Digital therapeutics (DTx) in hearing research have emerged as a new category of therapies providing evidence-based intervention via digital means, such as software, smartphone apps, or websites. However, although relatively new, they are not well-established. In this article, we review DTx technologies in hearing research fields, focusing on three categories: prevention and diagnosis, aid (assistance), and cure (digital medicine). We observe that most DTx systems require interactions with users (or patients) without the direct support of clinical professionals to obtain or collect medical evidence; this makes training (or education) features crucial to the therapy’s success. In this view, this article discusses the education or training functions of the current DTx and their contribution and purposes. The impact of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) on DTx in hearing research is being explored, and the future of DTx concerning AI integration is being discussed. We believe that this work will contribute to a better understanding of the current and future DTx technological advancements and, in particular, shed light on the field of hearing research.

Digital therapeutics (DTx) in hearing research have emerged as a new category of therapies providing evidence-based intervention via digital means, such as software, smartphone apps, or websites. However, although relatively new, they are not well-established. In this article, we review DTx technologies in hearing research fields, focusing on three categories: prevention and diagnosis, aid (assistance), and cure (digital medicine). We observe that most DTx systems require interactions with users (or patients) without the direct support of clinical professionals to obtain or collect medical evidence; this makes training (or education) features crucial to the therapy’s success. In this view, this article discusses the education or training functions of the current DTx and their contribution and purposes. The impact of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) on DTx in hearing research is being explored, and the future of DTx concerning AI integration is being discussed. We believe that this work will contribute to a better understanding of the current and future DTx technological advancements and, in particular, shed light on the field of hearing research.

Digital therapeutics (DTx) in hearing research have emerged as a new category of therapies providing evidence-based intervention via digital means, such as software, smartphone apps, or websites. However, although relatively new, they are not well-established. In this article, we review DTx technologies in hearing research fields, focusing on three categories: prevention and diagnosis, aid (assistance), and cure (digital medicine). We observe that most DTx systems require interactions with users (or patients) without the direct support of clinical professionals to obtain or collect medical evidence; this makes training (or education) features crucial to the therapy’s success. In this view, this article discusses the education or training functions of the current DTx and their contribution and purposes. The impact of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) on DTx in hearing research is being explored, and the future of DTx concerning AI integration is being discussed. We believe that this work will contribute to a better understanding of the current and future DTx technological advancements and, in particular, shed light on the field of hearing research.

The hearing-aid transducer is ubiquitous in the hearing-aid industry. For example, the balanced armature receiver (BAR), first invented by A.G. Bell, has been used in all telephone earphones because it has the highest output and best frequency response. Nevertheless, previous electro-mechanical studies on these miniature speakers are quite primitive, given the price of the transducers. Thus, more detailed analysis is critically important for the field of hearing science. This review study was motivated by Hunt's parameter calibration (1954), a widely used commercial hearing-aid receiver (ED series, manufactured by Knowles Electronics, Inc.). In the body of the study, the transfer function of the BAR system (i.e., pressure over voltage) was calculated from Hunt's parameters, solely from the electrical terminals of the device. The computed transfer function was then further investigated by comparing to the pole-zero fitting method using the methods of Gustavsen and Semlyen (1999) and Prony (1975). Based on our short experiment, the better fitting result was achieved with Gustavsen and Semlyen's method. By decomposing results of the transfer function fitting into all-pass and minimum-phase parts, the system was confirmed as a delay system. We conclude that the BAR system is linear, time-invariant, stable, and causal while providing an evidence-based understanding of the hearing-aid receiver system.
Calibration ; Hearing ; Methods ; Telephone ; Transducers