Contributions of Louis Braida to improved signal processing for hearing aids: Addressing the problem of reduced dynamic range in listeners with sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

Lou’s early work in the area of improved signal processing for hearing aids included his research on compression amplification to combat the effects of loudness recruitment in listeners with sensorineural hearing loss. Working with his doctoral students (including Rich Lippmann, Steve De Gennaro, and Diane Bustamante), Lou made major contributions towards an analytical understanding of the benefits and limitations of compression amplification as a component of hearing aids. Recently, Lou has been involved in work on a new signal-processing scheme which operates to equalize the energy in a speech signal over time. This energy-equalization (EEQ) scheme shares a similar goal with compression amplification in that they both attempt to match the range of speech levels into the reduced dynamic range of a listener with sensorineural loss. Their operation, however, is different: while compression amplification is based on the actual sound-pressure level of the signal, the EEQ scheme operates on relative energy calculations designed to reduce the variations in overall signal level. In this talk, we will describe the EEQ processing system together with results obtained on its evaluation with hearing-impaired listeners for speech reception in backgrounds of continuous and fluctuating noise.