Using the hearing in noise test (HINT) in the assessment of the performance of directional microphone

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Hearing in noise test (HINT) is used to evaluate and compare the performance of different hearing aid. This research was designed to compare the performance of a fixed directional microphone (FDM) and an automatic adaptive directional microphone (AADM) with different noise directions using aided Arabic HINT. Methods Control group (CG): 20 normal peripheral hearing adults. Study group (SG): 40 adults with bilateral symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss. Arabic HINT was performed in three noise situations at 0°, 90°, and 270° azimuths for both groups. For SG, test was done in 4 conditions: condition (I), without hearing aid; condition (II), aided response with omnidirectional microphone; condition (III), aided response with FDM; and condition (IV), aided response with AADM. Results For all azimuths, there was a statistically considerable difference between CG and SG in all conditions. Also, there was a statistically significant difference between SG conditions I and II and II and III. But no statistically significant difference was observed between conditions III and IV when the noise was at 90° and 270° azimuths. Conclusion AADM is the best choice of selection in hearing aid fitting, and it performs better in noise, especially when the noise and speech are in front of the patient.

Keywords

• Hearing in noise test (HINT)
• Fixed directional microphone
• Adaptive directional microphone
• Sensory neural hearing loss (SNHL)