The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of wind noise at the output of in-the-ear, in-the-canal, and completely-in-the-canal hearing aids. The hearing aids were programed to have linear amplification with matching flat frequency responses for directional (DIR) and omnidirectional (OMNI) microphones. The microphone output was then recorded in a quiet wind tunnel when the Knowles electronic manikin for acoustic research (KEMAR) head was turned from 0° to 360°. The overall, 125, 500, and 2000 Hz one-third octave band flow noise levels were calculated and plotted in polar patterns. Correlation coefficients, average differences, and level differences between DIR and OMNI were also calculated. Flow noise levels were the highest when KEMAR was facing the direction of the flow and angles between 190° and 250°. The noise levels were the lowest when the hearing aids were facing the direction of the flow. The polar patterns of DIR and OMNI had similar shapes and DIR generally had higher levels than OMNI. DIR, however, could have lower levels than OMNI in some angles because of its capability to reduce noise in the far field. Comparisons of polar characteristics with behind-the-ear hearing aids, and clinical and engineering design applications of current results are discussed.
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April 2010
April 05 2010
Wind noise in hearing aids with directional and omnidirectional microphones: Polar characteristics of custom-made hearing aids Available to Purchase
King Chung;
King Chung
a)
Department of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders,
Northern Illinois University
, DeKalb, Illinois 60115
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Nicholas McKibben;
Nicholas McKibben
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Purdue University
, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
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Luc Mongeau
Luc Mongeau
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
McGill University
, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6, Canada
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King Chung
a)
Department of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders,
Northern Illinois University
, DeKalb, Illinois 60115
Nicholas McKibben
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Purdue University
, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
Luc Mongeau
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
McGill University
, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6, Canadaa)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: [email protected]
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 127, 2529–2542 (2010)
Article history
Received:
July 02 2009
Accepted:
December 03 2009
Citation
King Chung, Nicholas McKibben, Luc Mongeau; Wind noise in hearing aids with directional and omnidirectional microphones: Polar characteristics of custom-made hearing aids. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 April 2010; 127 (4): 2529–2542. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3277222
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