Detection mechanisms for processing delays in simulated vented hearing devices

Abstract

Processing delays are a disturbing factor in hearing devices, especially with vented or open fits. While the disturbance due to delays is well characterized, neither have the perception thresholds of delays been systematically assessed, nor are the perceptual detection mechanisms clear. This study presents experiments determining the delay detection thresholds in simulated linear vented hearing devices in normal-hearing listeners, where spectral effects of delays were either compensated or not. Furthermore, the psychometric function for the detection of delays was determined for an example condition and linked to model predictions, showing that delay detection can be well predicted from spectral artefacts.