Korean J Otolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.
1998 Jan;41(1):13-20.
Hearing Impairment Simulation for the Performance Evaluation of Hearing Aid
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of ORL-HNS, Sungkyunkwan University, College of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
- 2Department of Electronic Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
- 3BME Center, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: With the advent of high speed digital signal processing chips, many digital techniques have been introduced to hearing aids. Generally, subject-based clinical tests are needed to verify the performance of hearing aids, which required both time and cost. A hearing impairment simulation (HIS) system is developed in real-time system which is aimed to simulate the sensorineural hearing impairment. In this paper, we present an indirect method to evaluate and predict the performance of hearing aid systems without the help of actual subjects.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The system is developed based on the model constructed from auditory test results and nonlinear behaviors of sensorineural hearing impaired persons. To verify the proposed system, signals processed were presented to normal listeners and their auditory data modified by the system were measured and compared with those of the impaired models.
RESULTS
The auditory data of models were closely simulated to normal listeners by HIS system in all frequencies especially to those with hearing loss of more than 60 dB.
CONCLUSION
HIS System can be used clinically in developing new digital hearing aid algorithm.
