title: Predictive value of directional sensitivity diagrams of hearing aids for word discrimination in noise.
abstract: 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.
mesh_terms: D001307:Auditory Perception; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D013017:Sound Localization; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception