ReSound LiNX 3D: Binaural Directionality III

Directional Benefit in Laboratory Settings

Speech
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Extensive research on directional benefit
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Evaluations are conducted in controlled
laboratory environment
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Spatially separated: Speech from the front
and noise from behind
Listener
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Directional microphones can provide a large
benefit in these controlled situations

Noise
Directionality: Benefit or Deficit?

Directional Benefit Directional Deficit

Improved SNR

Speech Noise

0 dB
0 dB

Decreased SNR
Noise Speech

Note: Binaural omni-directional compared to binaural directional

But people look at who they want to listen to, right?…

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Significant portion of active listening is
not from in front
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Hearing aid signal processing cannot
predict the signal the listener desires to
hear

32% of active listening time

Cord et al 2011
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Challenges of Automatic
Directionality

Real world listening situations are not

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controlled environments

Microphone configuration should

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provide directional benefit while still

hearing all around

Hearing in a beam provided by two

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directional microphones is limiting

§A hearing aid cannot determine what

a hearing aid user would like to listen
to
Bandsplit Directionality

Directional microphones provide poor sound quality,

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especially for individuals with good low frequency hearing picture

Omni-directional responses in the low frequencies

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are more like the natural ear

ReSound adjusts the bandsplit crossover frequency

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based on the hearing loss and the hearing aid style,

providing great sound quality for all listeners Click icon to add
picture

Groth & Laureyns, 2010

Also Moeller & Jespersen, 2013
Benefits of an Adjustable Bandsplit Frequency

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For open fittings, directional benefit
was the same for all crossover
frequencies

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For traditional venting, more
directional benefit was obtained with a
High Directional Mix (low crossover
frequency)

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Individually prescribed Directional Mix
provides the best balance between
improved understanding in noise and
sound quality (Moeller & Jespersen, 2012)
Tunnel Hearing: A Directional Disadvantage

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Bilateral directionality improves the
ability to understand sounds directly in
front of the listener

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Sometimes referred to as tunnel
hearing, it removes the listener from
the acoustic environment
ReSound Binaural Directionality
ReSound Binaural Directionality III

ReSound Binaural Directionality – a binaural listening strategy using 2.4GHz device-

to-device signal processing

The third generation provides:

1.360-degree audibility and awareness in quiet and speech-only situations

2.Improved signal-to-noise ratio (front-to-back) when the signal of interest is in front

of the listener and the competing signal is to the sides or the back
3.Awareness and audibility to sounds that are not in front of the listener when in an

asymmetric directionality mode

4.Spatial Sense processing in bilateral omnidirectional mode for improved localization

and three-dimensional listening

5.Optimized audibility of surrounding sounds in asymmetric directionality
Binaural Directionality III: Spatial Sense

Allows an auditory image of the environment to be formed

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Spatial hearing also creates a sense of natural sound quality

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Localization Cues
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Interaural Timing Differences
§Occur when sound reaches one ear before the other
§Preserved with ReSound bandsplit directional processing
§Ear is most sensitive to ITDs for low frequencies

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Interaural Level Differences
§Occur when sound decreases in intensity due to head shadow
§Ear is most sensitive to ILDs for high frequencies
§Restored with ReSound Spatial Sense processing
ReSound Spatial Sense Processing

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Pinna restoration applied (BTE & RIE)
to accommodate for lost spectral
characteristics due to microphone
placement

Data wirelessly exchanged between

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devices for compression compensation

preserving the ILD

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Sound level at the hearing instrument
microphone is recorded to determine
the interaural level difference (ILD)

Results in preservation of spatial

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awareness
ReSound Spatial Sense Processing

Restoring ILDs with Spatial Sense decreases front-back

confusions for localization
Binaural Auditory System: Awareness Strategy
Binaural Auditory System: Better Ear Strategy
Binaural Directionality III: Optimizing Surround Audibility

Binaural Directionality II Binaural Directionality III

Binaural Directionality III: Summary

Provides Spatial Cues for a 3D environment and localization in bilateral

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omnidirectional mode

Provides a better-ear strategy for understanding sounds from the front using either
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asymmetric directional or binaural directional depending on the listening

environment

Provides an awareness strategy for sounds coming from the sides and back by
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using an optimized omnidirectional characteristic in asymmetric directional modes

Provides maximum speech understanding from the front in difficult listening

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situations when speech is not detected from the sides and back

All with high sound quality in all situations

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Thank You!