An assistive listening device includes a set of microphones including an array arranged into pairs about a nominal listening axis with respective distinct intra-pair microphone spacings, and a pair of ear-worn loudspeakers. Audio circuitry performs arrayed-microphone short-time target cancellation processing including (1) applying short-time frequency transforms to convert time-domain audio input signals into frequency-domain signals for every short-time analysis frame, (2) calculating ratio masks from the frequency-domain signals of respective microphone pairs, wherein the calculation of a ratio mask includes a frequency domain subtraction of signal values of a microphone pair, (3) calculating a global ratio mask from the plurality of ratio masks, and (4) applying the global ratio mask, and inverse short-time frequency transforms, to selected ones of the frequency-domain signals, thereby generating audio output signals for driving the loudspeakers. The circuitry and processing may also be realized in a machine hearing device executing a human-computer interface application.