Patent Application
20230310216
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the reproduction of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This application is a non-provisional of and claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 63/325,666 filed Mar. 31, 2022, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates generally to tinnitus. More particularly, the present disclosure pertains to an systems, methods, and apparatuses for treating tinnitus.
Tinnitus is an extremely common problem that is generally defined as the perception of noise or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus can be quite troublesome, interfering with mood and concentration, and can cause anxiety, insomnia and depression. Tinnitus may occur in an individual for a number of reasons, but the most common cause is nerve hearing loss. Tinnitus is most commonly perceived by an individual as a high pitch tone, usually in a frequency range of six-thousand to ten-thousand hertz. Other sensations of tinnitus may also be described as a hiss, crickets, cicadas, or a buzzing noise.
Conventional systems may “mask” tinnitus (e.g., abating the individual's perception of tinnitus without necessarily treating the underlying condition of tinnitus). Typical masking systems involve hearing aids used to introduce a narrow band white noise (or brown noise, pink noise, and so on) with the center of the noise at the pitch of the individual's perceived tinnitus (e.g., at approximately six-thousand hertz). While the hearing aid with masking is worn, the individual no longer perceives the tinnitus, or if the individual does perceive the tinnitus, the tinnitus may be significantly reduced in severity. However, when the hearing aid is removed, the individual may immediately perceive his/her tinnitus again. Because individuals do not wear hearing aids while in bed, such conventional systems only treat individuals with “daytime” symptoms of tinnitus. Most individuals experience their worst tinnitus at night. Therefore, such conventional systems fail to address this crucial time for individuals suffering from tinnitus. Moreover, such typical systems for masking tinnitus fail to treat the underlying condition of tinnitus, and therefore are required indefinitely for abating the individual's condition.
Other conventional systems have begun to actually treat tinnitus (e.g., prevent the recurrence of tinnitus symptoms), rather than simply masking the condition. Typical treatment systems involve Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). The only treatment currently known is Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). TRT is a time-consuming process generally performed in an audiologist's office involving low-frequency bone conduction stimulation as a method to hypothetically prevent the of recurrence of tinnitus symptoms. However, such typical systems have a number problems. As an example, TRT utilizes air conduction and has a low success rate. “Air conduction” typically involves a tone being provided by an earphone or a loudspeaker. The signal travels through the air in the outer ear to the middle ear and then to the cochlea in the inner ear in order to attempt to treat tinnitus. Moreover, such typical systems require visits to a medical practitioner and are therefore inconvenient and not frequent enough to effectively treat tinnitus.
What is needed, therefore, are improved systems, methods, and apparatuses for the treatment of tinnitus. Currently, however, there is no device on the market that offers a rehab component for tinnitus, thereby preventing it from recurring.
This Brief Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The present disclosure provides apparatuses, systems and methods for masking and treating tinnitus. One aspect of the disclosure is an apparatus for treating tinnitus. The apparatus may include a semi-circular strap. The semi-circular strap may be configured to be positioned about a rear portion of a head of a user. The apparatus may further include a first over-ear strap. The first over-ear strap may be configured to be positioned over a first ear of the head of the user. The apparatus may further include a second over-ear strap. The second over-ear strap may be configured to be positioned over a second ear of the head of the user. The apparatus may further include a number of bone conductors. The number of bone conducts may include a first low frequency bone conductor. The first low frequency bone conductor may be located between first over-ear strap and the semi-circular strap. The first low frequency bone conductor may be configured to contact the head of the user rearward of the first ear of the user. The number of bone conductors may further include a second low frequency bone conductor. The second low frequency bone conductor may be located between the second over-ear strap and the semi-circular strap. The second low frequency bone conductor may be configured to contact the head of the user rearward of the second ear of the user. The first and second low frequency bone conductors may be configured to generate tones a to frequency of about fifty hertz and about one-hundred-and-ten hertz.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes a first high frequency bone conductor and a second high frequency bone conductor. The first high frequency bone conductor may be located opposite the first low frequency bone conductor relative to the first over-ear strap. The first high frequency bone conductor configured to contact the head of the user forward of the first ear of the user. The second high frequency bone conductor may be located opposite the second low frequency bone conductor relative to the second over-ear strap. The second high frequency bone conductor may be configured to contact the head of the user forward the second ear of the user. The first and second high frequency bone conductors may be configured to generate tones at a frequency of between about six-thousand hertz and ten-thousand hertz.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is a method of treating tinnitus. The method may include positioning a headset apparatus on a head of a user. The method may further include administering low frequency tones using a first pair of bone conductors of the headset apparatus for a predetermined time period. The low frequency tones may be between about fifty hertz and one-hundred-and-ten hertz. The method may further include simultaneously administering high frequency tones using a second pair of bone conductors of the headset apparatus for the predetermined time period. The high frequency tones may be between about six-thousand hertz and about ten-thousand hertz.
Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is a system for treating tinnitus. The system may include the aforementioned apparatus for treating tinnitus. The system may further include a controller configured to control a volume and a frequency of tones generated by each of the bone conductors of the apparatus. In some embodiments, the controller is located on the apparatus, receives inputs from manual controls located on the apparatus, and controls the apparatus in accordance with the inputs. In other embodiments, the controller is located on a device external to the apparatus, receives inputs from manual controls located on the device, and controls the apparatus in accordance with the inputs via a wired connection. In other embodiments still, the controller is located on the apparatus, wireless receives inputs from a mobile device, and controls the apparatus in accordance with the inputs via the wireless connection.
Numerous other objects, advantages and features of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art upon a review of the following drawings and description of a preferred embodiment.
While the making and using of various embodiments of the present disclosure are discussed in detail herein, it should be appreciated that the present disclosure provides many applicable inventive concepts that are embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the disclosure and do not delimit the scope of the disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize numerous equivalents to the specific apparatuses, systems, and methods described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this disclosure and may be covered by the claims.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the description contained herein, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of programming, software, user selections, hardware, hardware circuits, hardware chips, or the like, to provide understanding of embodiments of the disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, apparatuses, devices, systems, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations may not be shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the disclosure.
The aforementioned features and advantages of the embodiments will become more fully apparent from the description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of embodiments as set forth herein. As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied as an apparatus, system, method, computer program product, or the like. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable media having program code embodied thereon.
In the drawings, not all reference numbers are included in each drawing, for the sake of clarity. In addition, positional terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “side,” “top,” “bottom,” etc. refer to the apparatus when in the orientation shown in the drawing. A person of skill in the art will recognize that the apparatus can assume different orientations when in use.
The words “connected”, “attached”, “joined”, “mounted”, “fastened”, and the like should be interpreted to mean any manner of joining two objects including, but not limited to, the use of any fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, bolts, pin and clevis, and the like allowing for a stationary, translatable, or pivotable relationship; welding of any kind such as traditional MIG welding, TIG welding, friction welding, brazing, soldering, ultrasonic welding, torch welding, inductive welding, and the like; using any resin, glue, epoxy, and the like; being integrally formed as a single part together; any mechanical fit such as a friction fit, interference fit, slidable fit, rotatable fit, pivotable fit, and the like; any combination thereof; and the like.
Referring generally to the Figures, a headset apparatus (apparatus) 10 for treating tinnitus (e.g., a tinnitus treatment device) is shown, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the apparatus 10 is configured to treat tinnitus (in order to prevent recurrence of tinnitus) using low frequency tones. In other embodiments, the apparatus 10 is configured to mask tinnitus (in order to lessen the symptoms and/or effects of tinnitus) using high frequency tones. In other embodiments still, the apparatus 10 is configured to both treat tinnitus using low frequency tones, as well as mask tinnitus using high frequency tones. In other words, the low frequency tones may be produced to the exclusion of the high frequency tones and vice-versa, or both the low and high frequency tones may be produced by the apparatus 10 simultaneously, depending on the implementation. In some embodiments, the apparatus 10 performs various methods and functions as an individual unit. In other embodiments, the apparatus 10 functions in accordance with other components in a system.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the controller 150 is housed within the material of the apparatus 10 as shown. In other embodiments, the controller 150 may be located externally to the apparatus 10, as shown with reference to
In some embodiments, the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 are electromechanical oscillation devices configured to produce vibrotactile bone conduction for a user 14 (depicted with reference to
In some embodiments, the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 are configured to produce tones of between fifty and one-hundred-and-ten hertz. In other embodiments, the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 are configured to produce tones of a different range (e.g., between forty and seventy hertz, between thirty and eighty hertz, between ten and one-hundred-and-fifty hertz, etc.). In general, the tone produced by the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 may be of any frequency at or less than four-hundred hertz in order to facilitate treatment of tinnitus in the user 14.
