• Korean Journal of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
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• 제61권12호
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• pp.663-668
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• 2018

Background and Objectives The main objectives of this study were to determine the clinical usefulness of the program-assisted and real ear measurement (REM)-assisted fitting of hearing aids. Subjects and Method Fifteen participants with moderate to moderately severe hearing loss were enrolled in this study. Objective and subjective fitting results were assessed to compare the benefits between the program-assisted fitting (using a software fitting program) and the REM-assisted fitting. Real ear insertion gain (REIG), sound-field audiometry using warble tone, and Korean Hearing in Noise Test (K-HINT) were performed as objective tests. Sound quality rating was performed as a subjective test. Results In the program fitting, 48.89% of fitting points failed to come within ${\pm}10dB$ of the REIG target. In the REM fitting, however, the percentage of failure significantly decreased to 23.33% (p=0.013). In K-HINT test, the reception threshold for speech in quiet situation significantly decreased from 50.1 dB HL with the program fitting to 44.7 dB HL after the REM fitting (p<0.001). In front noise condition, signal-to-noise ratio improved from 4.53 dB to 3.50 dB with the REM fitting without statistical significance (p=0.099). In the sound quality rating, the REM fitting ($4.27{\pm}0.56$) showed a significantly better sound quality ratings than the program fitting ($3.69{\pm}0.74$) (p=0.017). Conclusion The REM fitting showed better results in both subjective and objective measurements than the program fitting.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.76-82
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: Noise levels and room acoustic parameters at a tertiary referral hospital, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Korea, are investigated. Materials and Methods: Through a questionnaire, acoustically problematic rooms are identified. Noise levels in emergency rooms (ERs) and intensive care units (ICUs) are measured over about three days. Acoustically critical and problematic rooms in the otolaryngology department are measured including examination rooms, operating rooms, nurse stations, receptions, and patient rooms. Results: The A-weighted equivalent noise level, L_Aeq, ranges from 54 to 56 dBA, which is at least 10 dB lower than the noise levels of 65 to 73 dBA measured in American ERs. In an ICU, the noise level for the first night was 66 dBA, which came down to 56 dBA for the next day. The noise levels during three different ear surgeries vary from 57 to 62 dBA, depending on the use of surgical drills and suctions. The noise levels in a patient room is found to be 47 dBA, while the nurse stations and the receptions have high noise levels up to 64 dBA. The reverberation times in an operation room, examination room, and single patient room are found to be below 0.6 s. Conclusions: At SNUH, the nurse stations and receptions were found to be quite noisy. The ERs were quieter than in the previous studies. The measured reverberation times seemed low enough but some other nurse stations and examination rooms were not satisfactory according to the questionnaire.

• 대한청각학회지
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.76-82
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: Noise levels and room acoustic parameters at a tertiary referral hospital, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Korea, are investigated. Materials and Methods: Through a questionnaire, acoustically problematic rooms are identified. Noise levels in emergency rooms (ERs) and intensive care units (ICUs) are measured over about three days. Acoustically critical and problematic rooms in the otolaryngology department are measured including examination rooms, operating rooms, nurse stations, receptions, and patient rooms. Results: The A-weighted equivalent noise level, L_Aeq, ranges from 54 to 56 dBA, which is at least 10 dB lower than the noise levels of 65 to 73 dBA measured in American ERs. In an ICU, the noise level for the first night was 66 dBA, which came down to 56 dBA for the next day. The noise levels during three different ear surgeries vary from 57 to 62 dBA, depending on the use of surgical drills and suctions. The noise levels in a patient room is found to be 47 dBA, while the nurse stations and the receptions have high noise levels up to 64 dBA. The reverberation times in an operation room, examination room, and single patient room are found to be below 0.6 s. Conclusions: At SNUH, the nurse stations and receptions were found to be quite noisy. The ERs were quieter than in the previous studies. The measured reverberation times seemed low enough but some other nurse stations and examination rooms were not satisfactory according to the questionnaire.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.177-184
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• 2005

In this paper, we proposed a new hearing aid algorithm to improve SNR(signal to noise ratio) of noisy speech signal and speech perception. The proposed hearing aid algorithm is a multi-band loudness compensation based independent component analysis (ICA). The proposed algorithm was compared with a conventional spectral subtraction algorithm on behind-the-ear type hearing aid. The proposed algorithm successfully separated a target speech signal from background noise and from a mixture of the speech signals. The algorithms were compared each other by means of SNR. The average improvement of SNR by ICA based algorithm was 16.64dB, whereas spectral subtraction algorithm was 8.67dB. From the clinical tests, we concluded that our proposed algorithm would help hearing aid user to hear clearly a target speech in noisy conditions.