Influence of channel and ChannelFree™ processing technology on the vocal parameters in hearing-impaired individuals

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Hearing is the most important sense, as it controls an individual’s both comprehension and production. One of the most important aspects that disturbs the voice throughout speech is hearing as it provides essential feedback for control. The deficit of feedback can be substituted by the use of amplification in such patients with hearing loss (HL). Hence, the current study was aimed to study the effect of HL on vocal parameters in individuals with HL and to study the influence of hearing aid signal processing on vocal parameters. Method: Sixteen male subjects of the age range 18–70 years with sensorineural HL participated and underwent a preamplification voice evaluation using the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) software followed by different amplifications with different signal processing. Results: The results revealed that there is a significant difference in the voice parameters with and without a hearing aid for both 3-channel and ChannelFree™ (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed when the voice parameter was compared between the two hearing aids. Conclusion: The voice analysis from the current study revealed that amplification brought a change in the vocal parameters but on the negative side. This infers the importance of auditory feedback during vocalization. Also, acclimatization of the hearing aids plays a major role in influencing the changes in the voice parameters of the hearing aid individuals.