Chatting with Roger
Difficulties hearing in background noiseare common complaints of individuals with hearing loss. The increased effort required to maintain a conversation in noise could lead to consequences such as emotional frustration, cognitive fatigue, physical tiredness, and decreased social interaction. Phonak Roger (a remote microphone system that can connect wirelessly to hearing aids) is a device that was created to help in these challenging listening situations. It can help users in situations where there is an extended distance between them and the sound source and/or in the presence of background noise.
Ieda Ishida PhD.,a researcher at the Sonova Innovation Centre Toronto, recently investigated the effects of the Roger system and face masks on the overall listening experience and how the consequences of listening difficulties impacted group conversations in noise.
16 participants were recruited and fit with Phonak Marvel Hearing aidsthat were connected to Roger Table Mic II devices. Participants were asked to engage inconversation with masksonandin different listening conditions.Upon completion of the conversations, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on their listening experience.
It was found that there wasa significant improvement in listening experience when Roger devices were usedthan when not, regardless of the use of facial masks. Additionally, there was a significant improvement in ratings with Roger devices for cognitive, emotional and physical consequences of listening effort. This study has shown that there ispotential value of Roger devices in difficult listening situationssuch as group conversations, especially for older adults. Potential applications of this device could be at community centers that often see hearing impaired patrons, at family gatherings, restaurants, or in the car. Lastly, it is suggested that the questionnaire that was used be further examined for its construct validity.
This study was conducted in collaboration with theUniversity of Toronto, at the Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility, Vancouver, Canada and funded by Sonova. Please see the study poster in the link below for more information!
The ICT is always recruiting and adding people to our database for future studies such as the one described above. If you or anyone you know would like to join future research studies, please have them complete the form below.
If you have any questions, please email innovation.toronto@sonova.com