Hearing loss classification algorithm based on the insertion gain of hearing aid

Abstract

Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic health problems worldwide and a common intervention is the wearing of hearing aids. However, the tedious fitting procedures and limited hearing experts pose restrictions for the popularity of hearing aids. This paper introduced a hearing loss classification method based on the insertion gain of hearing aids, which aims to simplify the fitting procedure and achieve a fitting-free effect of the hearing aid, in line with current research trends in key algorithms for fitting-free hearing aids. The proposed method innovatively combines the insertion gain of hearing aids with the covariates of patient’s gender, age, wearing history to form a new set of hearing loss vectors, and then classifies the hearing loss into six categories by unsupervised cluster analysis method. Each category of representative parameters characterizes a typical type of hearing loss, which can be used as the initial parameter to improve the efficiency of hearing aid fitting.