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Applied Sciences
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Advances in Hearing Simulations and Hearing Aids
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Advances in Hearing Simulations and Hearing Aids

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Acoustics and Vibrations".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 6547

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ryota Shimokura

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka 560-8531, Japan
Interests: hearing aid; acoustics; signal processing
Dr. Tadashi Nishimura

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Nara Medical University, Nara 634-8521, Japan
Interests: otology; neurotology; audiology; hearing aid; hearing; implantation; bone conduction, cartilage conduction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions to this Special Issue entitled Advances in Hearing Simulations and Hearing Aids. In recent years, hearing aids have been developed in terms of the devices used and the way signals are processed. Conventionally, hearing aids have worked by presenting air-conducted sound using an earphone; however, some recently developed devices present bone- or cartilage-conducted sounds for patients who cannot use the existing hearing aids on the market, and these devices are implanted into the skull bone and inner ear after operative treatments. In terms of the effectivity of these devices, it is difficult to simulate or evaluate the output sound or objective response. Therefore, this Special Issue will collect studies concerning simulation techniques or psychoacoustical tests used to evaluate outputs from various types of hearing aids. In addition to such hearing simulations, we welcome research that considers the hot topic of signal processing being mounted in hearing aids (i.e., noise cancellation, Bluetooth, and AI adapting to situations).

Dr. Ryota Shimokura
Dr. Tadashi Nishimura
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hearing aid
  • bone conduction
  • cartilage conduction
  • BAHA
  • cochlear implant
  • hearing simulation
  • signal processing

