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Evaluation of high-fidelity hearing aids
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|March 1, 1982
Summary
High-fidelity hearing aids are achievable. Research demonstrates that current technology allows for amplifier-transducer-coupling combinations that reproduce sound without audible degradation, meeting normal hearing standards.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Acoustics
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Achieving high-fidelity sound reproduction in hearing aids is crucial.
- Existing hearing aid technology often falls short of audibly transparent sound reproduction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the feasibility of creating high-fidelity hearing aids.
- To evaluate the sound reproduction quality of custom-built hearing aid prototypes.
Main Methods:
- Assembled two pairs of binaural hearing aids (Over-The-Ear and In-The-Ear) using available components.
- Conducted objective insertion-gain measurements using a KEMAR manikin in a diffuse sound field.
- Performed subjective listening tests with normal-hearing listeners using A-B-A comparisons.
Main Results:
- Objective measurements showed frequency-response accuracy comparable to high-fidelity loudspeakers.
- Subjective listener ratings indicated high-fidelity sound reproduction.
- Both Over-The-Ear (8-kHz bandwidth) and In-The-Ear (16-kHz bandwidth) prototypes performed well.
Conclusions:
- High-fidelity sound reproduction in hearing aids is technologically achievable.
- The focus of hearing aid research should shift from technical capability to user-centered design for the hearing impaired.