We present the Attentive Hearing Aid, a system that uses eye input to amplify the audio of tagged sound sources in the environment. A multidisciplinary project, we use the latest technology to take advantage of the social phenomenon of turn-taking in human-human communication, and apply this in a new kind of assistive hearing device. Using hearing-impaired participants, we evaluated the use of eye input for switching between sound sources on a screen in terms of switch time and the recall of audiovisual material. We compared eye input to a control condition and two manual selection techniques: using a remote to point at the target on the screen, and using buttons to select the target. Results show that in terms of switch time, Eyes were 73% faster than Pointing and 58% faster than Buttons. In terms of recall, Eyes performed 80% better than Control, 54% better than Buttons, and 37% better than Pointing. In a post-evaluation user experience survey, participants rated Eyes highest in “easiest”, “most natural”, and “best overall” categories. We present the implications of this work as a new type of assistive hearing device, and also discuss how this system could benefit non-hearing-impaired individuals. / Thesis (Master, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-26 13:46:25.789

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Introduction: Despite the advantages of using a hearing aid (HA), only 1 out of 5 individuals who could benefit from a (HA) actually use one (World Health Organization, 2012). If an individual does not use a HA then it may impact on their quality of life, as well as others around them (Chia et al., 2007). Therefore it is important to understand why individuals do not use HAs after obtaining them. To date, there has been no study that investigates the reasons for HA disuse in the New Zealand population. Methods: Two groups of adults with hearing impairment were recruited: HA users (N = 35) and HA disusers (N = 35). Six self-report questionnaires, three audiometric tests and two other body function measures were compared between the groups. Results: Several variables differentiated HA users from disusers, these significant variables were: cognition, understanding speech in noise, acceptance of noise, age at testing, education, hearing assistance technology (HAT) use, HA satisfaction, self-efficacy, accepted need, application for HA subsidy, HA outcomes, stages-of-change, perceived environmental influence, follow-up support and hearing related activity limitations/participation restrictions (AL/PR). Discussion: The clinical value of identifying factors related to HA disuse is so clinicians can identify “red flags” for disuse before the client stops using their HAs. By identifying these red flags, rehabilitation can be tailored around the clients’ needs; before the negative consequences of an untreated hearing impairment is felt.

BACKGROUND: Population-based universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) has been widely implemented in the developed world to ensure early detection of permanent hearing loss (HL) and improve the quality of speech and language outcomes of children with HL. Full-time hearing aid (HA) use is crucial for successful early intervention; most families face many challenges and uncertainties related to their child’s HA use in the early years after HA fitting. To our knowledge, there is limited information on HA use in children from Canadian settings, and there is no research using data logging records to examine a child’s HA use in the Canadian pediatric setting. GOALS: This thesis compromised three inquiries, which aimed to 1) conduct a systematic review of pediatric HA use; 2) examine HA use trends based on data logging records; 3) explore needs and challenges of HA use in young children from clinicians’ perspective. METHODOLOGY: Following a systematic review of the current literature, this doctoral research used a mixed methodology approach to examine the objectives of inquiries 2 and 3. In inquiry 2, the HA use trends in a Canadian pediatric population were explored through a retrospective chart review. In inquiry 3, the needs and challenges of HA use in the pediatric population were studied through focus group discussions with healthcare professionals involved in providing services to children with HL and their families. RESULTS: In the first inquiry (systematic review), 15 studies met the review criteria. Only four studies reported HA use based on data logging records. Age, degree of HL and parents’ education level were the most frequently reported factors associated with a child’s amount of HA use. In the second inquiry, our study sample consisted of 80 children. The study results showed an average of 7.3 hours (SD: 4.27) of HA use in the first data logging session, among all 80 cases. There was a significant association between a child’s chronological age, laterality of HL, duration of HA use and the amount of HA use. For the last inquiry, 15 clinicians from the CHEO audiology clinic participated in focus group discussion. Clinicians indicated that key items for better HA use outcomes included child-specific factors, family-related factors, and a multidisciplinary team approach. CONCLUSION: Through this research program, we confirmed various factors, including child’s characteristics, family-related factors, and a child setting, could affect a child’s average daily HA use. From this thesis, we learned that attention should be given to families' unique challenges to provide efficient solutions in an understandable format according to their specific needs and challenges. This thesis lays a foundation for future research on HA use in early childhood, one of the important factors associated with a successful early intervention program in hearing rehabilitation.

