Combined Effect of Noise Reduction, FBS-Based Spectral Splitting, and Dynamic Range Compression of Speech Signal on Source Localization in Binaural Hearing Aids
Jyoti M. Katagi1, Pandurangarao N. Kulkarni2
1Smt. Jyoti M. Katagi, Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Basaveshwar Engineering College, Bagalkote (Karnataka), India.
2Dr. Pandurangarao N. Kulkarni, Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Basaveshwar Engineering College, Bagalkote (Karnataka), India.
Manuscript received on 03 September 2024 | Revised Manuscript received on 15 September 2024 | Manuscript Accepted on 15 October 2024 | Manuscript published on 30 October 2024 | PP: 7-13 | Volume-13 Issue-11, October 2024 | Retrieval Number: 100.1/ijitee.K998913111024 | DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.K9989.13111024
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Localizing sound sources in three spatial dimensions (azimuth, elevation, and distance) is critical for human hearing comfort. It relies on two binaural cues: interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD). Cochlear or auditory nerve injury can result in sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Hearing aids enable people with sensorineural hearing loss to converse more effectively and hear better. However, there is an apprehension that the binaural hearing aids may degrade the localization cues, thus affecting the source localization. In response to this concern, the current study investigates how the binaural hearing aid algorithm affects source localization by adopting a cascaded structure of noise reduction technique (wiener filter) followed by filter bank summation (FBS) based spectral splitting and dynamic range compression for binaural dichotic presentation. Listening tests for seven different azimuth angles (-90⁰, -60⁰, -30⁰, 0⁰, 30⁰, 60⁰, and – 90⁰) were conducted on six listeners with normal hearing under different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions as well as on six subjects with mild bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment. Test stimuli included background glass-breaking sound and broadband noise for participants with normal hearing. In an experiment with hearing-impaired subjects, the glass-breaking sound served as one of the test stimuli. The result showed that these binaural hearing aid algorithms had no adverse effects on localization ability.
Keywords: Binaural Hearing Aids, Interaural level difference, Interaural time Difference, Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Sound localization, Speech perception.
Scope of the Article: Electrical and Electronics