Otsuka Sho, Nakagawa Seiji
Center for Frontier Medical Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
Med-Tech Link Center, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
MethodsX. 2023 Oct 2;11:102394. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2023.102394. eCollection 2023 Dec.
Bone conduction hearing aids (BCHAs) offer an alternative solution for individuals with outer or middle ear issues who cannot benefit from traditional air conduction hearing aids. However, the phenomenon of "crosstalk," where sound intended for one ear is mistakenly transmitted to the other ear through bone conduction, presents a challenge. This unintended transmission may limit the benefits of binaural hearing that can be achieved using two BCHAs, such as accurately detecting a sound source's direction. In this article, we present a method to suppress "crosstalk" within the human head using an adaptive algorithm to control two audiometric bone transducers. •Our method involves positioning an error sensor at a location considered close to the cochlea, such as the ear canal or the mastoid, and utilizing an adaptive algorithm to estimate the crosstalk compensation filter. This filter generates an anti-signal, which is then transmitted to one of the two transducers, effectively cancelling the crosstalk.•To verify whether the crosstalk cancellation reaches the cochlea in the inner ear, we provide a procedure for measuring hearing thresholds with and without crosstalk cancellation. This acts as a subjective measure of the efficacy of our crosstalk cancellation method. By leveraging an adaptive algorithm, this approach provides personalized cancellation and has the potential to enhance the performance of binaural BCHAs.
骨传导助听器（BCHAs）为那些患有外耳或中耳问题而无法从传统气导助听器中获益的人提供了一种替代解决方案。然而，“串扰”现象，即本应传输到一只耳朵的声音通过骨传导错误地传输到另一只耳朵，这带来了挑战。这种意外的传输可能会限制使用两个骨传导助听器实现双耳听力的益处，比如准确检测声源方向。在本文中，我们提出了一种方法，通过使用自适应算法来控制两个听力计骨换能器，以抑制人头部内的“串扰”。•我们的方法包括将误差传感器放置在被认为靠近耳蜗的位置，如耳道或乳突，并利用自适应算法来估计串扰补偿滤波器。该滤波器生成一个反信号，然后将其传输到两个换能器之一，有效地消除串扰。•为了验证串扰消除是否到达内耳的耳蜗，我们提供了一种在有和没有串扰消除的情况下测量听力阈值的程序。这作为我们串扰消除方法有效性的主观衡量标准。通过利用自适应算法，这种方法提供个性化的消除，并有可能提高双耳骨传导助听器的性能。
