Hearing Aid Processing Research Articles

Impact of Hearing Aid Processing Delay on Stop Consonant Voicing Perception in Open Fittings.

Hearing aid (HA) processing delay results in asynchronous overlap of the input sound and the delayed amplified sound at the eardrum in open-ear fittings. This may distort the temporal cues used for stop-consonant voicing distinctions. The current study evaluated the impact of HA processing delay on voiced-voiceless categorization of syllable initial consonants /d/ and /t/ for a range of voice onset times (VOTs). Nineteen older listeners (Mage = 73 years) with mild-moderate sensorineural hearing loss participated. All listeners performed the voiced-voiceless categorization task in double-blind within-subjects design. Thirteen stimulus tokens along the /di:/ - /ti:/ continuum were created by varying VOTs. Stimuli were then processed using an HA simulator, which simulated the overall sound pressure levels measured at the eardrum in open-ear fittings with four processing delay times (0, 0.5, 5, and 8 ms). Individualized stimuli were generated for each listener based on their audiogram and presented via calibrated ear inserts at the most comfortable listening level. Performance across all VOT intervals was fitted with psychometric functions, which were then used to estimate the voiced-voiceless crossover point and the slope parameter for each simulated delay condition. The crossover point along the voiced-voiceless continuum shifted systematically with increased processing delay toward voiced /di:/ over unvoiced /ti:/ percepts. The shift in the crossover point between the 0-ms reference condition and the 8-ms processing delay condition corresponded to 5.8 ms of change in VOT. The 8-ms processing delay condition resulted in significantly shallower categorization slopes compared to the 0- and 0.5-ms delay conditions. Temporal distortions created by HA processing delay in open-ear fittings impacted voicing perception of syllable initial stop-consonant stimuli near the voiced-voiceless crossover point. Short HA processing delay should be considered for open-ear fittings to preserve the natural VOT cues used for voicing detection.

The Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio and Speech Perception in Noise: The Effect of Multichannel and Free-Channel Hearing Aids

Background and Aim: The output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is one of the essential factors in hearing aid benefits. There is limited evidence regarding SNR improvement by the Channel-Free (CFHA) and Multi-Channel Hearing Aid (MCHA) and the speech understanding in noise through them. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which output SNR was modified by CFHA and MCHA processing and the variation in aided speech recognition abilities with a change in output SNR. Methods: Thirty-six participants aged 50–65 years were included. A chosen CFHA and MCHA were used to obtain the output SNR and sentence recognition in noise in four different processing algorithms (linear, linear+noise reduction, WDRC, WDRC+noise reduction). Hagerman’s phase inversion technique was used to measure the attenuation of noise and, in turn, to obtain the output SNR of the hearing aid. Results: In all hearing aid processing algorithms among those with normal hearing and people with hearing loss, the output of CFHA revealed higher attenuation values than that of MCHA. There was a significant effect of the hearing aids and processing algorithms in both normal and individuals with hearing impairment on the mean SNR. Further, multiple linear regression analysis results showed that whether the hearing is channel-free or multi- channel significantly predicted speech recognition scores, while output SNR and processing algorithms did not. Conclusion: The signal processing algorithms in CFHA had greater noise attenuation values, better output SNR, and speech recognition scores, showing an advantage over the modern MCHA among individuals with hearing impairment. Keywords: Channel-free hearing aids; multi-channel hearing aids; sensorineural hearing loss; speech recognition

Investigating conversational dynamics in triads: Effects of noise, hearing impairment, and hearing aids.

Communication is an important part of everyday life and requires a rapid and coordinated interplay between interlocutors to ensure a successful conversation. Here, we investigate whether increased communication difficulty caused by additional background noise, hearing impairment, and not providing adequate hearing-aid (HA) processing affected the dynamics of a group conversation between one hearing-impaired (HI) and two normal-hearing (NH) interlocutors. Free conversations were recorded from 25 triads communicating at low (50 dBC SPL) or high (75 dBC SPL) levels of canteen noise. In conversations at low noise levels, the HI interlocutor was either unaided or aided. In conversations at high noise levels, the HI interlocutor either experienced omnidirectional or directional sound processing. Results showed that HI interlocutors generally spoke more and initiated their turn faster, but with more variability, than the NH interlocutors. Increasing the noise level resulted in generally higher speech levels, but more so for the NH than for the HI interlocutors. Higher background noise also affected the HI interlocutors' ability to speak in longer turns. When the HI interlocutors were unaided at low noise levels, both HI and NH interlocutors spoke louder, while receiving directional sound processing at high levels of noise only reduced the speech level of the HI interlocutor. In conclusion, noise, hearing impairment, and hearing-aid processing mainly affected speech levels, while the remaining measures of conversational dynamics (FTO median, FTO IQR, turn duration, and speaking time) were unaffected. Hence, although experiencing large changes in communication difficulty, the conversational dynamics of the free triadic conversations remain relatively stable.

