The effects of completely-in-the-canal hearing aids, active noise reduction headsets, and ambient noise on speech intelligibility

Abstract

Many people with hearing loss need to communicate and work in high noise environments. Hearing aids and headsets are often worn to protect the ear from further damage and facilitate communication. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the active noise reduction (ANR) headsets and Completely-in-the-Canal (CIC) hearing aids on speech intelligibility in ambient noise. Six male listeners with noise-induced hearing loss were each fitted with two digital CIC hearing aids. The listeners wore the hearing aids successfully for one year. The speech stimuli were presented over the ANR headphones in quiet and in 95 dB and 105 dB SPL of ambient pink noise. The independent variables were the active noise reduction, hearing aids, and noise level. All MRT stimuli were presented at the most comfortable loudness level. The dependent variable was speech intelligibility as measured with the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT). A main effect was discovered for noise, however no effect was found for active noise reduction or hearing aids. Although no overall effect was found with ANR or hearing aids on speech intelligibility there were differences across phoneme identifications and initial and final consonants.