde als im Freiburger Einsilbertest. Zu diskutieren bleibt, ob sich der Göttinger Satztest für die Begutachtung geringgradiger Schwerhöriger mit Hörproblemen im Sprachverstehen im Störgeräusch aufgrund der erzielten Ergebnisse besser eignet.
Article
The perception of one’s own voice influences the acceptance of hearing devices, such as headphones, headsets or hearing aids. When these devices fully or partially occlude the ear canal, the wearer’s own voice sounds boomy or like talking in a barrel. This is called occlusion effect . Occluding the ear canal results in an amplification of body-conducted sounds, mainly at low frequencies, and an attenuation of air-conducted sounds, predominantly at high frequencies, compared to the open ear. This contribution provides a comprehensive treatment of Occlusion Effect Cancellation (OEC) and its relation to Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) using digital signal processing. A novel effective filter structure is presented which offers some degree of adaptability and adjustability. Furthermore, digitally opening and closing the ear is evaluated by listening tests and objective measurements.
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As society ages, wireless body area networks (WBANs) are expected to increasingly improve the quality of life of the elderly and disabled. One promising WBAN technology is human body communication (HBC), which utilizes part of the human body as a transmission medium. Communication between head-mounted wearable devices, such as hearing aids, is a potential HBC application. To clarify the HBC transmission mechanism between head-mounted wearable devices, this study analyzes the input impedance characteristics of the transceiver electrodes, transmission characteristics, and electric field distributions around and through a detailed head model. The investigation was performed via an electromagnetic field simulation. The signal frequency had less effect on the transmission characteristics and electric field distributions at 10, 20, and 30 MHz. However, the transmission mechanism between the head-mounted wearable devices was influenced by the number of electrodes in the transceiver. Moreover, the transmission characteristics between two-electrode transceivers were improved by impedance matching. Finally, the availability of the proposed system was evaluated from power consumption and human safety perspectives.
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In a survey of more than 1500 current users of hearing instruments, half of which were digital, overall customer satisfaction was measured at 71% for hearing instruments 0-5 years old. Customer satisfaction with 1-year-old instruments was 78%, which placed hearing instruments in the top third of all products and services in the United States as measured by the University of Michigan. Hearing care professionals received stellar ratings approaching perfection. Overall they achieved a 92% satisfaction rating. Eighty-five percent of consumers are satisfied with the ability of their instruments to improve their hearing, meaning they are deriving tremendous benefit. In 15 listening situations, customer satisfaction ranges from 90% (one-on-one) to 59% (cell phone). Six out often consumers are satisfied with their instruments in 80% of the listening situations measured in this study. Hearing instruments are beneficial all along the hearing loss continuum. However, ratings are significantly lower for the severe-to-profound hearing loss population (i.e., the 20% of people with the most severe hearing loss). Significant opportunity remains to meet the needs of people with the greatest hearing losses. For example, fewer than 1% of consumers own an FM assistive listening system and only 25% use directional microphones or telecoils. The use of digital hearing instruments is associated with significantly higher ratings on overall satisfaction and benefit, improved sound quality, reduction in feedback, improved performance in noisy situations, and greater utility in a number of important listening situations.
Article
Hearing loss population now at 34.25 million Americans R e s e a r c h T his is the first segment of a multi-part publication that will cover signifi-cant trends and issues in the hear-ing loss population. Since 1989, Knowles Electronics has conducted six MarkeTrak surveys of the US hearing loss popula-tion following the landmark 1984 Hearing Industries Association (HIA) study. Starting in 2004, the MarkeTrak national study was conducted and published by the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) through the continued generosity and sponsorship of Knowles Electronics as a public service to the hearing care industry. As in the past, the goal of this survey is to report relevant trends and report on new topics that contribute to our knowledge of the hearing aid owner population, as well as the sizeable population of people with admitted hearing loss who have chosen not to adopt amplification for their hearing loss. This publication covers 25-year trends in the hearing-impaired population including:  Hearing loss prevalence,  Hearing aid adoption rates,  Hearing loss screenings during a physical exam,  Distribution of hearing aids,  Hearing loss characteristics of hear-ing aid owners and non-adopters,  New hearing aid adopters, and  Demography of hearing aid owners and non-adopters. Two key changes to the trending pub-lication are: 1) overall customer satisfac-tion trends have been removed from this report; and 2) comparisons of hearing loss characteristics of hearing aid owners and non-owners have been moved from the traditional survey of non-adopters to this trend and demography publication (see sidebar "More on Trak" for future MarkeTrak VIII publications). continues to increase slowly (now 1 in 4 people with hearing loss) as do binaural fittings (8 out of 10). However, less than 1 in 10 people with mild hearing loss use amplification, while 4 in 10 people with moderate-to-severe hearing loss use amplification for their hearing loss. Here is the most complete compilation to date on MarkeTrak consumer demographics and trends. MarkeTrak VIII is the largest and most comprehensive database since its inception. Future pub-lications in this series over the next few years will consist of the following: 1) Customer satisfaction with hearing aids; 2) Customer satisfaction with hearing health profes-sionals and correlates of satisfaction due to differ-ences in hearing aid fitting protocols and services; 3) Customer satisfaction with open-fit hearing aids compared to traditional styles; 4) Sources of noise that most impact satisfaction with hearing aids (essay analysis); 5) Perceptions of benefit and changes in quality of life due to hearing aids; 6) Impact of hearing loss and amplification on job performance, employability, promotions, and income; 7) Safety as a function of demography and hearing loss; 8) Prevalence of tinnitus in America; 9) Perceptions of efficacy of tinnitus treatment techniques including hearing aids; 10) Uses of assistive listening devices; 11) Use of inexpensive listening devices (<$50) in lieu of hearing aid adoption; 12) Factors that would influence hearing-impaired non-adopters to purchase and use hearing aids; 13) Comparison of customer satisfaction in other professions and with products and services including hearing health professionals and hearing aids (non-adopter population only); 14) Media habits of the hearing-impaired populations (owners and non-adopters); and 15) Reasons for hearing aid returns (essay analysis).
Introducing MarkeTrak: The consumer tracking survey of the hearing instruments market
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MarkeTrak III identifies key factors in determining customer satisfaction
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Customer satisfaction with hearing aids in the digital age
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MarkeTrak I: Introducing MarkeTrak: The consumer tracking survey of the hearing instruments market
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