Modeling the relationship between listener factors and signal modification: A pooled analysis spanning a decade

The overarching goal of our work is to understand how listeners respond to hearing aid processing and consequently inform individualized hearing aid treatment. Our previous work demonstrated that individual cognitive abilities, age, and hearing loss contribute to variability in response to cumulative signal modifications introduced by hearing aid processing and background noise. Specifically, older individuals with poorer working memory and more hearing loss were more susceptible to signal modifications introduced by hearing aid processing. These relationships were established in independent studies involving systematic manipulations of compression, digital noise reduction, frequency lowering, or microphone directionality. In this study, we present a hierarchical pooled analysis of data collected from six previous studies to develop a unified statistical model of the relationships between response to signal modification and individual listener variables. Across studies, signal modification is quantified using a cepstral correlation metric that accounts for cumulative envelope distortions arising from hearing aid processing and background noise. The statistical model will determine how working memory, age, and degree of hearing loss mediate the relationship between signal modification and speech intelligibility in noise across a large dataset. Both inferential and predictive applications of the combined data and model will be discussed. [Work supported by NIDCD.]

Exploring attentive listening in noise through the just-follow conversation task

Listening to a conversation demands comprehension, attention and prediction. To better understand the impact of these demands, as well as how hearing aids might alleviate them, a conversational listening test should be realistic, repeatable and relatable (i.e., have interpretable units). A test that potentially satisfies these needs is the just-follow conversation (JFC) task, where the listener adjusts the signal level to where they can understand, with effort, the gist of what is being said in a background of noise. Fifty-four participants sat in the centre of a circular loudspeaker array and adjusted the overall level of one monologue, one dialogue, two monologues or two dialogues presented in the front hemifield to where they could just follow the speech four times per trial. Signals were presented in surrounding fixed-level café and same-spectrum noise backgrounds. Bilateral hearing-aid users adjusted aided and unaided; non-users repeated each condition to evaluate reliability. Results showed an increase in JFC for dialogues re monologues. Individual JFC SNRs correlated with SSQ12 speech subscale scores as well as pure-tone threshold averages. JFC reliability was comparable to more objective speech understanding measures, but it may not be suitable to capture perceived conversational benefits for more subtle changes in hearing-aid processing. [Work supported by the UK Medical Research Council Grant No. MR/X003620/1 & WS Audiology.]

The Effects of Signal to Noise Ratio, T60 , Wide-Dynamic Range Compression Speed, and Digital Noise Reduction in a Virtual Restaurant Setting.

Hearing aid processing in realistic listening environments is difficult to study effectively. Often the environment is unpredictable or unknown, such as in wearable aid trials with subjective report by the wearer. Some laboratory experiments create listening environments to exert tight experimental control, but those environments are often limited by physical space, a small number of sound sources, or room absorptive properties. Simulation techniques bridge this gap by providing greater experimental control over listening environments, effectively bringing aspects of the real-world into the laboratory. This project used simulation to study the effects of wide-dynamic range compression (WDRC) and digital noise reduction (DNR) on speech intelligibility in a reverberant environment with six spatialized competing talkers. The primary objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of WDRC and DNR in a complex listening environment using virtual auditory space techniques. Participants of greatest interest were listeners with hearing impairment. A group of listeners with clinically normal hearing was included to assess the effects of the simulation absent the complex effects of hearing loss. Virtual auditory space techniques were used to simulate a small restaurant listening environment with two different reverberation times (0.8 and 1.8 sec) in a range of signal to noise ratios (SNRs) (-8.5 to 11.5 dB SNR). Six spatialized competing talkers were included to further enhance realism. A hearing aid simulation was used to examine the degree to which speech intelligibility was affected by slow and fast WDRC in conjunction with the presence or absence of DNR. The WDRC and DNR settings were chosen to be reasonable estimates of hearing aids currently available to consumers. A WDRC × DNR × Hearing Status interaction was observed, such that DNR was beneficial for speech intelligibility when combined with fast WDRC speeds, but DNR was detrimental to speech intelligibility when WDRC speeds were slow. The pattern of the WDRC × DNR interaction was observed for both listener groups. Significant main effects of reverberation time and SNR were observed, indicating better performance with lower reverberation times and more positive SNR. DNR reduced low-amplitude noise before WDRC-amplified the low-intensity portions of the signal, negating one potential downside of fast WDRC and leading to an improvement in speech intelligibility in this simulation. These data suggest that, in some real-world environments that include both reverberation and noise, older listeners with hearing impairment may find speech to be more intelligible if DNR is activated when the hearing aid has fast compression time constants. Additional research is needed to determine the appropriate DNR strength and to confirm results in wearable hearing aids and a wider range of listening environments.