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<p>The project has been performed in a close collaboration with Hörsam who works in the field of hearing technology. In a first meeting with the company, the Project group was showed a few existing storage boxes for hearing aids. The company thought they were unnecessarily large with plenty of unused space and wanted a new, smarter solution to be developed.</p><p>The project began with user studies in which audiologists, maintenance technicians, future users and others were interviewed. The purpose was to obtain their views on today's storage boxes and to find out how well the users maintained their hearing aids. It proved to be a large lack of knowledge regarding the management of hearing aids within the users. As a result, new ways to clean their hearing aids were found. The group decided, therefore, to include extra batteries and cleaning articles in the storage box. It would give the user a sense of security, knowing they have everything they need in one place.</p><p>If earwax or moisture gets stuck in the sound channels to the hearing aid, the sound will disappear completely or partially. It is similarly, if the batteries run out. Hearing aid batteries last only about two weeks after activation and they are very small and difficult to handle for people with stiff joints. In the current situation, there are a variety of cleaning articles with different designs. Each hearing aid manufacturers have basically their own kit. Despite this, it is the same tools that are recommended by all. This is a brush, a loop, a cloth, a long needle and an air blower. In some cases the use of a rod with a magnet helps to facilitate replacement of batteries. The batteries are magnetic and therefore easily stuck on the rod, which help the user to handle the batteries. </p><p>After several suggestions of solutions the result became a storage box that the group has chose to call Skötsam. It has a soft and handy shape that offers the user a good grip. Skötsam is fitted for both those who only have one hearing aid and for those who have one to each ear. In the battery compartment there is space for at least two extra batteries, depending on its size. The different cleaning articles are located in a smart and clever way, while all functions are easy to use. In a comparison with today's storage boxes Skötsam have seven new features. It has been tested by future users with successful results. Even audiologists and technicians and others who have tried Skötsam are very satisfied with the result. All the requests and demands set out during the project have been met.</p>

The project has been performed in a close collaboration with Hörsam who works in the field of hearing technology. In a first meeting with the company, the Project group was showed a few existing storage boxes for hearing aids. The company thought they were unnecessarily large with plenty of unused space and wanted a new, smarter solution to be developed. The project began with user studies in which audiologists, maintenance technicians, future users and others were interviewed. The purpose was to obtain their views on today's storage boxes and to find out how well the users maintained their hearing aids. It proved to be a large lack of knowledge regarding the management of hearing aids within the users. As a result, new ways to clean their hearing aids were found. The group decided, therefore, to include extra batteries and cleaning articles in the storage box. It would give the user a sense of security, knowing they have everything they need in one place. If earwax or moisture gets stuck in the sound channels to the hearing aid, the sound will disappear completely or partially. It is similarly, if the batteries run out. Hearing aid batteries last only about two weeks after activation and they are very small and difficult to handle for people with stiff joints. In the current situation, there are a variety of cleaning articles with different designs. Each hearing aid manufacturers have basically their own kit. Despite this, it is the same tools that are recommended by all. This is a brush, a loop, a cloth, a long needle and an air blower. In some cases the use of a rod with a magnet helps to facilitate replacement of batteries. The batteries are magnetic and therefore easily stuck on the rod, which help the user to handle the batteries. After several suggestions of solutions the result became a storage box that the group has chose to call Skötsam. It has a soft and handy shape that offers the user a good grip. Skötsam is fitted for both those who only have one hearing aid and for those who have one to each ear. In the battery compartment there is space for at least two extra batteries, depending on its size. The different cleaning articles are located in a smart and clever way, while all functions are easy to use. In a comparison with today's storage boxes Skötsam have seven new features. It has been tested by future users with successful results. Even audiologists and technicians and others who have tried Skötsam are very satisfied with the result. All the requests and demands set out during the project have been met.

