Howling detection in hearing aids using Discrete Energy Separation Algorithm-2 and Generalized Teager-Kaiser Operator

Howling is one of the most annoying consequences of the acoustical coupling in hearing aids. In this paper, a method of howling detection is proposed applying Discrete Energy Separation Algorithm-2 (DESA-2) and Generalized Teager-Kaiser Operator (GTKO). Several GTKOs with various resolution parameters monitor the input signal to recognize the howling occurrence while DESA-2 is used to estimate the howling frequency. Performance of the proposed method is compared with two known howling detection approaches, i.e. Peak-to-Harmonic Power Ratio (PHPR) and Adaptive Notch Filter (ANF). Simulation results show the advantage of the proposed method in terms of having lower false detection and shorter detection time.