Effect of Hearing Aid Coupled with FM System on Speech Recognition

Abstract

In difficult-to-hear situations frequency modulated (FM) systems can improve an individual's ability to understand speech like in noisy environments and at greater speaker-to­ listener distances. By preserving the desired signal strength, the system enhances the speech-to­ noise ratio (SNR) at the listener's ear, thereby facilitating speech recognition. There is a dearth in literature regarding the differences between the performance with a hearing aid alone vs HA plus FM modes of amplification. Data was collected to evaluate the transparency of the FM system, FM/HA ratio and to compare the speech recognition through a hearing aid alone and hearing aid+FM system. The results confirmed the transparency of the FM system. The DAI coupling resulted in an increase in the internal noise compared to hearing aid alone mode. In the presence of noise the speech recognition was better with FM+HA mode than with HA alone mode.