trueLOUDNESS: Development of a novel method for fitting hearing instruments
Motivation
Today's hearing aid fitting is based on calculation methods that take into account the client's audiometric hearing loss. The gain values are optimized based on everyday experience in a fine-tuning process by the hearing care professional. One of the most common reasons for revisiting a hearing care professional after a hearing aid fitting is dissatisfaction with the volume setting in the hearing aid. It has been shown that, in addition to narrowband loudness perception, binaural broadband loudness perception has a high impact on gain settings for loudness restoration in hearing aids. Binaural broadband loudness summation can vary greatly from individual to individual and has not been considered during initial fitting. Because of these differences, gain predictions can vary widely for individuals with similar audiometric hearing thresholds. With "trueLOUDNESS", HörTech has developed a fitting procedure that takes individual binaural broadband loudness perception into account in the initial fitting of hearing aids.
Target
The aim of the "trueLOUDNESS" project is to make the novel loudness-based procedure trueLOUDNESS for fitting hearing systems available as a product for hearing care professionals. This means that the fitting procedure can be used by all hearing care professionals. In just a few minutes, trueLOUDNESS can be used to reliably determine the individual gain required in a hearing aid.
Funding measure
Funding program Innovation Competence (INNO-KOM) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
Project duration
January 2021 - June 2023
