Hearing: Beyond the Ears

Hearing: More than a ears thing

The hearing experience goes far beyond sound perception or wearing hearing aids. To understand it, we need to consider all the factors that influence it, like context, circumstances, intent, and emotion, as well as the hearing process as a whole.

This process has a framework with four fundamental elements that are constantly interacting with one another.

01

Acoustic Scene

The situation or environment where listening takes place and that delivers sound from various sources to the ears.

02

Auditory Processing

The way sound is processed along the auditory pathway from the eardrum to the brain.

03

Auditory Cognition

The cognitive processes that allow listeners to perceive, interpret, and understand speech and sounds.

04

Evaluation and Behaviour

The evaluation of the sound perception (i.e. whether it was satisfactory or unsatisfactory) and the listener’s response to it. If the sound is evaluated as unsatisfactory, this may lead to a change in behaviour that can affect the experience of the acoustic scene, therefore closing the loop in the framework shown in Figure1.

Acoustic Scene

Evaluation and Behaviour Auditory Processing

Auditory Cognition

Figure 1.

Real-Life Hearing Framework An assessment by an audioprosthetist is required to determine which hearing aid suits the patient’s needs.

Real-life Hearing

Hearing health professionals generally consider auditory cognition and auditory processing when trying to understand hearing loss and address it with treatment and hearing aids. This does provide satisfactory results in most cases. However, some hearing-impaired individuals find that their hearing aids aren’t doing as much as they had hoped. The reason is simple: hearing and listening are more than just a matter of auditory cognition and processing. It is also important to take the acoustic scene, as well as evaluation and behaviour, into consideration, since sound perception is also influenced by the person’s context, circumstances, intentions, and emotions. By looking at all four elements, we can better understand real-life hearing and how it affects all parts of a person’s life.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence

Hearing and comprehension are influenced by environmental and emotional factors. This means that it’s critical to understand people’s individual listening needs if we want to respond with truly useful solutions. One hearing aid manufacturer has chosen to address real-world, real-life hearing by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into its hearing aids. This allows the wearer to adjust and optimize their listening experience to suit their preferences, needs, and listening intent in any situation they are in.

Talk to your audioprosthetist to learn more about hearing aid technologies.

Janic Lauriault

Audiologist

References - Søgaard Jensen,N. (2018). Real-Life Hearing - Part 1: The Theory Behind. Widexpress (39).

Downloaded from 502 4867 001 01.pdf (widex.biz) - Søgaard Jensen,N. (2018). Real-Life Hearing - Part 2: Assessment and Solutions.

Widexpress (40). Downloaded from 9 502 4870 001 01.pdf (widex.biz)