Prediction of perceived sound quality of hearing aids (algorithms) using perceptual models

Abstract

This contribution presents an overview of basic approaches for predicting the perceived sound quality of hearing aids and hearing aid algorithms using auditory processing models for hearing impaired. Comparison‐based concepts will be considered in particular. The main characteristic of these concepts is the comparison of internal representations (the outputs of the auditory models) of a test and a reference signal. While this approach is straight‐forward and has proven to be successful for the prediction of sound quality of lossy speech and audio processing systems perceived by normal‐hearing listeners, the requirement of a reference representing the optimal quality can pose a problem in the case of hearing aids and hearing‐impaired listeners. The potential and limitations of comparison‐based approaches will be illustrated by example results from different studies obtained with an extended version of the perceptual audio quality model PEMO‐Q.