Digital signal processing of speech for the hearing-impaired

This paper deals with digital processing of speech as it pertains to the hearing impaired. At present the available hearing aids lag behind the technology curve, both, in terms of algorithm research and available hardware. The issues described in this paper deal with the development of a true real-time digital hearing aid. The system (based on Texas Instruments TMS320C3X) implements frequency shaping, noise reduction, amplitude compression and various timing options. It also provides a testbed for future development.