Predictive value of directional sensitivity diagrams of hearing aids for word discrimination in noise.

In an anechoic room the directional characteristics of 17 different hearing aids were evaluated using KEMAR. Word discrimination scores in the presence of speech-like masking noise--a reliable parameter for the performance of a hearing aid--were compared with the directional sensitivity of the hearing aid under study for different signals. The directional characteristics of a hearing aid have the best predictive value for word discrimination scores in the presence of masking noise if this masking noise is used to measure these characteristics.