The influence of non-linear frequency compression on the perception of music by adults with a moderate to severe hearing loss: Subjective impressions

Abstract

Objective: To date, the main direction in frequency-lowering hearing aid studies has been in relation to speech perception abilities. With improvements in hearing aid technology, interest in musical perception as a dimension that could improve hearing aid users’ quality of life has grown. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of non-linear frequency compression (NFC) on hearing aid users’ subjective impressions of listening to music. Design & sample: A survey research design was implemented to elicit participants’ (N=40) subjective impressions of musical stimuli with and without NFC. Results: The use of NFC significantly improved hearing aid users’ perception of the musical qualities of overall fidelity, tinniness and reverberance. Although participants preferred to listen to the loudness, fullness, crispness, naturalness and pleasantness of music with the use of NFC, these benefits were not significant. Conclusion: The use of NFC can increase hearing aid users’ enjoyment and appreciation of music. Given that a relatively large percentage of hearing aid users express a loss of enjoyment of music, audiologists should not ignore the possible benefits of NFC, especially if one takes into account that previous research indicates speech perception benefits with this technology.

Music and Hearing Aids

“…For example, frequency compression (FC) introduces inharmonicity; the upper partials are not “in tune” with the lower partials of a given instrument. However, even people with normal hearing are relatively insensitive to inharmonicity at high frequencies ( Culling & Darwin, 1993 ), and a study on the effects of FC on the enjoyment of music showed that FC actually increased the enjoyment of music ( Uys, Pottas, Vinck, & van Dijk, 2012 ), probably because the FC provided information about high-frequency components in the music.…”

Long-Term Effects of Non-Linear Frequency Compression on Performance of Music and Speech Perception

“…There is also evidence that NFC provides improved music performance [1,2]. These studies indicated that NFC significantly improves hearing aid users' perception of timbre and melody and that it does not influence music perception negatively.…”

“…This is true as music enhances the quality of a person's life, not only in terms of enjoyment, but also as a medium that models social structures and provides a medium for human interaction [1][2][3]. High frequency hearing loss is by far the most common audiometric configuration found in individuals fitted with hearing aids and affects speech comprehension but also music perception adversely as music and lyrics can't be detected or identified easily with only limited access to information located in the high frequencies [4].…”

“…All the hearing aid users (n=9) participated in the study described in Uys, Pottas, Vinck and Van Dijk (2013; 2012) [1,2] and were recruited to determine the long term effect of NFC on their music and speech perception. These adults were selected because they bought the NFC devices after the 2011 study and are still using these devices.…”

Harmonic Frequency Lowering

“…Research on the effects of frequency lowering on music is also lacking. Uys, Pottas, Vinck, and Van Dijk (2012) found that NFC led to improvements in reverberance, tinniness, and overall fidelity. Parsa et al.…”