A spectro-temporal modulation test for predicting speech reception in hearing-impaired listeners with hearing aids

Spectro-temporal modulation (STM) detection sensitivity has been shown to be associated with speech-in-noise reception in hearing-impaired (HI) individuals. Based on previous research, a recent study [Zaar, Simonsen, Dau, and Laugesen (2023). Hear Res 427:108650] introduced an STM test paradigm with audibility compensation, employing STM stimulus variants using noise and complex tones as carrier signals. The study demonstrated that the test was suitable for the target population of elderly individuals with moderate-to-severe hearing loss and showed promising predictions of speech-reception thresholds (SRTs) measured in a realistic set up with spatially distributed speech and noise maskers and linear audibility compensation. The present study further investigated the suggested STM test with respect to (i) test-retest variability for the most promising STM stimulus variants, (ii) its predictive power with respect to realistic speech-in-noise reception with non-linear hearing-aid amplification, (iii) its connection to effects of directionality and noise reduction (DIR+NR) hearing-aid processing, and (iv) its relation to DIR+NR preference. Thirty elderly HI participants were tested in a combined laboratory and field study, collecting STM thresholds with a complex-tone based and a noise-based STM stimulus design, SRTs with spatially distributed speech and noise maskers using hearing aids with non-linear amplification and two different levels of DIR+NR, as well as subjective reports and preference ratings obtained in two field periods with the two DIR+NR hearing-aid settings. The results indicate that the noise-carrier based STM test variant (i) showed optimal test-retest properties, (ii) yielded a highly significant correlation with SRTs (R2=0.61) exceeding and complementing the predictive power of the audiogram, (iii) yielded significant correlation (R2=0.51) with the DIR+NR-induced SRT benefit, and (iv) did not provide significant correlation with subjective preference for DIR+NR settings in the field. Overall, the suggested STM test represents a valuable tool for diagnosing speech-reception problems that remain when hearing-aid amplification has been provided and the resulting need for and benefit from DIR+NR hearing-aid processing.

Hearing aid processing affects acoustic features important for emotional responses to sounds

A wide range of emotional responses is desirable and supports overall quality of life. However, adults with hearing loss exhibit a reduced range of emotional responses to non-speech sounds compared to their peers with normal hearing. Recent work demonstrates that audibility of low- and high-frequencycues supports emotion perception of non-speech sounds, as does modulation energy and roughness in the sound. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of hearing aid processing on acoustic parameters that have been related to emotional responses to non-speech sounds. Twenty-three adults with bilateral hearing loss rated valence of non-speech sounds, with and without hearing aids. The non-speech sounds were then recorded through an acoustic manikin with and without the research hearing aids with each participant’s settings. To examine the effects of hearing aid processing, the acoustic parameters previously related to emotional responses were analyzed using a combination of cluster analysis and linear regression. Results indicate that some acoustic parameters are affected by hearing aid processing (e.g., less amplitude modulation at 1270 Hz), which partially explain the reduced range of subjective emotional responses seen in adults with hearing loss. The results of this study have implications for the refinement of hearing aid processing algorithms.

Do individual perceptual abilities affect speech recognition with spatial hearing aid processing?

