Quantification of directional benefit across different polar response patterns.

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the directivity of a directional microphone hearing aid and listener performance. Hearing aids were fit bilaterally to 19 subjects with sensorineural hearing loss, and five microphone conditions were assessed: omnidirectional, cardioid, hypercardioid, supercardioid, and "monofit," wherein the left hearing aid was set to omnidirectional and the right hearing aid to hypercardioid. Speech perception performance was assessed using the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) and the Connected Speech Test (CST).

Evaluation of an adaptive directional system in a DSP hearing aid.

The effectiveness of an adaptive directional microphone design, as implemented in the Phonak Claro behind-the-ear hearing aid, is evaluated. Participants were fit bilaterally and tested in 2 environments, an anechoic chamber and a moderately reverberant classroom, with the microphones in the fixed (cardioid) setting and the adaptive setting. Five speakers were placed between 110 degrees and 250 degrees azimuth around the listener.