New technology ‘could help hearing-impaired to understand speech better’

Scientists in the US have developed a new computer algorithm that could help people who are hard of hearing to understand speech more clearly.

Ohio State University has been able to create new technology that can quickly analyse speech and separate it from persistent background noise, such as the hum of an air conditioner or the murmur of multiple voices.

When processing recordings with this algorithm, it was found that hearing-impaired test subjects were able to achieve considerably better comprehension of speech. In some cases, they were even able to outperform a control group with normal hearing who were not using the technology.

Eric Healy, professor of speech and hearing science and director of Ohio State's Speech Psychoacoustics Laboratory, said: "That means that hearing-impaired people who had the benefit of this algorithm could hear better than students with no hearing loss."

It is hoped that these advances could be incorporated into next-generation digital hearing aids in future, meaning they could benefit the approximately ten million people in the UK who suffer at least some degree of hearing impairment.