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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1407775

Influences of Noise Reduction on Speech Intelligibility, Listening Effort and Sound Quality among Adults with Severe to Profound Hearing Loss

Provisionally accepted
Ruijuan Dong Ruijuan Dong 1,2Pengfei Liu Pengfei Liu 3,4Xin Tian Xin Tian 5Yuan Wang Yuan Wang 3,4Younuo Chen Younuo Chen 3,4Jing Zhang Jing Zhang 5Liu Yang Liu Yang 2Shiyang Zhao Shiyang Zhao 6Jingjing Guan Jingjing Guan 5Shuo Wang Shuo Wang 3,4*
  • 1 Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tongren Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 2 Beijing Key Laboratory of Fundamental Research on Biomechanics in Clinical Application, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 3 Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 4 Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 5 Sonova Shanghai Co.,Ltd, Shanghai, China
  • 6 Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Noise reduction (NR) algorithms have been integrated into modern digital hearing aids to reduce noise annoyance and enhance speech intelligibility. This study aimed to evaluate the influences of a novel hearing aid NR algorithm on individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Methods: Twenty-five participants with severe-to-profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss underwent three tests (speech intelligibility, listening effort, and subjective sound quality in noise) to investigate the influences of NR. All three tests were performed under three NR strength levels (Off, Moderate, and Strong) for both speech in noise program (SpiN) and speech in loud noise program (SpiLN), comprising six different hearing aid conditions.Results: NR activation significantly reduced listening effort. Subjective sound quality assessments also exhibited benefits of activated NR in terms of noise suppression, listening comfort, satisfaction, and speech clarity.Discussion: Individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss still experienced advantages from NR technology in both listening effort measure and subjective sound quality assessments. Importantly, these benefits did not adversely affect speech intelligibility.

    Keywords: severe-to-profound hearing loss, Hearing Aids, Noise Reduction, intelligibility, listening effort

    Received: 27 Mar 2024; Accepted: 17 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dong, Liu, Tian, Wang, Chen, Zhang, Yang, Zhao, Guan and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shuo Wang, Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.