Improved noise estimation for the binaural MWF with instantaneous ITF preservation

An important objective of binaural noise reduction algorithms in hearing aids is the preservation of the binaural cues. Recently a Multi-channel Wiener filter with instantaneous binaural cue preservation (MWF-ITFhc) has been presented, which relies on an accurate estimate of the noise signal vector. In this paper we propose a GSC-like structure for the MWF-ITFhc, comprising a blocking matrix and back projection. The perceptual difference between the original and the filtered signals is evaluated using an objective measure, based on a model of the binaural auditory processing. Experimental results show that the application of a blocking matrix with back projection increases the performance of the MWF-ITFhc in preserving the binaural cues of both the speech and the noise component.