gms | German Medical Science

27. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Audiologie
und Arbeitstagung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutschsprachiger Audiologen, Neurootologen und Otologen

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Audiologie e. V. und ADANO

19. - 21.03.2025, Göttingen

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Improved sound quality with active sound control in hearing devices

Meeting Abstract

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  • presenting/speaker Henning Schepker - Starkey Hearing Technologies, Advanced Development, Eden Prairie, Vereinigte Staaten
  • Masahiro Sunohara - Starkey Hearing Technologies, Advanced Development, Eden Prairie, Vereinigte Staaten
  • Piero Rivera Benois - Starkey Hearing Technologies, Advanced Development, Eden Prairie, Vereinigte Staaten
  • Xianhua Jiang - Starkey Hearing Technologies, Advanced Development, Eden Prairie, Vereinigte Staaten
  • Martin McKinney - Starkey Hearing Technologies, Advanced Development, Eden Prairie, Vereinigte Staaten

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Audiologie e. V. und ADANO. 27. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Audiologie und Arbeitstagung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutschsprachiger Audiologen, Neurootologen und Otologen. Göttingen, 19.-21.03.2025. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2025. Doc006

doi: 10.3205/25dga006, urn:nbn:de:0183-25dga0069

Veröffentlicht: 18. März 2025

© 2025 Schepker et al.
Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). Lizenz-Angaben siehe http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Gliederung

Text

The comb-filtering effect poses a significant challenge for hearing aids because it can degrade sound quality and cause discomfort to the user. The comb-filtering effect is caused by superposition of processed sound through the device and direct sound leaking into the ear canal. To mitigate comb-filtering artifacts and improve sound quality, adjustments to amplification and/or acoustic couplings of the hearing aid are typically performed, often compromising user comfort and the amplification required to compensate the user’s hearing loss.

We propose a holistic strategy that integrates Active Noise Control (ANC) technology with conventional hearing aid processing to effectively counter the comb-filtering effect. ANC specifically aims at reducing the direct sound leaking into the ear canal via the earbud or the hearing aid body by generating an inverse phase signal to neutralize it. In this contribution we will first demonstrate that this technology has the potential to enhance sound quality in hearing devices as supported by both simulations and subjective evaluation. Second, we demonstrate that, when integrated into a real-time prototype, comb-filtering can be effectively reduced. We will present perceptual evaluations using normal hearing listeners for a variety of hearing loss profiles demonstrating the effectiveness of ANC to improve sound quality. The results show that ANC is a promising technology to enhance the sound quality of hearing aids.