A functional test for hearing aids outcomes assessment

Abstract

We present a functional test for speech understanding called hearing aids (HAs) objective outcomes – HO2 (pronounced as /hɑ:t/) app. It uses natural speech stimuli and generates word level accuracies, phonetic, and broad-phonetic confusion matrices. In the current best practices, hearing loss (HL) is diagnosed using pure tone audiometry (PTA). While PTA is also a functional test, it characterizes only sound detection ability of discrete pure tones, but not overall speech intelligibility due to cochlear impairments leading to sensorineural hearing loss. HO2 app stimuli are based on minimal contrast sets (MCS) of words in a given language. Each word within a subgroup of MCS words differ in a minimal set of (acoustic) phonetic features resulting in a different meaning—phonemics of the given language. The tool includes configuration parameters to include video and closed captions to minimize the role of higher level (cortical) language processes. Researchers can save HO2 app experimental conditions in a configuration file and share with others for repeatability and reproducibility. We present the feasibility of normal and hearing-impaired subjects (mild and moderate HL) to self-administer speech comprehension tests in multiple listening conditions using HO2 app. For the hearing-impaired subjects, results in unaided and aided conditions are presented.