Denk Florian, Hiipakka Marko, Kollmeier Birger, Ernst Stephan M A
a Medizinische Physik and Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all , University of Oldenburg , Oldenburg , Germany.
Int J Audiol. 2018 Jun;57(sup3):S62-S70. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2017.1294768. Epub 2017 Mar 1.
An important and often still unresolved problem of hearing devices such as assistive listening devices and hearing aids is limited user acceptance - a primary reason is poor conservation quality of the acoustic environment. Approaching a possible solution to this problem, an earpiece prototype is presented and evaluated. The prototype is individually and automatically calibrated in situ to provide acoustical transparency, i.e., achieving an audio perception alike to the open ear.
A comprehensive evaluation was performed, comprising technical measurements on an advanced dummy head and listening tests, in which listeners directly compared sound perception through the prototype and a simulated open ear canal reference.
Ten normal hearing subjects, including five expert listeners, participated in the listening test.
The technical evaluation verified good achievement of acoustical transparency. The psychoacoustic results showed that a reliable distinction between the two conditions presented was not possible for relevant communication sounds.
The prototype can be described as an initial realisation of an acoustically transparent hearing system, i.e. a device that does not disturb the perception of external sounds. In further developments, the device can be considered as the basis for systems integrating high sound quality, hearing support and other desired modifications.
诸如助听设备和助听器等听力设备存在一个重要且往往仍未解决的问题，即用户接受度有限——一个主要原因是声学环境的保存质量较差。为寻求该问题的可能解决方案，本文展示并评估了一种耳塞原型。该原型可在原位进行单独自动校准，以提供声学透明度，即实现与裸耳相似的音频感知。
进行了全面评估，包括在先进的仿真人头模型上进行技术测量以及听力测试，在听力测试中，听众直接比较通过该原型和模拟的开放耳道参考所获得的声音感知。
十名听力正常的受试者，包括五名专业听众，参与了听力测试。
技术评估证实该原型在实现声学透明度方面表现良好。心理声学结果表明，对于相关的交流声音，无法可靠地区分所呈现的两种情况。
该原型可被描述为声学透明听力系统的初步实现，即一种不会干扰外部声音感知的设备。在进一步的开发中，该设备可被视为集成高音质、听力支持及其他所需改进功能的系统的基础。
