Hearing Aid Speech-in-Noise Simulator
An interactive tool that lets you hear how speech sounds in background noise with different hearing aid technologies. Experiment with environments, distances, and processing modes to understand how hearing aids improve speech clarity.
Try the Interactive Simulator
Adjust the environment, distance, hearing aid brand, and remote microphone settings. Listen to real speech mixed with restaurant noise and hear how each technology changes speech clarity.
Launch the SimulatorWhat the Simulator Controls
The HearMetrics simulator models the signal-to-noise ratio at the listener's ear based on several adjustable parameters:
Baseline SNR and Environment
Choose from different noise environments (restaurant, cafe, office, outdoor) that set the baseline noise level. The restaurant environment represents the most challenging real-world listening condition with an SNR of approximately 0 dB or worse.
Distance from Speaker
Adjust the simulated distance between the listener and the speaker. Speech level drops approximately 6 dB each time the distance doubles, so moving from 1 meter to 2 meters reduces the SNR by 6 dB—a significant penalty in noise.
Hearing Aid Brand
Select different hearing aid manufacturers to apply their estimated SNR improvement values. This lets you hear the practical difference between brands in terms of speech clarity.
Listening Modes
Unaided
Speech and noise at the raw environmental SNR with no hearing aid processing. This baseline represents what the listening situation sounds like without technology assistance.
0 dB benefitHearing Aid Only
Directional microphone and beamforming processing applied. Speech becomes clearer relative to background noise, but improvement is limited by on-ear microphone physics.
3–5 dB benefitHearing Aid + Remote Mic
A remote microphone placed near the speaker captures clean speech and transmits it to the hearing aids. This bypasses room acoustics and delivers the largest SNR improvement.
10–15+ dB benefitWhat You're Hearing
The simulator mixes a speech recording with real background noise at the calculated SNR for each listening mode. As you switch between modes, the noise level relative to speech changes—demonstrating how each technology improves the listening experience.
The speech signal stays constant. What changes is how much the background noise is reduced relative to the speech. This mirrors what happens in real life: hearing aid directional microphones and remote microphones don't make speech louder—they make the noise quieter relative to speech.
Tip: Use headphones in a quiet room for the best experience. The subtle differences between modes are easier to hear without environmental distractions.
Understanding Signal-to-Noise Ratio
Every simulation in this tool is based on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)—the difference in decibels between the speech level and the noise level. An SNR of +10 dB means speech is 10 dB louder than noise (easy to understand). An SNR of −5 dB means noise is 5 dB louder than speech (very difficult to understand).
Each 1 dB of SNR improvement corresponds to approximately 7–10 percentage points better word recognition. The simulator lets you hear what these dB differences actually sound like in practice—making the abstract concept of SNR tangible and intuitive.
For a deeper explanation, see our complete guide to SNR in hearing aids.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the speech-in-noise simulator do?
The simulator plays speech mixed with real background noise at different signal-to-noise ratios. You can hear how speech clarity changes with different hearing aid technologies, directional microphones, and remote microphones.
Is this an accurate hearing test?
No. This is an educational demonstration tool, not a diagnostic hearing test. It simulates the relative effect of different technologies on speech-in-noise understanding. For a clinical evaluation, consult a licensed audiologist.
What should I listen for?
Listen to how clearly you can understand the speech compared to the background noise. As you switch between unaided, hearing aid, and hearing aid plus remote microphone modes, notice how the speech becomes progressively clearer.
Can I use this on my phone?
Yes. The simulator works on any device with a web browser. For the best experience, use headphones or earbuds in a quiet environment.
How do I compare different hearing aids?
Use the hearing aid brand selector to switch between manufacturers. Each brand applies its estimated SNR improvement, letting you hear the difference between Phonak (4.5 dB), Oticon (4.0 dB), Starkey (3.5 dB), Signia (3.5 dB), and Widex (3.0 dB).
Explore More Topics
Scott Johnson
Hearing Technology Analyst
Scott Johnson analyzes hearing aid signal processing and speech-in-noise performance. His work focuses on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), directional microphones, and real-world hearing aid technology evaluation.
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