Binaural Spatial Audiometry Screening Using Android Mobile Device Audio I/O Facility

Localization of acoustic sources among hearing impaired (HI) listeners is known to be less satisfactory than normal hearing (NH) listeners and their performance worsens in the presence of interfering sources or noise. However new hearing aids are developed to provide speech enhancement using multi-channel signal processing to preserve spatial cues in binaural presentation. In this work, we propose a methodology to evaluate spatial perception of listeners using a novel MUSHRA-like (MUlti Stimulus test with Hidden Reference and Anchor) experimental setup using an Android mobile phone. We evaluate multiple pre-recorded stimuli, presented randomly for their perceptual localization accuracy, relative to explicitly presented spatial references. The test implemented on Android mobile platform and bluetooth earplugs, along with a variety of directional interference stimuli, provides for the test to be administered at any remote location, without the necessity of expensive clinical facilities. We also propose schemes for different methods of rendering binaural audio for further mobile phone based hearing assistance.