Preferred signal path delay and high-pass cut-off in open fittings

The combination of delayed sound from a digital hearing aid with direct sound through an open or vented fitting can potentially degrade the sound quality due to audible changes in timbre and/or perception of echo. The present study was designed to test a number of delay and high-pass combinations under worst-case (i.e. most sensitive) conditions. Eighteen normal-hearing and 18 mildly hearing-impaired subjects performed the test in a paired comparison (A/B) task. The subjects were asked to select a preferred setting with respect to sound quality. The test was set in an anechoic chamber using recorded speech, environmental sounds, and own voice. Experimental hearing aids were fitted binaurally with open domes thus providing maximum ventilation. The preference data were processed using a statistical choice model that derives a ratio-scale. The analysis indicated that in these test conditions there was no change in sound quality when varying the delay in the range 5-10 ms and that there was a preference for 2000 Hz high-pass filtering in most conditions, regardless of the hearing losses tested.