{"title":"Effects of Loudspeaker Configuration on Speech-in-Noise Evaluation of Remote Microphone Systems.","authors":"Shigehiro Oohara, Eiko Hirota, Tomomi Oohara","doi":"10.1044/2026_AJA-26-00046","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to examine how loudspeaker configuration influences the evaluation of personally worn remote microphone (RM) systems under a single signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) condition.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This study included 10 school-aged children with hearing loss who used hearing devices and RM systems. Speech recognition was assessed using a Japanese monosyllabic word test at a nominal SNR of -5 dB. Three loudspeaker configurations were tested: unilateral noise at 45°, unilateral noise at 0°, and bilateral uncorrelated noise at ±45°. Each condition was evaluated under microphone only (MIC) and RM input modes. Speech recognition accuracy was analyzed using a generalized linear mixed-effects model, with input condition and loudspeaker configuration as fixed effects and participant and word items as random effects.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The use of RM significantly increased the probability of correct speech recognition across all loudspeaker configurations. RM performance was consistent across configurations, with no significant interaction between input condition and loudspeaker configuration.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>RM systems provided a relatively consistent benefit in speech recognition across different loudspeaker configurations. Meanwhile, speech recognition with MIC input was highly sensitive to noise arrangement. Therefore, the effectiveness of RM systems is best characterized by their ability to stabilize performance under adverse listening conditions rather than by condition-specific enhancement. A unilateral 45° noise configuration appears to provide a practical and feasible setup for clinical RM evaluation.</p><p><strong>Supplemental material: </strong>https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.34113570.</p>","PeriodicalId":49241,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Audiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Audiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_AJA-26-00046","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to examine how loudspeaker configuration influences the evaluation of personally worn remote microphone (RM) systems under a single signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) condition.
Method: This study included 10 school-aged children with hearing loss who used hearing devices and RM systems. Speech recognition was assessed using a Japanese monosyllabic word test at a nominal SNR of -5 dB. Three loudspeaker configurations were tested: unilateral noise at 45°, unilateral noise at 0°, and bilateral uncorrelated noise at ±45°. Each condition was evaluated under microphone only (MIC) and RM input modes. Speech recognition accuracy was analyzed using a generalized linear mixed-effects model, with input condition and loudspeaker configuration as fixed effects and participant and word items as random effects.
Results: The use of RM significantly increased the probability of correct speech recognition across all loudspeaker configurations. RM performance was consistent across configurations, with no significant interaction between input condition and loudspeaker configuration.
Conclusions: RM systems provided a relatively consistent benefit in speech recognition across different loudspeaker configurations. Meanwhile, speech recognition with MIC input was highly sensitive to noise arrangement. Therefore, the effectiveness of RM systems is best characterized by their ability to stabilize performance under adverse listening conditions rather than by condition-specific enhancement. A unilateral 45° noise configuration appears to provide a practical and feasible setup for clinical RM evaluation.
期刊介绍：
Mission: AJA publishes peer-reviewed research and other scholarly articles pertaining to clinical audiology methods and issues, and serves as an outlet for discussion of related professional and educational issues and ideas. The journal is an international outlet for research on clinical research pertaining to screening, diagnosis, management and outcomes of hearing and balance disorders as well as the etiologies and characteristics of these disorders. The clinical orientation of the journal allows for the publication of reports on audiology as implemented nationally and internationally, including novel clinical procedures, approaches, and cases. AJA seeks to advance evidence-based practice by disseminating the results of new studies as well as providing a forum for critical reviews and meta-analyses of previously published work.
Scope: The broad field of clinical audiology, including audiologic/aural rehabilitation; balance and balance disorders; cultural and linguistic diversity; detection, diagnosis, prevention, habilitation, rehabilitation, and monitoring of hearing loss; hearing aids, cochlear implants, and hearing-assistive technology; hearing disorders; lifespan perspectives on auditory function; speech perception; and tinnitus.
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