Hearing Aids That Ease Off in Noise: New Comfort Module Improves Listening Without Hurting Speech Understanding

Researchers at Australia's National Acoustic Laboratories have developed and tested a new hearing aid fitting method that deliberately turns down amplification in noisy places, and found it made listening more comfortable without degrading speech understanding.

Anyone who wears hearing aids knows the restaurant problem. Settings that sound crisp and helpful in a quiet living room can become fatiguing when the same amplification is applied to the clatter and chatter of a busy public space. For decades, the prescription formulas that audiologists use to set hearing aid gain have been built mainly around audibility, making sure speech sounds are loud enough to be heard.

A new study suggests that in noise, less can be more. The research describes the development of a dedicated Comfort in Noise Module within NAL-NL3, the latest generation of one of the world's most widely used hearing aid fitting systems, developed by the National Acoustic Laboratories in Sydney.

Background: Why the Researchers Looked at This

Hearing aid prescriptions are mathematical formulas that translate a person's hearing test results into gain targets, the amount of amplification the device should apply at each pitch and input level. The National Acoustic Laboratories' NAL-NL series is among the most widely used of these formulas worldwide, and NAL-NL3 is its newest iteration.

Traditional prescriptions were largely derived from research on speech understanding and loudness in relatively controlled conditions. But everyday life is not a sound booth. Many hearing aid wearers report that background noise, amplified along with everything else, is tiring and unpleasant, and discomfort in noise is a commonly cited reason people stop wearing their devices.

The research team set out to answer a practical question: could a fitting formula deliberately prescribe less gain in noisy situations to improve comfort, without sacrificing the speech understanding that amplification exists to provide?

How the Study Was Done

Rather than a single experiment, the project used an iterative, multi-study design at one site. Participants completed a series of laboratory studies investigating their gain preferences in noise, and the results of each study, combined with perceptual modelling, informed successive refinements to the module's gain targets.

In total, 83 adult hearing aid users with mild to severe hearing loss took part. Alongside the laboratory work, participants completed real-world evaluations using a smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment app, which prompted them to rate their listening experiences as they went about daily life, wearing different brands of hearing aids.

The Comfort in Noise Module works by selectively reducing gain relative to the standard NAL-NL3 prescription, imposing a limit on the total loudness delivered to the ear when background noise is present.

What the Researchers Found

The central finding was that reducing prescribed gain in noise improved comfort without a measurable cost to communication. As the module's targets were progressively refined across the studies, user preferences increasingly favoured the new module over the standard NAL-NL3 prescription when listening in noise, specifically with respect to listening comfort.

Just as important was what did not change. Laboratory-based testing identified no detrimental impact on speech perception in noise when the comfort-oriented gain settings were used. In other words, participants gained comfort without giving up intelligibility.

The authors conclude that lowering amplification in noisy environments, compared with the levels prescribed for quiet, improves comfort without significantly degrading speech understanding. They frame the module as part of a broader philosophy behind NAL-NL3: instead of one universal target, the system provides specialised targets for different populations, listening situations and device technologies.

What It Means for People with Hearing Loss

For hearing aid wearers, this research validates something many have long felt: the settings that work in quiet are not always the settings you want in a loud cafe. Discomfort in noise is not a personal failing or a sign that hearing aids are not for you. It is a recognised limitation of one-size-fits-all amplification that the field is actively engineering around.

The findings also carry a hopeful message about device abandonment. Because comfort is a major driver of whether people keep wearing their hearing aids, fitting approaches that make noisy environments more tolerable could help more people stay consistent with amplification and get its long-term benefits.

Why Comfort in Noise Matters for Everyday Hearing Aid Wearers

This study's core insight, that hearing aids should adapt how much they amplify depending on the noise around you, is the same principle behind the adaptive processing built into many modern FDA-OTC hearing aids. Panda Quantum, for example, is a 16-channel receiver-in-canal device whose adaptive noise reduction continuously adjusts amplification with the goal of keeping speech clear in noisy environments while keeping overall loudness comfortable.

Quantum also offers an optional app-based in-ear hearing test that can personalize gain and frequency response to the wearer's own hearing profile, echoing this study's theme of tailoring amplification to the individual and the situation. The test is entirely optional, and the device works out of the box without the app. Details are at pandahearing.com, with a 45-day trial that starts when the product is received.

One caveat worth keeping in mind: over-the-counter hearing aids are approved for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. People with severe or profound loss, like some participants in this study, generally benefit most from a professionally fitted device.

Limitations of This Research

All testing took place at a single site, and the 83 participants may not represent every hearing aid user. The iterative design means the module was refined and evaluated by the same research programme rather than independently replicated, and the study was conducted by the National Acoustic Laboratories, the organisation that develops and licenses the NAL fitting formulas. Independent, multi-site trials would strengthen the evidence.

Where This Leaves Us

This research marks a shift in how the field thinks about amplification: not as a single target to hit, but as a balance between audibility and comfort that changes with the environment. For the millions of people who find noisy rooms the hardest part of wearing hearing aids, it is encouraging to see comfort treated as a first-class goal of hearing care rather than an afterthought.

Kitterick PT, Zakis JA, Kwok C, Croteau M, Monaghan JJM, et al. A new approach to hearing aid gain prescription for listening in noise: the NAL-NL3 Comfort in Noise Module. International Journal of Audiology. 2026. Retrieved from PubMed. https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2026.2725523