Related Experiment Videos
Speech-reception threshold in noise with one and two hearing aids
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|February 1, 1986
Summary
Hearing aid effectiveness for speech reception in noise depends on hearing loss severity. For moderate losses, one hearing aid suffices, while severe losses benefit more from two aids, especially in quiet environments.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Hearing Science
- Speech Perception
Background:
- Binaural free-field speech-reception threshold (SRT) is crucial for understanding hearing aid performance.
- Noise interference significantly impacts speech intelligibility for hearing-impaired individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of hearing aid use (unaided, single, and bilateral) on SRT in various noise conditions.
- To investigate the influence of hearing loss severity and noise level on hearing aid benefit.
Main Methods:
- Measured SRT in 70-dBA noise using conversational sentences for 24 hearing-impaired subjects.
- Varied noise presentation (frontal, left, right) and hearing aid configurations.
- Assessed acoustic head shadow effects at the ear canal and hearing aid microphone.
Main Results:
- For moderate hearing loss (PTA < 50 dB), SRT is primarily signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) dependent, even with one hearing aid.
- Severe hearing loss SRT is influenced by both SNR and absolute threshold.
- Bilateral hearing aids offer limited additional benefit over monaural aids when noise is high relative to absolute threshold.
Conclusions:
- Hearing aid benefit is contingent on hearing loss severity and the acoustic environment.
- Two hearing aids are more advantageous in high hearing loss or low noise scenarios.
- Behind-the-ear hearing aid microphone placement can negatively impact SNR by 2-3 dB with lateral noise sources.