Washington, Aug 6 - A new software for cochlear implants and hearing aids greatly improves sound clarity and speech recognition for the hard-of-hearing, says a new study.

'Hearing-impaired people have a real problem understanding speech,' said Miriam Furst-Yust of Tel Aviv University (TAU), who developed the new software.

'Their devices may be useful in a quiet room, but once the background noise levels ramp up, the devices become less useful. Our algorithm helps filter out irrelevant noise so they can better understand the voices of their friends and family,' said Furst-Yust.

Based on a cochlear model that she devised, the new patented technology known as Clearcall is now being fine-tuned to improve the capabilities of existing cochlear implants and digital hearing aids.