Optimal estimation of hearing-aid compression parameters.

A new procedure for measuring the attack and release time constants of a hearing-aid compression circuit is presented in this paper. The procedure is based on a mathematical model of the response of a compression system to sudden increments or decrements in the amplitude of a sinusoidal excitation. The parameters of the model, which include the attack and release time constants, are fitted to the measured hearing-aid test-signal response using a minimum mean-squared error criterion. A computer simulation of a compression hearing aid is used to illustrate the behavior of the compression amplifier and to assess the accuracy of the estimated attack and release time constants.