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Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSP.2014.2366780

Date of publication: 12 February 2015

n everyday environments, we are frequently immersed by

unwanted acoustic noise and interference while we want to

listen to acoustic signals, most often speech. Technology

for assisted listening is then desired to increase the effi-

ciency of speech communication, reduce listener fatigue,

or just allow for enjoying undisturbed sounds (e.g., music). For

people with normal hearing, assisted listening devices (ALDs)

mainly aim to achieve hearing protection or increase listening

comfort; however, for hearing-impaired individuals, as the

most prominent user group so far, further progress of assisted

listening technology is crucial for better inclusion into our

world of pervasive acoustic communication.

MOTIVATION

The essential functionality of ALDs comprises three steps (see Fig-

ure 1): acquiring the signals of interest, enhancing desired and

removing undesired components from the acquired signals, and

presenting the enhanced signal(s) to the listener.

Given the acquired microphone signals, the efficiency of such

devices is largely determined by the performance of the signal pro-

cessing algorithms for signal enhancement and presentation. Con-

sidering that multiple microphones are now common in many

EAR PHOTO—©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/XRENDER

EARPHONES—IMAGE LICENSED BY INGRAM PUBLISHING

[

Simon Doclo, Walter Kellermann, Shoji Makino, and Sven Nordholm

]

[

Exploiting spatial diversity

using multiple microphones

]

Multichannel

Signal Enhancement

Algorithms for Assisted

Listening Devices

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