Comparisons of Sentence Recognition Scores and Preferences according to Compression Types in a Multi-Channel Hearing Aid

Shin, Suyeon; Lee, Kyoungwon

doi:2017.13.1.88

Audiology and Speech Research > Volume 13(1); 2017 > Article

Research Paper

Audiology and Speech Research 2017;13(1): 88-94.
Published online: January 31, 2017.
doi: http://doi.org/10.21848/asr.2017.13.1.88

다채널보청기의 압축 방식에 따른 문장인지도와 선호도의 비교

신수연^1,2, 이경원²

¹신수연보청기청능재활센터
²한림국제대학원대학교 청각학과

Comparisons of Sentence Recognition Scores and Preferences according to Compression Types in a Multi-Channel Hearing Aid

Suyeon Shin^1,2, Kyoungwon Lee²

¹SSY Aural Rehabilitation Center, Daejeon, Korea
²Department of Audiology, Hallym University of Graduate Studies, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence

Kyoungwon Lee ,Tel: +82-2-2051-4951, Fax: +82-2-3453-7833, Email: hearing1004@naver.com

Received: January 31, 2017; Revised: January 31, 2017 Accepted: January 31, 2017. Published online: January 31, 2017.

ABSTRACT

Purpose:
The aims of this study were to investigate the sentence recognition score (SRS), clarity of speech sounds, perception of changes in the background noise and differences in the overall preference according to the compression types in a multi-channel hearing aid.
Method:
19 subjects (21 ears) with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) participated in this study. The compression methods of hearing aids were adjusted to implement the base increase at low level (BILL), treble increase at low level (TILL), and Multichannel compression (MCC), and the compression ratio in these cases was 2 : 1. After varying the compression methods of the hearing aid according to the frequency band, the SRS, clarity of speech sounds, perception of changes in the background noise, and overall preference for the sound quality were investigated in a quiet, 6 dB and 0 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).
Results:
For SRS, scores of MCC were higher than those of either BILL or TILL in the case of a quiet and 6 dB SNR, and no difference in SRS was found between BILL and TILL. In the subjective evaluation, MCC and BILL were found to have higher scores than TILL, while there was no difference between BILL and MCC.
Conclusion:
This study confirmed that for Korean with SNHL, it was effective in terms of the SRS or clarity of speech sounds to implement compression for all frequencies. However, it is considered necessary to conduct further research upon the effective compression ratio and compression threshold according to the hearing threshold level for adequate electroacoustic adjustment of hearing aids for Korean with hearing impairment.

Key Words: Bass increase at low level, Treble increases at low level, Multi-channel compression, Compression ratio, Signal-to-noise ratio, Non-linear hearing aid.