Cambridge software improves quality of sound for hearing aid
users A new software product developed by researchers at the
University of Cambridge could greatly improve sound perception
for users of hearing aids. The software prescribes the amount of
amplification of high-frequency sounds required to restore the
audibility of such sounds. This increases the frequency range of
sound that individuals with hearing loss are able to detect,
improving speech perception, sound localisation and the ability
to hear certain musical sounds, when compared with current
methods. Results of an evaluation of the software were published
recently in the journal Ear and Hearing. Approximately ten
percent of the UK population has hearing loss great enough to
cause them problems in everyday life. As hearing loss usually
increases with age, the proportion of individuals with hearing
loss will increase rapidly as the population ages in the coming
decades. The main treatment for hearing loss is hearing aids,
which amplify and sound f