Smartest Doc
Hearing Aid Compression: Effects of Speed, Ratio and Channel Bandwidth on Perceived Sound Quality
The Hearing Journal, 04/13/2012
Hau O et al. – The present study investigated the subjectively rated sound quality of 111 pre–processed sound recordings differing in the four parameters of compression ratio, compression speed, signal–to–noise ratio and channel bandwidth. Ten normal–hearing persons served as listeners. The results indicate that channel bandwidth has an increasingly stronger negative impact on perceived sound quality as compression ratio and compression speed increase. From a sound quality preservation perspective, this suggests that the use of short compression time constants and high compression ratios should be kept to a minimum in modern multi–channel compression hearing aids.
