title: Sound source localization using hearing aids with microphones placed behind-the-ear, in-the-canal, and in-the-pinna.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The effect of different commercial hearing aids on the ability to resolve front-back confusions and on sound localization in the frontal horizontal and vertical plane was studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  Commercial hearing aids with a microphone placed in-the-ear-canal (ITC), behind-the-ear (BTE), and in-the-pinna (ITP) were evaluated in the frontal and full horizontal plane, and in the frontal vertical plane.
  
  
  METHODS
  A group of 13 hearing-impaired subjects evaluated the hearing aids. Nine normal-hearing listeners were used as a reference group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Differences in sound localization in the front-back dimension were found for different hearing aids. A large inter-subject variability was found during the front-back and elevation experiments. With ITP or ITC microphones, almost all natural spectral information was preserved. One of the BTE hearing aids, which is equipped with a directional microphone configuration, generated a sufficient amount of spectral cues to allow front-back discrimination. No significant effect of hearing aids on elevation performance in the frontal vertical plane was observed. Hearing-impaired subjects reached the same performance with and without the different hearing aids. In the unaided condition, a frequency-specific audibility correction was applied. Some of the hearing-impaired listeners reached normal hearing performance with this correction.
authors.affiliation: ExpORL, KU Leuven, O&N2, Herestraat 49, Bus 721, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. tim.vandenbogaert@med.kuleuven.be
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Van den Bogaert
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carette
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wouters
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000523:psychology*; D004423:Ear; D054644:Ear Auricle; D004424:Ear Canal; D004867:Equipment Design; D006310:Hearing Aids; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013017:Sound Localization; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013997:Time Factors; D014159:Transducers