Amplification and Assistive Devices (AAD)
Javier Santos-Garrido, AuD (he/him/his)
Director of Audiology
Clinica Universidad de Navarra
Vanderbilt University
Cabanillas del Campo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Disclosure(s): Oticon Spain: Speaker/Honoraria (Terminated, November 30, 2022)
Haiping Huang, AuD
1st year PhD student
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Disclosure(s): No financial or nonfinancial relationships to disclose.
.jpg "Erin M. Picou, AuD, PhD photo")
Erin M. Picou, AuD, PhD
Associate Professor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Franklin, Tennessee
Disclosure(s): No financial or nonfinancial relationships to disclose.
Todd A. Ricketts, PhD
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Disclosure(s): No financial or nonfinancial relationships to disclose.
Made for iPhone (MfI) hearing aids offer the user the ability to stream audio signal captured through the microphone of an iPhone. This feature, known as Live Microphone Mode, allows the user to turn their iPhone into a remote microphone. The goal of the present study was to electroacoustically characterize the Live Microphone mode across five manufacturers. This included: (1) assessing the effect of the smartphone remote microphone feature on signal level (i.e. output level transparency); and, (2) discussing if the methods used in this study could be reproduced in the clinic as a fitting and counseling tool.
Summary:
Abstract: Made for iPhone (MfI) hearing aids offer the user the ability to stream audio from their iPhone to their hearing aids, which includes phone calls, audio (i.e. music, videos), and the audio signal captured through the microphone of the iPhone. This last feature, known as Live Microphone Mode, allows the user to turn their iPhone into a remote microphone. The goal of the present study was to electroacoustically characterize the Live Microphone mode across five manufacturers. This included: (1) assessing the effect of the smartphone remote microphone feature on signal level (i.e. output level transparency); and, (2) discussing if the methods used in this study could be reproduced in the clinic as a fitting and counseling tool.
Methods: A total of five hearing aids models, encompassing the premier streaming products from five manufacturers, were tested. Two different acoustic signals were used: International Speech Test Signal (ISTS), and a male speech signal (“the carrot passage”). Transparency of the Live Microphone feature was assessed on an Audioscan Verifit 2, using an adaptation of the recommended procedures for FM verification of the American Academy of Audiology.
Results: Differences in level transparency among manufacturers were observed. The volume control of the iPhone was found to make an impact in the transparency of the Live Microphone mode.
Conclusions: Given the measured differences in transparency across manufacturers, clinical quantification of wireless performance is encouraged to better optimize expectations counseling. Learning Objectives: