Abstract
BackgroundThe earmold system of the Behind-The-Ear hearing aid is an acoustic system that modifies the spectrum of the propagated sound waves. Improper selection of the earmold system may result in deterioration of sound quality and speech intelligibility. Computer modeling methods may be useful in the process of hearing aid fitting, allowing physician to examine various earmold system configurations and choose the optimum one for the hearing aid user.MethodsIn this paper, a computer model adequate for this task is proposed. This model is based on the waveguide modeling method. The waveguide model simulates the propagation of sound waves in the system of cylindrical tubes. Frequency response of the hearing aid receiver is simulated in the model and the influence of the ear canal and the eardrum on the earmold system is taken into account. The model parameters are easily calculated from parameters of a physical hearing aid system. Transfer function of the model is calculated and frequency response plots are obtained using the Matlab system.ResultsThe frequency response plots of the earmold model were compared to the measurement plots of the corresponding physical earmold systems. The same changes in frequency responses caused by modification of length or diameter of a selected waveguide section, are observed in both measurement data of a real earmold system and in computed model responses.ConclusionComparison of model responses obtained for various sets of parameters with measurement data proved that the proposed model accurately simulates the real earmold system and the developed model may be used to construct a computer system assisting the physician who performs earmold system fitting.
Highlights
The earmold system of the Behind-The-Ear hearing aid is an acoustic system that modifies the spectrum of the propagated sound waves
An earmold is inserted into the ear canal and its shape is anatomically fitted to the pinna and ear canal of the hearing aid user
In order to test the validity of the model, changes in frequency response plot of the model caused by the change of length or diameter of the chosen waveguide section were compared to the measurement data, published by the earmold system manufacturers [3]
Summary
The earmold system of the Behind-The-Ear hearing aid is an acoustic system that modifies the spectrum of the propagated sound waves. Improper selection of the earmold system may result in deterioration of sound quality and speech intelligibility. Computer modeling methods may be useful in the process of hearing aid fitting, allowing physician to examine various earmold system configurations and choose the optimum one for the hearing aid user. Proper tools for optimum hearing aid fitting are needed, allowing physician to choose and tune hearing aid most suitable to the user's needs in a short time. In the case of the miniaturized hearing aids (In-The-Ear and In-The-Canal) this problem is of less importance, because the earmold system is very simplified and it does not significantly affect sound quality. Many individuals still need to use a BTE (Behind-The-Ear) hearing aid type,
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