Auditdata has added the NAL-NL3 hearing aid prescription and Oldenburg Matrix Sentence Test to its Measure™ software, combining two complementary tools for hearing aid fitting and outcome assessment into one platform.

Announced October 7, both additions are available in Measure release 6.6.0. For audiologists and hearing aid specialists, the combination offers a workflow for assessing speech understanding in noise, fitting hearing aids to independent prescriptive targets, and evaluating aided performance. Two specialized NAL-NL3 modules—Comfort in Noise and Minimal Hearing Loss—are planned for Measure release 6.7.0.

NAL-NL3 brings a modular approach to fitting

Developed by Australia’s National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL), NAL-NL3 succeeds as the organization’s next-generation fitting system. It combines a core prescription with specialized modules designed to address different listening needs.

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NAL describes its latest prescriptive fitting formula as drawing on machine learning, extensive historical fitting data, and clinical experience to develop more accurate amplification targets, including for challenging audiometric configurations such as reverse-slope and mixed hearing losses.

The core prescription continues NAL’s longstanding aim of maximizing speech understanding while keeping loudness within normal limits. The modular structure expands that approach: the Comfort in Noise module provides a comfort-focused amplification profile intended to maintain speech intelligibility, while the Minimal Hearing Loss module addresses adults with normal or near-normal thresholds who nevertheless experience hearing difficulties. These modules give clinicians additional options for matching amplification to patients’ communication needs.

For Measure software users, the immediate addition is the core NAL-NL3 prescription; access to the two modules will follow in the subsequent release, according to Auditdata.

Patients tell us they can’t hear their grandchildren at a busy restaurant. They get frustrated at a crowded party, loud theater, or other event with background noise that interferes with their ability to hear. Bringing the NAL-NL3 fitting system into Measure gives clinicians a properly evidenced way to answer these needs with more customized solutions, helping people hear better, even in noisy environments. With the modules to come, we’re helping people in a way that a single formula could never handle.

Mona Dworsack, AuD, Auditdata Measure Product Manager

Adding a measurable outcome in noise

Alongside the new NAL-NL3 prescription, Measure now integrates the Oldenburg Matrix Sentence Test from Hörzentrum Oldenburg. Auditdata says its initial implementation supports 15 languages and automates adaptive changes to the signal-to-noise ratio () based on the patient’s responses.

The Oldenburg Matrix tests use 5-word sentences built from a fixed vocabulary and sentence structure. Varying word combinations limit contextual cues while supporting repeated assessment. Adaptive testing can establish a speech reception threshold—the ratio required to achieve a specified level of recognition, commonly 50%. Familiarization is important because patients’ performance can improve as they learn the test material and procedure, potentially confounding comparisons between fittings or test sessions.

As understanding speech in noisy environments is among the top motivating factors in purchasing a hearing aid, speech-in-noise testing is now a component in the best practice protocols of all major US hearing care organizations.

Validated in more than 20 languages, the Matrix Test lets clinics measure the difficulty patients care about most: hearing in noise. Bringing it into Auditdata Measure helps take that trusted standard global.

Dr. Dirk Oetting, project manager at Hörzentrum Oldenburg

Connecting fitting and functional assessment

The practical opportunity is to connect three parts of care: prescribing amplification, verifying the hearing aid’s output, and assessing what the patient can understand with that fitting.

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These measures answer different questions. Real-ear measurement () verification shows how closely the fitting matches prescribed targets, while aided speech-in-noise testing assesses performance under test conditions. Used together, they can help hearing care professionals identify remaining difficulties, evaluate adjustments, and explain outcomes to patients.

That is the clinical rationale behind Auditdata’s combined release: making independent fitting and assessment tools accessible within the software clinicians already use.

For more information, please visit the Auditdata website. The company will also demonstrate the additions at the EUHA Congress in Hannover, Germany, October 14-16.

  • Karl Strom

    Karl Strom

    Editor in Chief

    Karl Strom is the editor-in-chief of HearingTracker. He was a founding editor of The Hearing Review and has covered the hearing aid industry for over 30 years.