Individuals with hearing loss experience persistent communication difficulties in noisy conditions, even with specialized hearing aid (HA) processing. Little is known about how HA processing interacts with auditory perceptual abilities required for speech-in-noise listening, possibly leading to mismatched parameters for certain listeners. We investigated how speech recognition with spatial HA processing—intended to reduce signals from off-axis locations—is affected by individual auditory perceptual abilities. 16 listeners with hearing loss completed a sentence recognition in noise task with wearable HAs in omnidirectional processing or binaural beamforming settings. On- (0°) or off-axis ( + 90°) target sentences were mixed with gender-matched two-talker maskers that were either spatially separated or co-located. The Portable Automated Rapid Testing program was used to obtain individual binaural (Spatial Release from Masking task) and monaural processing (Spectrotemporal Modulation Detection task) measures. Data show positive associations between perceptual abilities and speech recognition with omnidirectional processing across target and noise locations and negative associations with beamforming for off-axis targets in spatially separated noise. Relative associations of binaural and monaural processing abilities varied by test condition. The study has implications for individualizing spatial processing parameters in clinical HA fittings. [Work supported by NIH-K01DC018324.]

Classification of head movements during multi-person conversation

Hearing-aid processing strategies could be greatly improved by real-time knowledge of the users’ listening intentions, information that may be encoded by characteristic head movements during conversational turn-takingwith multiple talkers, and measured by accelerometers in the hearing devices. First, however, it must be determined to what degree head movements are stereotypic across listeners, or alternatively, unique to each individual, and whether an automatic classifier can identify specific movements. Three cohorts of three young, normal-hearing individuals participated in a semi-structured conversation for 50 minutes. Participants wore hearing aids with accelerometers and were video-recorded. Video recordings were then used to track head movements using zFace (Jeni et al. 2017) and manually annotate head movement and communication activities. Accelerometer data was segmented into 1-s windows and labeled by the annotated activity identified in that window. Features based on temporal and frequency characteristics were used to train multi-class models with across-subject or within-subject design. Significantly better than chance classification was observed for all activities using both model designs, with higher classification accuracy for the models trained on the individuals’ own-data. In summary, head movement behaviors can be classified with short-scale time resolution, and individual differences are a key factor for accurate classification.

How well do hearing aids amplify “speech glimpses” in multitalker mixtures?

Reductions in speech audibility are more detrimental in the presence of competing sounds, where there is little redundant speech information, than in quiet. Indeed, our previous work suggests that insufficient audibility of “speech glimpses” may partly explain the poor performance of listeners with hearing loss in multitalker mixtures. An implication of those results is that restoring audibility across the spectrum may be especially critical in such situations. Here we asked whether current hearing-aid amplification strategies adequately restore the audibility of speech glimpses. We used ideal time-frequency separation to isolate target speech glimpses from unaided and aided speech mixtures. We then measured intelligibility for the isolated glimpses and for the original mixtures. Participants were young adults with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and individualized non-linear amplification (NAL-NL2) was provided using the Oldenburg open Master Hearing Aid. Results show that amplification generally improved the audibility and intelligibility of the target speech glimpses. For some participants, the intelligibility improvements carried over to the mixtures. For others, the improvements were diminished in the mixtures, suggesting that there were counteracting effects. This approach may provide a useful way to unpack positive and negative effects of hearing-aid processing in multitalker mixtures.

Hearing Aid Delay Effects on Neural Phase Locking.

This study was designed to examine the effects of hearing aid delay on the neural representation of the temporal envelope. It was hypothesized that the comb-filter effect would disrupt neural phase locking, and that shorter hearing aid delays would minimize this effect. Twenty-one participants, ages 50 years and older, with bilateral mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss were recruited through print advertisements in local senior newspapers. They were fitted with three different sets of hearing aids with average processing delays that ranged from 0.5 to 7 msec. Envelope-following responses (EFRs) were recorded to a 50-msec /da/ syllable presented through a speaker placed 1 meter in front of the participants while they wore the three sets of hearing aids with open tips. Phase-locking factor (PLF) and stimulus-to-response (STR) correlations were calculated from these recordings. Recordings obtained while wearing hearing aids with a 0.5-msec processing delay showed higher PLF and STR correlations compared with those with either 5-msec or 7-msec delays. No differences were noted between recordings of hearing aids with 5-msec and 7-msec delays. The degree of difference between hearing aids was greater for individuals who had milder degrees of hearing loss. Hearing aid processing delays disrupt phase locking due to mixing of processed and unprocessed sounds in the ear canal when using open domes. Given previous work showing that better phase locking correlates with better speech-in-noise performance, consideration should be given to reducing hearing aid processing delay in the design of hearing aid algorithms.

