Evaluation of spatial audio reproduction schemes for application in hearing aid research

Loudspeaker-based spatial audio reproduction schemes are increasingly used for evaluating hearing aids in complex acoustic conditions. To further establish the feasibility of this approach, this study investigated the interaction between spatial resolution of different reproduction methods and technical and perceptual hearing aid performance measures using computer simulations. Three spatial audio reproduction methods -- discrete speakers, vector base amplitude panning and higher order ambisonics -- were compared in regular circular loudspeaker arrays with 4 to 72 channels. The influence of reproduction method and array size on performance measures of representative multi-microphone hearing aid algorithm classes with spatially distributed microphones and a representative single channel noise-reduction algorithm was analyzed. Algorithm classes differed in their way of analyzing and exploiting spatial properties of the sound field, requiring different accuracy of sound field reproduction. Performance measures included beam pattern analysis, signal-to-noise ratio analysis, perceptual localization prediction, and quality modeling. The results show performance differences and interaction effects between reproduction method and algorithm class that may be used for guidance when selecting the appropriate method and number of speakers for specific tasks in hearing aid research.

[1]  Paul Mermelstein,et al.  Evaluation of a segmental SNR measure as an indicator of the quality of ADPCM coded speech , 1979 .

[2]  W. Hartmann Localization of sound in rooms. , 1983, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[3]  B Kollmeier,et al.  Binaural noise-reduction hearing aid scheme with real-time processing in the frequency domain. , 1993, Scandinavian audiology. Supplementum.

[4]  A. Berkhout,et al.  Acoustic control by wave field synthesis , 1993 .

[5]  Gary W. Elko,et al.  A simple adaptive first-order differential microphone , 1995, Proceedings of 1995 Workshop on Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Accoustics.

[6]  Ville Pulkki,et al.  Virtual Sound Source Positioning Using Vector Base Amplitude Panning , 1997 .

[7]  J. Daniel,et al.  Représentation de champs acoustiques, application à la transmission et à la reproduction de scènes sonores complexes dans un contexte multimédia , 2000 .

[8]  James M. Kates,et al.  Digital hearing aids. , 2008, Harvard health letter.

[9]  Fa-Long Luo,et al.  Adaptive null-forming scheme in digital hearing aids , 2002, IEEE Trans. Signal Process..

[10]  Jerome Daniel,et al.  Further Investigations of High-Order Ambisonics and Wavefield Synthesis for Holophonic Sound Imaging , 2003 .

[11]  Volker Hohmann,et al.  Strategy-selective noise reduction for binaural digital hearing aids , 2003, Speech Commun..

[12]  Bernard Widrow,et al.  Microphone arrays for hearing aids: An overview , 2003, Speech Commun..

[13]  Patrick M Zurek,et al.  Evaluation of array-processing algorithms for a headband hearing aid. , 2003, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[14]  Catherine Guastavino,et al.  Perceptual evaluation of multi-dimensional spatial audio reproduction. , 2004, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[15]  Karin Carlsson Objective Localisation Measures in Ambisonic Surround- sound , 2004 .

[16]  Sandra Brix,et al.  Wave Field Synthesis: From research to applications , 2004, 2004 12th European Signal Processing Conference.

[17]  Mary T Cord,et al.  Relationship between laboratory measures of directional advantage and everyday success with directional microphone hearing aids. , 2004, Journal of the American Academy of Audiology.

[18]  Brian C. J. Moore,et al.  Development and Validation of a Method for Predicting the Perceived Naturalness of Sounds Subjected to Spectral Distortion , 2004 .

[19]  Marc Moonen,et al.  Robustness analysis of multichannel Wiener filtering and generalized sidelobe cancellation for multimicrophone noise reduction in hearing aid applications , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Speech and Audio Processing.

[20]  Henning Puder,et al.  Signal Processing in High-End Hearing Aids: State of the Art, Challenges, and Future Trends , 2005, EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process..

