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tion on or in the ear, the directional response, which is often described by its polar pattern, is changed by the head and by the objects nearby and the degree of reverberation in the environment. Hearing aid manufacturers, through the stan- dardization process, develop and confirm methods to describe the spatial properties of the sound field with differ- ent types of directional microphone systems (ANSI S3.35) and report the performance to the clinicians.
Ruth A. Bentler obtained her Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Iowa in 1987, where she is now a Professor of Audiology. Dr. Bentler is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association and the American Academy of Audiology, as well as a mem- ber of the Acoustical Society of America and the International Society of Audiology. She is Director of the Doctor of Audiology
(Au.D.) Studies at the University of Iowa where she teaches graduate students in courses related to hearing aids and adult auditory rehabilitation. As the Director of the Hearing Aid Laboratory for Basic and Applied Research within the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Dr. Bentler has been involved in numerous research endeavors involving directional microphones, digital noise reduction, and, most currently, frequency-lowering algorithms. She has authored over 85 articles and chapters related to hearing aid technology and fitting practices. Outside of the academic set- ting, she is the Global Director of the Hearing Aid Program for Special Olympics International, and the Co-Director of the Iowa China Project. Her current involvement with Acoustical Society of America is as a member of the working groups on hearing aid standards (S3/WG48) and probe-tube measures of hearing aid performance (S3/WG80).
Conclusion
The intent of this brief article is to clarify the terminolo- gy that is often used by both industry and clinicians to describe some of the current hearing aid technologies. Many of these terms are also incorporated into standards. As the technology evolves, so will new descriptors, and it is impor- tant that both entities understand and use the terminology in an unambiguous manner.
Barbara Kruger received her Ph.D. from the City University of New York—Graduate Center in 1975. Dr. Kruger is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the American Academy of Audiology, and member of the Acoustical Society of America. She served as Director of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
and Montefiore Medical Center (1978–1987); Assistant Professor of Audiology at Columbia University (1975–1978); Adjunct Full Professor at the St. John’s University arm of the three-university Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) consortium (2008). In addition to her private practice, Kruger Associates Inc., she participates in university research, training and con- sulting. She is a co-founder and Board Member of The Hearing Care Group (1996–present), and a member of the New York State Hearing Aid Dispensing Advisory Board since 1999. She has authored several articles and chapters. She is a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Working Groups on hearing aid standards (S3/WG48), and probe-tube measures of hearing aid performance (S3/WG80) and calibra- tion of earphones (S3/WG37), and was a member, or chair, of several other ANSI and International Electrotechnical Commission working groups.
42 Acoustics Today, July 2009