Wireless Technology - Improving Signal to Noise Ratio for Children in Challenging Situations

Wireless Technology - Improving Signal to Noise Ratio for Children in Challenging Situations Astrid Haastrup MA, Senior Audiologist, GN ReSound ASHS 14-16 th November 2013

Disclosure Statement Employee full time (Senior Audiologist), at GN ReSound, Denmark. Chicago 14-16TH November 2013

Introduction Wireless transmission of audio is a technology that is almost universally recommended for use with school-aged and older children, but is less commonly used with infants and younger children. THINK!! how many hours is a child in a noisy and reverberant environment during a day. By overcoming the negative effects of distance, reverberation and interfering noise, wireless transmission of sound to children s hearing instruments gives them the most favorable signal possible, which is desirable regardless of age. Chicago 14-16TH November 2013

Focus of this presentation Introduction to the ReSound Unite TM Mini Microphone Children's need for improved SNR Wireless transmission of audio does it really make a difference? ReSound Unite TM Mini Microphone performance compared to regular FM. Chicago 14-16TH November 2013

Wireless transmission Frequency Modulation (FM) systems. FM systems can improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by 15-20 db. Both the hearing-impaired individual and the speaker are free to move around and still maintain a stable connection. Interference is a frequently met challenge. FM systems require a significant investment. Transmitter Receiver

Presenting: a Digital Wireless Solution for all ages Wireless hearing instrument system based on 2.4 GHz radio frequency transmission. High audio quality with a broad frequency bandwidth and the possibility of stereo transmission. Low latency of transmission from sound source to hearing instruments. Robust transmission with encoding for privacy and immunity to interference. Sound is streamed directly from audio sources to the hearing instruments over fairly large distances.

Wireless systems based on Proprietary radio frequency (RF) 10110 10110 A/D Coding (proxímity) Radio 2.4 GHz Radio

ReSound Unite TM Mini Microphone Transmitting sound and/or external audio sources directly to the hearing instruments. Wireless connection up to 7 meters. It has a frequency range of up to 9000 Hz. On/off button, volume control and Multicolor LED. One Microphone can be paired to multiple ReSound hearing aids. Three streaming devices can be paired to one set of hearing aids.

Why is improving SNR important? Study Bradley and Sato (2008): Nishi et al. (2010): Neuman et al. (2010): Findings Speech intelligibility scores significantly related to SNR and child age. +15 db SNR not adequate for youngest children in study (6 years). Overall performance for a consonant recognition task was poorer for younger children (4-5 years of age) compared to adults or older children (6-7 and 8-9 years of age) in all SNR conditions. Children required significantly higher SNR in speech recognition tasks (BKB speech in noise) as age decreased (12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6). For 95% correct scores 9 year olds required +15 db SNR and 6 year olds required a signal to noise ratio exceeding +15dB

Does wireless audio transmission really make a difference? Parents and caregivers may not always be in close proximity to the child when communicating. Some of the benefits to very young children using FM systems as reported by their parents include being able to communicate at further distances and in noise, and talking more with their children.

Does wireless audio transmission really make a difference? Mulla 2011, reported benefits on improved access to speech, being able to communicate at further distances and in noise, as well as when the hearing aids microphone was covered. Other positive finding were improved listening behavior, more consistent hearing aid use and increased parent well-being. Thibodeau 2008, reported positive effects on the quantity and quality of parent-child interactions, as well as the children demonstrating increased interest and attention to sounds when FM systems were used with very young children. The use of wireless technology is strongly recommended for younger hearing impaired children. Because the potential benefits of optimum language stimulation ultimately extend beyond speech and language to development of cognitive, social, and academic skills.

How does the Mini Microphone compare to FM in terms of benefit?

How does the Mini Microphone compare to FM in terms of benefit? The ReSound 2.4 GHz-based wireless technology offers an affordable way for hearing impaired children at all stages of development to have access to the benefits of improved SNR. Considering that evidence of these benefits is based on experience with FM systems, it is relevant to examine how the ReSound system performance compares.

Test Setup and Procedures Adaptive Directionality Mode ReSound Unite Mini Microphone ReSound Unite Mini Microphone and hearing instrument microphone activated Other manufacturer BTE combined with FM system Other manufacturer BTE combined with FM system and hearing instrument microphone

Test Results (Jespersen, C. T., 2011)

Summary

Summary Children learning language require better SNR than adults who are language proficient. Hearing impaired children require significantly higher SNRs for equivalent speech recognition performance when compared to their normal-hearing aged peers. Hearing Instruments alone don t have the capability to provide optimum SNRs for speech understanding in some difficult listening situations. FM is still the most widely used assisted listening device for improving the SNR in classroom situations.

Summary The ReSound Unite Mini Microphone presents a new opportunity to improve audibility and SNR for children of any age. The Mini Microphone has been verified to provide significant improvement on Speech Reception Thresholds compared to a directional hearing instrument setting, and equivalent SNR benefit compared to a leading FM system. The Mini Microphone offers a point-to-point system without transmitters or intermediary devices, thereby meeting good safety practices for use with infants and younger children. By meeting the requirement of hearing impaired children for favorable speech-to-noise ratios, the ReSound Unite Mini Microphone helps maximize children s language-learning opportunities.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING asthaa@gnresound.dk