Hearing as adaptive cascaded envelope interpolation

The human auditory system is designed to capture and encode sounds from our surroundings and conspecifics. However, the precise mechanisms by which it adaptively extracts the most important spectro-temporal information from sounds are still not fully understood. Previous auditory models have explained sound encoding at the cochlear level using static filter banks, but this vision is incompatible with the nonlinear and adaptive properties of the auditory system. Here we propose an approach that considers the cochlear processes as envelope interpolations inspired by cochlear physiology. It unifies linear and nonlinear adaptive behaviors into a single comprehensive framework that provides a data-driven understanding of auditory coding. It allows simulating a broad range of psychophysical phenomena from virtual pitches and combination tones to consonance and dissonance of harmonic sounds. It further predicts the properties of the cochlear filters such as frequency selectivity. Here we propose a possible link between the parameters of the model and the density of hair cells on the basilar membrane. Cascaded Envelope Interpolation may lead to improvements in sound processing for hearing aids by providing a non-linear, data-driven, way to preprocessing of acoustic signals consistent with peripheral processes.

Auditory environment diversity quantified using entropy from real-world hearing aid data.

Using data collected from hearing aid users' own hearing aids could improve the customization of hearing aid processing for different users based on the auditory environments they encounter in daily life. Prior studies characterizing hearing aid users' auditory environments have focused on mean sound pressure levels and proportions of environments based on classifications. In this study, we extend these approaches by introducing entropy to quantify the diversity of auditory environments hearing aid users encounter. Participants from 4 groups (younger listeners with normal hearing and older listeners with hearing loss from an urban or rural area) wore research hearing aids and completed ecological momentary assessments on a smartphone for 1 week. The smartphone was programmed to sample the processing state (input sound pressure level and environment classification) of the hearing aids every 10 min and deliver an ecological momentary assessment every 40 min. Entropy values for sound pressure levels, environment classifications, and ecological momentary assessment responses were calculated for each participant to quantify the diversity of auditory environments encountered over the course of the week. Entropy values between groups were compared. Group differences in entropy were compared to prior work reporting differences in mean sound pressure levels and proportions of environment classifications. Group differences in entropy measured objectively from the hearing aid data were also compared to differences in entropy measured from the self-report ecological momentary assessment data. Auditory environment diversity, quantified using entropy from the hearing aid data, was significantly higher for younger listeners than older listeners. Entropy measured using ecological momentary assessment was also significantly higher for younger listeners than older listeners. Using entropy, we show that younger listeners experience a greater diversity of auditory environments than older listeners. Alignment of group entropy differences with differences in sound pressure levels and hearing aid feature activation previously reported, along with alignment with ecological momentary response entropy, suggests that entropy is a valid and useful metric. We conclude that entropy is a simple and intuitive way to measure auditory environment diversity using hearing aid data.

A phonetic contrast function to improve sound processing in hearing aids

An objective of a hearing aid (HA) is to improve speech communication for the hearing-impaired listeners. The current best practices for dispensing HAs involve pure tone audiometry (PTA), a functional test that characterizes ability to detect pure tones, but not perception of complex time-frequency patterns in natural speech. We present a phonetic-contrast function (PCF) that takes a test-reference pair from the Minimal Contrast Set (MCS) and generates a time-frequency-energy matrix of contrast regions. The test word is first time-aligned to the reference word using modified dynamic time warping. The frequency axis is composed of 11 bands defined by an audiometric filterbank presented in a companion work. The energy is in a pseudo dB scale in the ±120 dBSPL range. We will demonstrate the operation of PCF for English MCS spoken by a male and a female speaker. In a companion work, we developed a functional test for listening competence based on MCS that include substitutions, deletions, and insertions of acoustic-phonetic features in the stimuli, as in [lock, log, locks]. Future work includes PCF-based investigations with hearing impaired listeners to improve intelligibility of fricatives, stops, etc. by refining the HA parameters in the 11 audiometric frequencies used in sound processing.

The impact of hearing aid user's own voice on device signal processing

Hearing aid processing is designed to improve audibility for sounds of interest, often by targeting external speech signals. During natural conversation, however, the hearing aid user is also the source of speech, potentially interacting with hearing aid function and leading to suboptimal processing. In this study, we investigated how the presence of own voice impacts the deployment of specific features designed to enhance audibility and intelligibility of conversational partners. We recorded real-time hearing aid feature engagement (directional microphones, noise reduction, and speech enhancement) during simulated conversations in quiet and in background noise. Simulations were performed using an acoustic manakin (GRAS 45BC-12) capable of producing speech via internal speaker, which was situated in the center of a 24-speaker spatial array. The results demonstrate how the presence of a hearing aid user’s own voice disrupts the intended use of these adaptive features, and that there is a need for optimizing hearing enhancement devices to account for own voice in dynamic scenarios. Future studies will determine the impact of a hearing aid user’s own voice on the device’s ability to improve speech intelligibility and user satisfaction.

