Fraunhofer-GesellschaftSpeech-improved Telephony for People Who Are Hard of Hearing
Language is the most natural form of interpersonal communication. Communication by telephone over great distances is taken for granted by most people today. Nonetheless, hearing loss prevents 15 percent of the European population from utilizing this mode of communication in an unhindered manner. Even for persons with normal hearing or minor hearing loss, telephoning in acoustically difficult settings poses special challenges.
The telecommunication system, developed in the project, improves speech quality and lowers the required hearing effort for persons with normal hearing or minor hearing loss. It does so by reducing noise interference in real time. Additionally, corresponding signal-processing algorithms compensate in part for hearing loss in people who are hard of hearing. This enables these people to participate in natural communication, even over great distances.
