Evaluation of combined dynamic compression and single channel noise reduction for hearing aid applications

AbstractObjective: Single-channel noise reduction (SCNR) and dynamic range compression (DRC) are important elements in hearing aids. Only relatively few studies have addressed interaction effects and typically used real hearing aids with limited knowledge about the integrated algorithms. Here the potential benefit of different combinations and integration of SCNR and DRC was systematically assessed. Design: Ten different systems combining SCNR and DRC were implemented, including five serial arrangements, a parallel and two multiplicative approaches. In an instrumental evaluation, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement and spectral contrast enhancement (SCE) were assessed. Quality ratings at 0 and +6 dB SNR, and speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in noise were measured using stationary and babble noise. Study sample: Thirteen young normal-hearing (NH) listeners and 12 hearing-impaired (HI) listeners participated. Results: In line with an increased segmental SNR and spectral contrast compared to a serial c...