A Comparison of Hearing Aids with Amplitude Compression

Nábelek, Igor; Robinette, Larry N.

doi:10.3109/00206097709071822

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Many studies have sought to find the best CT and RT for HA users, yet results thus far have been conflicted [ 7 ]. Based on an early study by Nábĕlek and Robinette [ 8 ], for instance, rapid compression offers more advantages to impaired listeners than slow-acting compression. Yet Hansen’s study [ 9 ] showed that slow-acting compression was better than fast-acting compression for HA users’ perceptual performance such as speech intelligibility and sound quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One possible explanation for such discrepancies might be that these studies were conducted to evaluate different outcomes. In other words, some researchers focused on the effect of time constants on speech intelligibility [ 8 , 10 ] whereas others investigated the effect of time constants using subjectively perceived sound quality [ 3 , 9 ]. Neither objective evaluation scores by a tester nor degree of subjective sound quality reported by the impaired listeners might be neglected in terms of the best HA satisfaction for the user [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preferred Compression Threshold and Release Time in Quiet and Noisy Conditions for Elderly Korean Hearing Aid Users

et al. 2017

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Background and ObjectivesListeners with sensorineural hearing loss want to compensate for their narrow dynamic range from appropriate compression functions of hearing aids. The present study aimed to determine which compression threshold and release time of nonlinear hearing aids might affect speech recognition and speech quality judgments.Subjects and MethodsTen elderly listeners with symmetrical moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss participated in the study. To compare two compression threshold (31 dB SPL vs. 61 dB SPL) and two release time (50 ms vs. 500 ms) conditions, subjects’ speech recognition was measured using the Korean version of the Hearing in Noise Test in both quiet and noisy situations. All subjects were also asked to rate the degree of speech quality in terms of loudness, sharpness, clarity, and background noise immediately after completing the speech recognition test.ResultsAlthough no significant difference emerged in speech recognition thresholds between the two compression thresholds in the quiet situation, the compression threshold of 31 dB SPL showed a lower (or better) signal-to-noise ratio of speech recognition compared to that of 61 dB SPL. The release times of 50 and 500 ms did not statistically differ in both quiet and noisy situations. Subjective categories were found to be louder and clearer in the 50 ms release time for quiet and noisy, respectively.ConclusionsWe expect that these patterns of current results will apply for better-fitting protocol of elderly Korean hearing aid users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preferred Compression Threshold and Release Time in Quiet and Noisy Conditions for Elderly Korean Hearing Aid Users

et al. 2017

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“…A short time constant (i.e., AT or RT) will cause the gain to fluctuate rapidly and generate an undesirable pumping effect; while a large time constant can induce a perception of lagging. Many earlier studies explored the effects of optimal AT/RT values for achieving high intelligibility and satisfactory sound quality in HA users [ 24 – 29 ]. Their results indicated that a fast AT could avoid sudden and transient sounds from becoming too loud, while a slow RT could prevent the distortion of output signals [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Adaptation Rate and Noise Suppression on the Intelligibility of Compressed-Envelope Based Speech

Lai

Chen

2015

PLoS ONE

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Temporal envelope is the primary acoustic cue used in most cochlear implant (CI) speech processors to elicit speech perception for patients fitted with CI devices. Envelope compression narrows down envelope dynamic range and accordingly degrades speech understanding abilities of CI users, especially under challenging listening conditions (e.g., in noise). A new adaptive envelope compression (AEC) strategy was proposed recently, which in contrast to the traditional static envelope compression, is effective at enhancing the modulation depth of envelope waveform by making best use of its dynamic range and thus improving the intelligibility of envelope-based speech. The present study further explored the effect of adaptation rate in envelope compression on the intelligibility of compressed-envelope based speech. Moreover, since noise reduction is another essential unit in modern CI systems, the compatibility of AEC and noise reduction was also investigated. In this study, listening experiments were carried out by presenting vocoded sentences to normal hearing listeners for recognition. Experimental results demonstrated that the adaptation rate in envelope compression had a notable effect on the speech intelligibility performance of the AEC strategy. By specifying a suitable adaptation rate, speech intelligibility could be enhanced significantly in noise compared to when using static envelope compression. Moreover, results confirmed that the AEC strategy was suitable for combining with noise reduction to improve the intelligibility of envelope-based speech in noise.

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A Comparison of Hearing Aids with Amplitude Compression

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Preferred Compression Threshold and Release Time in Quiet and Noisy Conditions for Elderly Korean Hearing Aid Users

Preferred Compression Threshold and Release Time in Quiet and Noisy Conditions for Elderly Korean Hearing Aid Users

Effects of Adaptation Rate and Noise Suppression on the Intelligibility of Compressed-Envelope Based Speech

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