A New Approach to Hearing Aid Directionality: Three-Microphone and Two-Microphone Hearing Aids for Speech Intelligibility
American Journal of Audiology, cilt.35, sa.1, ss.161-170, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 35 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1044/2025_aja-25-00029
- Dergi Adı: American Journal of Audiology
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Psycinfo, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO), Education Collection (ProQuest), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest), Linguistics Collection (ProQuest)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.161-170
- Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Purpose: Our study aimed to compare the new M&RIE (Microphone & ReceiverIn-Ear) hearing aid directionality technology with the traditional omnidirectional mode in terms of speech intelligibility (SI) skills in noise. Method: Twenty-four participants (12 women and 12 men) with bilateral symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss and no hearing aid experience, aged 28–65 years, were included in our study. Audiologic evaluations were performed, and eligible participants were fitted with hearing aids set to M&RIE and omnidirectional modes. Free-field hearing assessments and Turkish Matrix Tests under different signal/noise conditions were conducted. Results: Significant differences were found between M&RIE and omnidirectional mode for both speech reception threshold and SI in noise when the signal was from the front and noise from the back (p <.01), as well as for SI when both signal and noise were presented from the front (p <.01). Conclusions: In our study, M&RIE outperformed the omnidirectional mode in speech understanding tests under quiet and different noise conditions. Since placing the microphone in the ear canal is the most natural place for sound collection, M&RIE could potentially benefit any hearing aid user within the gain range of the device.