Do people with hearing loss wish to have the technology?
In this study, we used research grade eye-tracking and motion capture equipment to determine the user’s eye movement as a proxy of listening intent. We amplified the sound of the speaker who the users were looking at to represent an ideal narrow beamforming system, a golden standard for future comparisons. We recorded seven users’ reactions and measured benefit by means of interview and a questionnaire.
Our results indicate that when people with hearing impairment use the idealized steering hearing device, there is a significant increase in conversational comprehension, decreased feeling of effort invested in understanding the conversation, and people are less prone to give up compared to when they use their standard hearing device.
This line of studies be of interest for decision makers that need evidence-based information when evaluating research applications regarding cognitive controlled hearing devices. To read more details about this study click here.