[21]  R. Bentler Effectiveness of directional microphones and noise reduction schemes in hearing aids: a systematic review of the evidence. , 2005, Journal of the American Academy of Audiology.

[22]  Ville Pulkki,et al.  Localization of virtual sources in multichannel audio reproduction , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Speech and Audio Processing.

[23]  Koichiro Hiyama,et al.  The 22.2 Multichannel Sound System and Its Application , 2005 .

[24]  Justin A. Zakis,et al.  Preferred overall loudness. II: Listening through hearing aids in field and laboratory tests , 2006, International journal of audiology.

[25]  Giso Grimm,et al.  The master hearing Aid : A PC-based platform for algorithm development and evaluation , 2006 .

[26]  Volker Hohmann,et al.  Robustness Analysis of Binaural Hearing Aid Beamformer Algorithms by Means of Objective Perceptual Quality Measures , 2007, 2007 IEEE Workshop on Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics.

[27]  Ambisonic Panning Ambisonic Panning , 2007 .

[28]  Frank Boland,et al.  MONOPHONIC SOURCE LOCALIZATION FOR A DISTRIBUTED AUDIENCE IN A SMALL CONCERT HALL , 2007 .

[29]  R. Rabenstein,et al.  The Theory of Wave Field Synthesis Revisited , 2008 .

[30]  Audun Solvang Spectral Impairment for Two-Dimensional Higher Order Ambisonics , 2008 .

[31]  Arne Leijon,et al.  Auditory-profile-based Physical Evaluation of Multi-microphone Noise Reduction Techniques in Hearing Instruments , 2008 .

[32]  J. Ahrens,et al.  An Analytical Approach to Sound Field Reproduction Using Circular and Spherical Loudspeaker Distributions , 2008 .

[33]  Giso Grimm,et al.  Increase and Subjective Evaluation of Feedback Stability in Hearing Aids by a Binaural Coherence-Based Noise Reduction Scheme , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing.

[34]  Volker Hohmann,et al.  Database of Multichannel In-Ear and Behind-the-Ear Head-Related and Binaural Room Impulse Responses , 2009, EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process..

[35]  Sylvain Emmanuel Favrot,et al.  Validation of a loudspeaker-based room auralization system using speech intelligibility measures , 2009 .

[36]  Jörn Nettingsmeier Ambisonic playback systems for electroacoustic concerts-a practical approach , 2010 .

[37]  Torsten Dau,et al.  Prediction of speech intelligibility based on an auditory preprocessing model , 2010, Speech Commun..

[38]  Bernhard U. Seeber,et al.  A system to simulate and reproduce audio–visual environments for spatial hearing research , 2010, Hearing Research.

[39]  J. Buchholz,et al.  LoRA: A loudspeaker-based room auralization system , 2010 .

[40]  Giso Grimm,et al.  Multicenter evaluation of signal enhancement algorithms for hearing aids. , 2010, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[41]  Aaron Heller,et al.  Why Ambisonics Does Work , 2010 .

[42]  Volker Hohmann,et al.  Auditory model based direction estimation of concurrent speakers from binaural signals , 2011, Speech Commun..

[43]  Gerhard Tröster,et al.  Identification of relevant multimodal cues to enhance context-aware hearing instruments , 2011, BODYNETS.

[44]  Etienne Parizet,et al.  Investigation on localisation accuracy for first and higher order ambisonics reproduced sound sources , 2013 .

[45]  Jörg M. Buchholz,et al.  Effect of higher-order ambisonics on evaluating beamformer benefit in realistic acoustic environments , 2013, 2013 IEEE Workshop on Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics.

[46]  Giso Grimm,et al.  Spatial Acoustic Scenarios in Multichannel Loudspeaker Systems for Hearing Aid Evaluation. , 2016, Journal of the American Academy of Audiology.

[47]  Ephraim Speech enhancement using a minimum mean square error short-time spectral amplitude estimator , 1984 .