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 13095 KiB  
Article
Measurement of the Mechanical Impedance of Ear Cartilage and Development of a Coupler for Vibrator Evaluation of Cartilage Conduction Hearing Aids
by Shin-ichi Ishikawa, Keisuke Watanuki and Takashi Iwakura
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(4), 1536; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14041536 - 14 Feb 2024
Viewed by 859
Abstract
Cartilage conduction hearing aids (CCHAs) are new devices that have attracted attention in recent years for external auditory canal atresia. In these devices, a vibrator is attached to the ear cartilage to transmit sound through vibration. In this study, we measure the mechanical [...] Read more.
Cartilage conduction hearing aids (CCHAs) are new devices that have attracted attention in recent years for external auditory canal atresia. In these devices, a vibrator is attached to the ear cartilage to transmit sound through vibration. In this study, we measure the mechanical impedance of the ear concha auriculae, which represents the mechanical load on the vibrator. To evaluate the output of the CCHAs, we develop a coupler simulating the ear cartilage that measures the sound pressure corresponding to the eardrum sound pressure of the normal ear. Consequently, the mechanical impedance of the developed coupler is several times larger than that of the human ear cartilage measured in this study; however, it is an acceptable value considering the difference in the contact area. The output sound pressure of the vibrator with the coupler simulating the ear cartilage roughly simulates the sound pressure in the ear canal with normal hearing (with the ear canal sealed). In this study, the measured mechanical impedance of the human ear cartilage is approximately 20 dB less than that of the mechanical coupler specified in IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 60318-6 for the evaluation of the bone conduction vibrator. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Simulations and Hearing Aids)
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8 pages, 1569 KiB  
Article
Manipulating the Hardness of HATS-Mounted Ear Pinna Simulators to Reproduce Cartilage Sound Conduction
by Ryota Shimokura, Tadashi Nishimura and Hiroshi Hosoi
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(24), 12532; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122412532 - 7 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1349
Abstract
Although hearing devices based on cartilage conduction have become more widely used in Japan, methods for evaluating the output volume of such devices have not yet been established. Although the output of air-conduction-based sound-generating devices (e.g., earphones and hearing aids) can be standardized [...] Read more.
Although hearing devices based on cartilage conduction have become more widely used in Japan, methods for evaluating the output volume of such devices have not yet been established. Although the output of air-conduction-based sound-generating devices (e.g., earphones and hearing aids) can be standardized via the head and torso simulator (HATS), this is not applicable to cartilage conduction devices because the simulated pinna is too soft (hardness: A5) compared with human aural cartilage. In this study, we developed polyurethane pinna that had the same shape but different degrees of hardness (A40, A20, and A10). We then compared the HATS results for the new pinna simulators with data from human ears. We found that the spectral shapes of the outputs increasingly approximated those of human ears as the simulated pinna hardness decreased. When a durometer was pressed against the ear tragus of a human ear, the hardness value ranged from A10 to A20. Accordingly, cartilage-conduction-based sound information could be obtained using a HATS that had a simulated pinna with a similar hardness value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Simulations and Hearing Aids)
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12 pages, 2789 KiB  
Article
Perceptual Characteristics of Voice Identification in Noisy Environments
by Yinghui Zhou, Yali Liu and Huan Niu
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(23), 12129; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122312129 - 27 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1251
Abstract
Auditory analysis is an essential method that is used to recognize voice identity in court investigations. However, noise will interfere with auditory perception. Based on this, we selected white noise, pink noise, and speech noise in order to design and conduct voice identity [...] Read more.
Auditory analysis is an essential method that is used to recognize voice identity in court investigations. However, noise will interfere with auditory perception. Based on this, we selected white noise, pink noise, and speech noise in order to design and conduct voice identity perception experiments. Meanwhile, we explored the impact of the noise type and frequency distribution on voice identity perception. The experimental results show the following: (1) in high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments, there is no significant difference in the impact of noise types on voice identity perception; (2) in low SNR environments, the perceived result of speech noise is significantly different from that of white noise and pink noise, and the interference is more obvious; (3) in the speech noise with a low SNR (−8 dB), the voice information contained in the high-frequency band of 2930~6250 Hz is helpful for achieving accuracy in voice identity perception. These results show that voice identity perception in a better voice transmission environment is mainly based on the acoustic information provided by the low-frequency and medium-frequency bands, which concentrate most of the energy of the voice. As the SNR gradually decreases, a human’s auditory mechanism will automatically expand the receiving frequency range to obtain more effective acoustic information from the high-frequency band. Consequently, the high-frequency information ignored in the objective algorithm may be more robust with respect to identity perception in our environment. The experimental studies not only evaluate the quality of the case voice and control the voice recording environment, but also predict the accuracy of voice identity perception under noise interference. This research provides the theoretical basis and data support for applying voice identity perception in forensic science. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Simulations and Hearing Aids)
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12 pages, 12344 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Cartilage Conduction Hearing Aid, Bone Anchored Hearing Aid, and ADHEAR: Case Series of 6 Patients with Conductive and Mixed Hearing Loss
by Tsubasa Kitama, Takanori Nishiyama, Kaho Iwabu, Takeshi Wakabayashi, Marie N. Shimanuki, Makoto Hosoya, Naoki Oishi and Hiroyuki Ozawa
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(23), 12099; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122312099 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2099
Abstract
Cartilage conduction hearing aids (CC-HA), bone anchored hearing aids (Baha), and ADHEAR are good choices to improve hearing in patients who cannot use air conduction hearing aids because of aural atresia or continuous otorrhea. As there are many overlaps in the characteristics of [...] Read more.
Cartilage conduction hearing aids (CC-HA), bone anchored hearing aids (Baha), and ADHEAR are good choices to improve hearing in patients who cannot use air conduction hearing aids because of aural atresia or continuous otorrhea. As there are many overlaps in the characteristics of these devices, we conducted a comparative trial of CC-HA, Baha, and ADHEAR. We provided patients with the opportunity to select their devices. The data of 6 patients who underwent comparative trials in our department between October 2021 and August 2022 were retrospectively examined. The gains of Baha and CC-HA outweighed those of ADHEAR. Regarding the sound localization test, there was no significant tendency for any of the hearing devices. Regarding the Glasgow Benefit Inventory, there was no clear tendency among the three devices in the quality of life evaluation. The most satisfactory model was the one subjectively chosen by the patient, regardless of the gain and score of the sound source localization test. Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to provide an opportunity for comparative trials and a consultation with each patient in the process of selecting a device. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Simulations and Hearing Aids)
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