An evaluation of wavelet-based noise reduction for digital hearing aids

This paper presents an evaluation of a new wavelet-based speech enhancement algorithm for digital hearing aid applications. Recordings of speech in automobile road noise at signal-to-noise ratios of 5 dB and 10 dB were used to evaluate the new method in trials of the Revised SPIN test with 16 hearing-impaired listeners. Test results indicate that the new method can improve intelligibility for listeners with flat-spectrum hearing losses. These improvements may be attributed to increases in signal-to-noise ratio which serve to reduce upward spread-of-masking.