Patent Application
20100020994
1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hearing aids. More specifically, the present invention relates to the integration of an antenna with a retrieval component of a hearing aid for wireless communication with the hearing aid.
2. Background and Relevant Art
The ability to sense one's surroundings is important to the quality of life of any human being. The five senses typically attributed to human beings include sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. However, it is not at all unusual for a human being to have partial or even complete impairment in any one or more of these senses. Hearing impairments, in particular, are especially common. Hearing is indeed an important sensory ability as sound is a primary means for human communication. Due to the importance of hearing and the widespread nature of hearing impairments, hearing impairments in the aggregate have historically had a significant adverse effect on the plight of humanity.
To improve this condition, hearing aids have been developed. Some hearing aids can be placed deep within the ear canal of a user to amplify sound for the user. Accordingly, sounds that were once below the user's hearing threshold are brought above the hearing threshold. At times when the user desires to hear better, the hearing aid may be inserted into the ear canal. However, the hearing aid is typically not permanently inserted into the ear canal. There are numerous instances in which it is desirable or advisable to remove the hearing aid.
For instance, the hearing aid may be removed occasionally for patient comfort and/or at times when the hearing ability is less important or even undesirable such as during sleep. The hearing aid may also be removed in cases when the hearing aid is to be subjected to cleaning, battery replacement, or other maintenance. Furthermore, the hearing aid may be removed to avoid getting the hearing aid wet such as prior to swimming, showering, or bathing. There are also many other instances in which the hearing aid may be removed.
This frequent removal can be difficult considering how deep the hearing aid may be inserted into the ear canal. Accordingly, many hearing aids have a retrieval component that extends from the main body of the hearing aid. When the main body of the hearing aid is properly placed within the ear canal, the retrieval component extends slightly outside of the hearing aid. In this configuration, the patient may easily remove the hearing aid by grasping and pulling the retrieval component to thereby pull the connected main body of the hearing aid out of the ear canal.
The retrieval component allows the user to physically interact with the main body of the hearing aid. Accordingly, some hearing aid manufacturers have allowed the user to physically interact with the hearing aid in ways in addition to just hearing aid retrieval. For example, on some hearing aid devices, the retrieval component is also used to allow the patient to adjust the volume of the hearing aid. On other hearing aids, the retrieval component is used to turn the hearing aid on and off. The retrieval component may also be used to allow the hearing aid to physically interact with the outside of the ear canal. For example, some documents describe a hearing aid retrieval line in which the retrieval line also serves as a vent for the hearing aid.
As wireless technology has developed, wireless communication has been incorporated into a variety of devices. Wireless enabled hearing aids have been developed to allow for wireless communication with the hearing aid. Such wireless enabled hearing aids typically (if not always) operate on the principle of inductive pickup. However, there are considerable problems with such wireless communication. In particular, if the hearing aid is deep within the ear canal, human tissue and/or bones often shield the hearing aid from properly receiving wireless signals.
In order to properly receive a wireless signal using inductive pickup, the position of the hearing aid receiver with respect to the inductive pickup transmitter often needs to be adjusted until a proper signal is received. This represents a significant inconvenience for the user. Often, the inductive receiver is placed outside of the ear. However, hearing aid users often desire the hearing aid to be as inconspicuous as possible. Having large components outside of the ear makes the hearing aid more conspicuous and therefore less desirable to the user.
Accordingly, what would be advantageous is a hearing aid that has improved ability to wirelessly communicate, despite being deep within the ear canal.
The foregoing problems with the prior state of the art are overcome by the principles of the present invention, which relate to a hearing aid that includes an antenna attached to the retrieval component. Since the retrieval component extends outside of the ear canal when the main body of the hearing aid is placed within the ear canal, the attached antenna also extends outside of the ear canal. Thus, much of any received wireless signals are not shielded by the ear canal, but are received directly by the antenna. Furthermore, signals transmitted from the antenna may reach external to the ear without being blocked by the ear canal. This enables more reliable wireless communication between the main body of the hearing aid within the ear canal and the outside world. Furthermore, the integrated retrieval component and antenna is not much more conspicuous that the retrieval component itself, thereby enabling inconspicuous and convenient wireless communication with the hearing aid.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the invention can be obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
The principles of the present invention relate to hearing aids that have an antenna, at least some of which being integrated with a retrieval component. The retrieval component extends outside of the ear canal even when the main body of the hearing aid is properly placed in the ear canal. Accordingly, portions of the antenna also extend outside of the ear canal, enabling the antenna to efficiently receive and transmit wireless signals. Furthermore, this wireless communication does not rely on large components being placed outside of the ear thereby reducing the visual profile and increasing the comfort of the hearing aid.
The integrated component 102 also includes at least part of an antenna connected to the retrieval component so as to also extend outside of the ear canal when the main body is placed within the ear canal. The antenna may also extend from the main body 102 along most or all of the length of the retrieval component. Accordingly, portions of the antenna lie outside of the ear canal during operation, enabling the antenna to efficiently receive and transmit wireless signals. The antenna may also include other portions that are not necessarily integrated with the retrieval component. For example, a hearing aid battery may be used for the ground plane for the antenna, and/or a base-loading inductor may be used for antenna matching.
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Accordingly, the principles of the present invention provide a hearing aid that efficiently performs wireless communication. This is true regardless of whether the wireless communication mechanism is via inductive pickup or normal radio communication using transmitted electromagnetic radiation. Furthermore, the wireless communication does not rely on external devices of significant size to be worn by the user. This makes the hearing aid relatively inconspicuous and improves user comfort.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes, which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims, are to be embraced within their scope.
