Signal processing algorithm effective for sound quality of hearing loss simulators

TL;DR

This study compares different hearing loss simulators and finds that the WHIS with DTVF algorithm produces less perceptible speech distortion, enhancing sound quality evaluation for normal hearing listeners.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of the DTVF algorithm in HL simulators, demonstrating improved sound quality with reduced distortion.

Findings

WHIS with DTVF produces less perceptible speech distortion

DTVF algorithm enhances sound quality in HL simulators

WHIS with FBAS shows more distortion than DTVF version

Abstract

Hearing loss (HL) simulators, which allow normal hearing (NH) listeners to experience HL, have been used in speech intelligibility experiments, but not in sound quality experiments due to perceptible distortion. If they produced less distortion, they might be useful for NH listeners to evaluate the sound quality of, for example, hearing aids. We conducted perceptual sound quality experiments to compare the Cambridge version of HL simulator (CamHLS) and the Wakayama version of the HL simulator (WHIS), which has the two algorithms of filterbank analysis synthesis (FBAS) and direct time-varying filter (DTVF). The experimental results showed that WHIS with DTVF produces less perceptible distortion in speech sounds than CamHLS and WHIS with FBAS, even when the nonlinear process is working. This advantage is mainly due to the use of the DTVF algorithm, which could be applied to various signal synthesis applications with filterbank analysis.