• Yu-Hsiang Wu, Elizabeth Stangl, and Ruth A Bentler.
• Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Iowa , Iowa City , USA.
• Int J Audiol. 2013 Nov 1; 52 (11): 789-94.

ObjectiveBackward-facing directional processing (Back-DIR) is an algorithm that employs an anti-cardioid directivity pattern to enhance speech arriving from behind the listener. An experiment that was originally designed to evaluate Back-DIR, together with its follow-up experiment, are reported to illustrate how hearing-aid users' voices could affect directional benefit.DesignSpeech recognition performance was measured in a speech-180°/noise-0° configuration, with aids programmed to Back-DIR enabled or omnidirectional processing. In the original experiment, the conventional hearing-in-noise test (HINT) was used, wherein listeners repeated heard sentences. In the follow-up experiment, a modified HINT was used, wherein a carrier phrase was presented before each sentence.Study SampleFifteen adults with sensorineural hearing loss participated in both experiments.ResultsSignificant Back-DIR benefit (relative to omnidirectional processing) was observed in the follow-up experiment, while not in the original experiment.ConclusionsIn the original experiment, hearing aids were affected by listeners' voices such that Back-DIR was not always activated when the target speech was presented. In the follow-up experiment, listeners' voice effects were eliminated by the carrier phrase activating Back-DIR before the sentences were presented. The results suggest that the effect of hearing-aid technologies is highly dependent on the characteristics of listening conditions.

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