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Related Experiment Videos

Full time directional versus user selectable microphone modes in hearing aids.

Todd Ricketts1, Paula Henry, David Gnewikow

  • 1Dan Maddox Hearing Aid Research Laboratory, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, Nashville, TN 37212, USA. todd.a.ricketts@vanderbilt.edu

Ear and Hearing
|October 10, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Directional hearing aid modes offer improved speech recognition in noise compared to omnidirectional modes. However, the overall benefit depends on the listening environment and sound source direction, impacting user perception.

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Area of Science:

  • Audiology
  • Speech-Language Pathology
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Hearing aid technology aims to improve speech understanding in noisy environments.
  • Directional microphone modes in hearing aids are designed to enhance audibility of desired sounds.
  • Comparing objective and subjective measures of hearing aid benefit is crucial for optimizing device fitting.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically evaluate hearing aid benefit using speech recognition and self-assessment across omnidirectional and directional modes.
  • To compare laboratory-measured directional benefit with wearer perceptions in real-world listening scenarios.
  • To identify specific listening situations where microphone type influences self-reported hearing aid benefit.

Main Methods:

  • Fifteen adults with sensorineural hearing loss were fitted with bilateral in-the-ear directional hearing aids.

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  • Benefit was measured using the Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (PHAB), Connected Sentence Test (CST), and Hearing in Noise Test (HINT).
  • Participants were tested in three conditions: omnidirectional only (O), directional only (D), and user-selectable (DO).

    • Main Results:

    • Directional hearing aid modes significantly improved speech intelligibility in noise compared to omnidirectional modes.
    • The background noise subscale of the PHAB showed greater benefit in the user-selectable (DO) condition versus omnidirectional (O).
    • Directional benefit was observed when the sound source was in front, but a disadvantage occurred when the source was behind or localization was needed.

    Conclusions:

    • Laboratory findings of directional benefit correlate with self-assessment measures for listening in noise with front-facing sound sources.
    • The impact of directional hearing aid modes on perceived benefit in noisy situations is variable, depending on the specific listening context.
    • User-selectable directional settings may offer advantages, but the overall benefit is contingent on the listener's environment and sound source location.