Speaker
Description
In clinical settings, hearing-aid gain is typically prescribed based on the audiogram. In out-of-clinic settings, audiograms are difficult to measure because controlled stimulus presentation is generally impracticable. The most comfortable level (MCL) for speech listening could offer an alternative basis for hearing-aid gain prescription, but current speech MCL measurement methods have some shortcomings.This study developed and evaluated a new method for measuring speech MCLs based on pairwise stimulus comparisons and a Bayesian backend. An extended version of this method was then used for determining individual most-preferred gain (IPG) settings for speech listening.Fifteen normal-hearing and 13 hearing-impaired participants were tested. The speech MCLs were compared to data obtained with a standard bracketing method. The IPG settings were determined based on a set of candidate gain settings derived for standard audiograms, without a priori knowledge about the participants’ own audiograms. The IPG settings were determined twice – once for listening comfort, and once for perceived speech clarity.The speech MCLs measured with the new and standard method were strongly correlated, with comparable test durations. The IPG settings obtained for listening comfort showed less high-frequency gain than those obtained for speech clarity. Overall, the developed methods show promise for out-of-clinic applications.