Individual variability in speech recognition with compression and beamforming at positive signal-to-noise ratios

Individuals with hearing loss often struggle to communicate in noisy conditions. Aggressive hearing aid (HA) processing, such as fast-acting wide dynamic range compression (WDRC), may reduce speech recognition under some circumstances, and there is concern about disproportionate reductions in listeners with poor working memory. We investigated how speech recognition is affected when WDRC is combined with highly directional beamforming intended to reduce noise from lateral and rear locations. We also sought to determine how listener factors—working memory, age, and hearing loss—affect such interactions in typical listening conditions, including positive signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and different spatial noise locations. To-date 22 listeners with mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss repeated low-context sentences (0°) mixed with six-talker interference at + 3 and + 8 dB SNRs, distributed equally in two ( + /−90°) or three ( + /−90°/180°) locations. Wearable HAs presented four signal processing combinations, matched for audibility: microphone directionality (omnidirectional or beamformer) and WDRC (fast- or slow-acting). Data show higher speech recognition with beamforming (re omnidirectional), especially at + 3 dB SNR, regardless of WDRC and spatial locations. Relative contributions of listener factors will be assessed in mixed models in the context of combined signal distortions from HA processing and interferers. [Work supported by NIH-K01DC018324.]

Broad phonetic feature classifier for real-time hearing aid processing

Current Hearing Aid (HA) devices compensate for hearing loss by amplifying sounds based on instantaneous energy estimates in specific frequency bands. The dynamics of speech are incorporated using attack and release times—a crude approximation of the rich temporal dynamics in natural speech. Recent advances in silicon enables one to consider more complex sound processing approaches with minimal impact on the HA battery life. We envisage a broad phonetic feature classifier, followed by amplification strategies optimized for specific temporal dynamics across each segment of natural speech. In this work we present a broad phonetic classifier for ‘vocalic’, ‘non-vocalic’ and ‘mixed’ speech segments. The classifier is based on (i) Interpretable models- unsupervised learning methods such as Gaussian Mixture Models followed by supervised learning based Radial Basis Function networks; and (ii) Deep Neural Networks with supervised learning. The frontend feature extractor consists of MFCC, delta MFCC features, spectral flatness measure and segmental energy. The training and test sets are generated using speech files and the corresponding phone labels from the TIMIT dataset. We present our findings with respect to the classifier's performance and deployability for real time HA processing.

Evaluating the efficacy of music programs in hearing aids

Hearing aid processing of music is much less thoroughly researched than hearing aid processing of speech. This study evaluates the efficacy of programs specifically designed for music listening in state-of-the-art hearing aids. Normal-hearing participants rated the sound quality of music samples recorded from seven hearing aid brands in programs designed for speech or music. Preliminary results confirm the significant degradation of music quality caused by hearing aids. However, the music programs for three of the seven manufacturers significantly improved music quality compared to their speech programs. An analysis of signal processing and acoustic features relating to efficacy will be presented.

Feasibility of Tablet-Based Remote Data Collection Method for Measuring Hearing Aid Preference.

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a tablet-based remote data collection method for measuring preference for hearing aid signal processing features. Participants were nine individuals with bilateral mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss. Stimuli were spatialized low-context sentences mixed with six-talker babble at two realistic signal-to-noise ratios (3 and 8 dB) and processed through a hearing aid simulator. Preference for full factorial combinations of three common hearing aid processing features (two levels each) was elicited using a paired-comparison task. Participants completed two versions of the experiment: The lab version was completed in a sound-treated booth using a custom MATLAB application on a desktop computer; the remote version was completed in a quiet room in the participant's home, using a custom MATLAB executable application on a tablet. Both versions used the same calibrated headphones. Strict infection control protocols were followed. McNemar's test showed no association between preference and data collection method for the majority of the conditions. Percentage agreement and kappa scores were moderate/fair across most conditions. The results indicated that the remote versus lab versions did not have a systematic effect on preference. However, the relatively low agreement and kappa scores suggested within-subject variability in the outcome (preference). The tablet-based version of remote experimentation was comparable to the lab-based version for eliciting preference for hearing aid signal processing features.