Previous research has shown the benefit obtained by hard of hearing people when using inductive means (T-switch) to couple their hearing aids to telephone receivers. Benefit provided by receiver amplification in the telephone handset has also been shown. Informal surveys of hard of hearing people indicate that many of them use telephones having a dual capability: magnetic coupling and receiver amplification. The objective of this investigation was to study user performance with this dual capability. In particular, the effect of receiver amplification on the speech perception ability (as measured by R-SPIN test items) of 10 hard of hearing subjects using inductive means to couple their hearing aid to a telephone receiver was examined under both good and poor telephone line conditions. The influence of the predictability of the speech material presented was also investigated by noting any difference between the subjects' performance on high predictability items and performance on low predictability items (of the R-SPIN test). Results showed that the use of receiver amplification in conjunction with inductive coupling significantly improved the subjects' speech perception scores. Not surprisingly, good telephone line conditions also significantly improved the subjects' scores. Improvement due to receiver amplification was noted, irrespective of line conditions. Similarly, improvement due to good line conditions was observed, irrespective of whether amplification was used or not. Both receiver amplification and good line conditions had significant and positive effects on both low predictability and high predictability scores. We conclude that with speech either in or out of context, receiver amplification will be of benefit to those who use inductive coupling. Clinical implications and recommendations are discussed. / Medicine, Faculty of / Audiology and Speech Sciences, School of / Graduate

Uncomfortable listening level (UCL) is a behavioral measure which is currently used to set the maximum outputs of hearing aids. This study explored the feasibility of prescribing the maximum outputs of hearing aids by using results obtained from auditory brainstern response (ABR) testing. More specifically, this study compared ABR wave latencies with behaviorally-measured UCLs for a single cycle 3 kHz stimulus in normal-hearing adults.

While hearing aids are optimized for listening to and hearing speech in noisy environ- ments, there are still many challenges when using hearing aids to listen to music. This could mean that hearing impaired individuals do not perceive music the same way a normal hearing person would. When two musical tones are played simultaneously at equal presentation levels, the tone with the higher frequency will be perceived as more salient for a normal hearing person. This phenomenon is referred to as the high voice superiority effect. This study examined how different types of hearing loss affect the neural pitch salience profile obtained with a computational model of the auditory periphery. More specifically, the high voice superiority effect was examined by generating neural pitch salience profiles for different combinations of simultaneous tones at different sound presentation levels. To model other aspects of hearing aid processing, an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) and simple noise reduction filter were added to some of the simulations. The results show that less severe hearing loss types tend to have pitch salience profiles closer to normal after hearing aid amplification. The addition of the ADC to the simulation seems to have little effect on the pitch salience, whereas the noise reduction filter has a noticeable effect on how closely the pitch salience profile matches that of a normal hearing ear. For each different type of hearing loss there appears to be a trade-off between the ability of the upper tone and the lower tone to match normal hearing performance. Along with simulated piano tone results, pitch salience results are shown for live recordings of several instruments through hearing aids. The recordings are compared to ideal versions of the instrument parts. This study provides a starting point to improve hearing aid processing for music perception. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / While hearing aids are optimized for listening to speech, they still face challenges when listening to music. This study examined how different types of hearing loss and hearing aid amplification affect music perception, using the measure of neural pitch salience. The results show that less severe hearing loss types tend to have pitch salience profiles closer to normal after amplification. Along with simulated piano tone results, pitch salience results are shown for live recordings of several instruments through hearing aids. The recordings are compared to ideal versions of the instrument parts. This study provides a starting point to improve hearing aid processing for music perception.

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This paper describes the design of a hearing aid using digital techniques. The Amplitude Compression Amplifier and Digital Filter are discussed. General review of different filter types are presented as background for the design of Digital Filters. The design procedure for Digital Filters and the software program for the Intel-2920 signal processor are created. Finally, the program is tested by simulation via the 2920-Simulator.

published_or_final_version / Speech and Hearing Sciences / Master / Master of Science in Audiology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of hearing aid benefit, as measured by the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB; Cox & Alexander, 1995), between three months post hearing aid fitting and at next the annual audiological re-evaluation. The annual re-evaluation was at least, and as close to nine months as possible, after the previous audiological. The maximum time between the two evaluations was 18 months. Thirty-six hearing aid patients participated in this study. The participants were both male andfemale, and were fitted monaurally or binaurally with hearing aid(s). All participants had sensorineural hearing loss with no ongoing or permanent conductive or retrocochlear pathology. The APHAB scale was administered at the three month hearing aid check (HAC) and again at the annual audiometric re-evaluation. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with length of time between the three month hearing aid check (HAC) and the next audiological re-evaluation as a covariate, was used to examine the main effects of time of administration and subscale [e.g., ease of communication (EC), reverberant conditions (RV), background noise (BN), and aversiveness of sounds (AV) and their interactions. Results revealed a significant reduction in the mean benefit scores between the 3-month HAC and annual re-evaluation APHAB administration. It is hypothesized that the causal factor of the decrease in benefit in the EC, RV, & BN are multifactorial. These reductions in benefits may be do to the Hawthorne effect, unrealistic hearing aid benefit expectations by the participants, or a heightened expectation of hearing aid benefit due to the financial expense. It should also be noted, however, that using the 90% confidence interval for "true" clinical benefit, 21 of the participants maintained stable benefit over the course of the study. Finally, although not statistically significant, the fourth APHAB scale, aversiveness of sounds (AV), improved over time.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 58-68).

Thesis (Au.D.)--James Madison University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.