Occlusion effects result from amplification of low frequency components of body- transmitted sound when the ear canal is occluded with hearing protection devices, hearing aids, or other canal-sealing inserts. Since the occlusion effect will enhance the hearing of bodily- generated sounds and result in distorted perception of one's own voice, many people report annoyance with hearing aids and hearing protectors that produce occlusion effects. Previous research has studied the effects of ear device insertion depth and influence of the location of the bone vibrator, which has typically been used as the excitation stimulus. However, the effects of monaural vs. binaural, ear device material, and different excitation stimuli were not investigated. In this research study, the effect of left/right ear canal on the occlusion effect, which was measured objectively as the sound pressure level difference in dB, was investigated. Also, an experiment to determine the effect of earplug types (differing in material and design), insertion depth, and excitation sources was conducted. Lastly, the noise attenuation capability of medical balloon-based earplugs was tested. Ten subjects, six male and four female, volunteered for the three separate experiments. They were subjected to the three earplug types (foam earplugs, premolded flanged earplugs, and medical balloon-based earplugs), two earplug insertion depth levels of shallow and deep (only feasible with the foam earplug and the balloon-based earplug), and two levels of excitation sources, one of which was a forehead-mounted bone vibrator and the other a self vocal utterance of "EE" to 65 decibels A-weighted (dBA). The attenuation capability of the medical balloon- based earplugs were tested via monaural Real-Ear-Attenuation-at-Threshold (REAT) test per ANSI S3.19-1974 and compared to that of a Peltor H10A earmuff. Experimental results of the first experiment demonstrated that left right ear canal SPL measurements were not statistically different, and therefore subsequent measurements of occlusion effects for the second experiment were conducted via a monaural left ear measurement protocol. The results of the second experiment confirmed significant effects of insertion depth on the occlusion effect. At the shallow insertion, the occlusion effects, on average, were greater by 11.2 dB(linear) (dBZ) then the deep insertion measured at 500 Hz. The effects of earplug type were mixed. At the shallow insertion, earplug type did not influence the occlusion effect. However, the mean occlusion effect, measured at the 1/3-octave band centered at 500 Hz, of deeply inserted balloon-based earplugs was larger than that of foam earplugs by 3.7 dBZ. Excitation sources that were used as the sound energy stimuli to elicit occlusion effects did not show statistically significant differences. The Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), as calculated per ANSI S3.19-1974, of the medical balloon-based earplug was 10 dB while that of a Peltor H10A earmuff was 24 dB. Although the medical balloon-based earplug did not prove to be a high attenuation-hearing protector, it produced a unique flat attenuation across the frequency spectrum, as compared to the typical increasing-with-frequency attenuation, pointing to its potential utility for applications wherein the pitch perception of sound is important. / Ph. D.

The TEL-PHONE Telecoil Simulator Program was invented as a solution to the problem of customizing programmable telecoils (T-coils) in a standardized and convenient manner. The objective of this project was to evaluate the suitability of the device for clinical use. A preliminary review of the TEL-PHONE protocol revealed that the protocol was in need of refinement. Following a preliminary examination of the TEL-PHONE device, a detailed evaluation of acoustic and electromagnetic output was conducted. The output was analyzed using information gleaned from Electronic Industries Association Recommended Standard RS-504 (EIA RS-504) Magnetic Field Intensity Criteria for Telephone Compatibility with Hearing Aids and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) S3.22-1996 Specification of Hearing Aid Characteristics. This analysis indicated that the controls on the device were not reliable and the output did not approximate that of a standard telephone.