Field trials of a portable prototype digital hearing aid

Abstract

A battery‐operated digital processor connected to microphones and receivers located in left and right ear modules was built and used in a hearing aid field trial. Eight hearing impaired individuals with moderate to moderately severe hearing losses served as subjects. All subjects had symmetric hearing losses and were experienced binaural hearing aid users. Four binaural hearing aid algorithms were programmed into the processor for evaluation in the field trial. The algorithms all equalized the magnitude and phase insertion effects of the ear modules, but differed in their gain prescription. Two prescriptions based on the Articulation Index (AI), one on NAL‐R, and a control prescription were evaluated in the two week field trial. Subjects rated each algorithm in seven categories. Objective measures of speech intelligibility in noise, including measures of binaural directional hearing, were taken before and after the field trial. Intelligibility and directional hearing was best with the AI prescriptions, although these prescriptions did not receive the highest subjective ratings. Details of the binaural algorithms and fittings, as well as objective and subjective measures of their benefit will be reported.