I-Corps: A virtual reality software for listening with hearing aids in complex environments

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过改进的虚拟现实（VR）验配过程提高助听器的采用率和感知效益。虽然许多人可能从使用助听器中受益，但大多数潜在患者选择不购买任何设备。不使用助听器的不同原因包括负面的耻辱，成本，以及很少或没有感知到的好处。目前配装助听器的过程是间接的，需要多次访问诊所。使用者通常配戴助听器，被派去使用几周，然后被要求返回诊所进行调整。因此，正确调整设备的过程非常耗时，而且很难知道最终的调整是否最适合特定患者。拟议的虚拟现实（VR）软件可以在训练有素的听力学家控制的临床环境中对助听器安装进行直接、实时的反馈。患者可能会更多地参与到助听器调试过程中，使他们能够直接感受到佩戴助听器的好处。随着助听器采用率的提高，更好的社会参与可能会潜在地降低认知能力下降和抑郁症的发病率，这是听力损失的已知合并症。这个I-Corps项目是基于虚拟现实（VR）软件的开发，以改善听力学诊所内助听器的安装过程。所提出的技术使用一种算法，可以在现实声场中使用助听器或不使用助听器进行高度精确的虚拟声音渲染。现有的虚拟声学算法在听力损失最常见的高频处存在不准确性。这些不准确性使得在复杂、真实的声场中开发助听器的VR演示变得困难。该算法在所有频率下都能很好地工作，因此可以准确地应用于助听器的虚拟听力呈现。为这个项目开发的虚拟现实软件既模拟了听者在没有助听器的情况下的自然听力，也模拟了听者戴助听器时的辅助听力。因此，这款软件旨在让听者直接将他们当前的听力与佩戴助听器的体验进行比较。拟议的技术使用目前市场上的设备，这些设备与目前听力学诊所使用的助听器安装过程和软件兼容。该软件还可以扩展到任何能够低延迟流媒体的助听器，扩展其在不同设备之间的兼容性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to increase the adoption and perceived benefit of hearing aids using an improved virtual reality (VR) fitting process. Although many people may benefit from using hearing aids, the majority of potential patients choose not to purchase any devices. The different reasons suggested for not using hearing aids include negative stigma, cost, and little to no perceived benefit. The current process of fitting hearing aids is indirect, requiring multiple visits to the clinic. Users typically are fit with hearing aids, sent out to use them for a few weeks, and then asked return to the clinic for adjustments. As such, the process is time consuming to tune a device properly, and it is hard to know if the final tuning is what is best for a specific patient. The proposed virtual reality (VR) software may enable direct, real-time feedback about hearing aid fitting in a controlled clinical environment with a trained audiologist. Patients may be more involved in the hearing aid tuning process, enabling them to directly perceive the benefit of wearing hearing aids. With increased hearing aid adoption, better social engagement may potentially lower the rates of cognitive decline and depression, known comorbidities with hearing loss.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a virtual reality (VR) software to improve the fitting process for hearing aids within audiology clinics. The proposed technology uses an algorithm that enables a highly accurate virtual acoustic rendering of listening with and without hearing aids in realistic sound fields. Existing virtual acoustic algorithms have inaccuracies at higher frequencies, where hearing loss is most common. These inaccuracies make developing VR demonstrations of hearing aids difficult for complex, realistic sound fields. The proposed algorithm is designed to work well at all frequencies, so it may be accurately applied to virtual rendering of listening with hearing aids. The VR software developed for this project simulates both a listener’s natural hearing, without hearing aids, and a listener’s aided hearing, while wearing hearing aids. As such, this software seeks to allow a listener to directly compare their current hearing with the experience of wearing a hearing aid. The proposed technology uses devices currently on the market that are compatible with current hearing aid fitting processes and software used in audiology clinics. The proposed software also may be scaled to work with any hearing aid capable of low-latency streaming, expanding its compatibility across different devices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.