Open Master Hearing Aid (openMHA)—An integrated platform for hearing aid research

Abstract

The project R01DC015429 “Open community platform for hearing aid algorithm research” provides a software platform for real-time, low-latency audio signal processing: the open Master Hearing Aid (openMHA). It contains a versatile set of basic and advanced methods for hearing aid processing, as well as tools and manuals enabling the design of own setups for algorithm development and evaluation. Documentation is provided for different user levels, in particular for audiologists, application engineers and algorithm designers. The software runs on various computer systems including lab setups and portable setups. Portable setups are of particular interest for the evaluation of new methods in real-word scenarios. In addition to standard off-the-shelf hardware, a portable, integrated research platform for openMHA is provided in conjunction with the SBIR project R44DC016247. This contribution introduces openMHA and discusses the usage and possible application scenarios of the portable openMHA setup in hearing research. The opportunity is given to try a smartphone-based self-fitting application for the portable openMHA, and to learn about the flexible configuration and remote control of openMHA running a typical hearing aid processing chain. Furthermore, a discussion and exchange of ideas on current challenges and future developments is offered.