A Computationally Efficient 11 Band Non-Uniform Filter Bank for Hearing Aids Targeting Moderately Sloping Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Abstract

A computationally efficient 11 band non-uniform filter bank addressing low or moderately sloping sensorineural hearing loss - the most common type of hearing problem- is proposed. This structure is suitable for low cost, small area implementations of hearing aids. The computational efficiency is achieved by adopting the Frequency Response Masking technique, which uses only two prototype filters with a total of 19 multipliers at 80dB stopband attenuation for the design of entire non-uniform filter bank. The computational complexity analysis shows that the proposed method provides about a 70-90% reduction in computational resources compared to non-FRM methods and about a 40-80% reduction in computational resources compared to the other FRM methods. The audiogram matching performance analysis shows that the matching error of the proposed filter bank is negligible even without optimization. The delay performance of the filter bank is acceptable for both Closed Canal Fittings and Open Canal Fittings.