In some embodiments, the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 are configured to produce tones at a particular volume in order for the tones to be perceivable by the user 14 by a narrow margin. For example, the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 may produce tones at about forty decibels. As another example, a first auditory threshold for the user 14 may be determined (as discussed below with reference to
In some embodiments, the first low frequency bone conductor 120 includes a first transducer 121 (shown with particular reference to
Referring particularly to
As mentioned above, the first low frequency bone conductor 120 may be located on the first side 102 between the first tip 128 and the semi-circular strap 110, and the second low frequency bone conductor 123 may be located on the second side 104 between the second tip 129 and the semi-circular strap 110. In particular, and as shown here, the first low frequency bone conductor 120 may be located between the first over-ear strap 126 and the semi-circular strap 110, and the second low frequency bone conductor 123 may be located between the second over-ear strap 127 and the semi-circular strap 110.
In the implementation shown, each of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 are configured to be positioned adjacent to and apply at least some pressure to one of the left or right auricular mastoid bones of the user 14. For example, as shown with particular reference to
As shown with particular reference to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 are constructed in a similar fashion as the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123, while configured to provide tones of a higher frequency than the first and second low frequency devices 120, 123. Accordingly, the first and second high frequency devices 130, 133 may be electromechanical devices configured to produce high-frequency tones by converting electrical energy to mechanical motion using an oscillating internal weight, thereby providing low-frequency tones to the user 14 in a vibrotactile fashion. The first and second high-frequency devices 130, 133 may be configured to produce tones of between six-thousand and ten-thousand hertz. In other embodiments, the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 are configured to produce tones of a different range (e.g., between five-thousand and twelve-thousand hertz, between four-thousand and fourteen-thousand hertz, etc.). In general, the tone produced by the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 may be of any frequency between three-thousand and twenty-five-thousand hertz. As compared to the tones provided by the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 (e.g., tones configured for perception by the user 14, which may be configured for treatment of tinnitus), the tones provided by the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 may rather be understood as masking noise or sound (e.g., white noise, pink noise, violet noise, brown noise, etc.) that masks tinnitus symptoms of the user 14.
In some embodiments, and similar to the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123, the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 are configured to produce tones at a particular volume in order for the tones to be perceivable by the user 14 by a narrow margin (e.g., at about forty decibels). In addition to the first auditory threshold associated with the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123, a second auditory threshold for the user 14 may be determined for the high frequency tones administered by the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133, and the first and second high frequency bone conductors 120, 123 may be set at a volume that is marginally above the second auditory threshold value. For example, the second auditory threshold value may be the volume for high frequency tones at which, at any greater volume, the user 14 is able to perceive the tones, and at any lesser volume, the user 14 is not able to perceive the tones. In turn, the volume for the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 may be set at a volume that is about five to ten decibels above the first auditory threshold.
As mentioned above, the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 may be constructed in a similar fashion as the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123. Accordingly, the first high frequency bone conductor 130 may include a third transducer 131 retained within a third transducer housing 132, and the second high frequency bone conductor 133 may include a fourth transducer 134 retained within a fourth transducer housing 135. In some embodiments, the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 are smaller in size than the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 (due to being configured for production of higher-frequency masking tones, as opposed to lower-frequency treatment tones, for example).
Referring particularly to
In some embodiments, and shown with reference to
As shown with reference to
Referring to
As discussed above with reference to
In some embodiments, each of the semi-circular strap 110 and the first and second over-ear straps 124, 126 may be adjusted to enable the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 to apply sufficient pressure to the left and right mastoid bones of the user 14, as well as to enable the first and second high frequency devices 130, 133 to apply sufficient pressure to the left and right zygoma bones of the user 14 (as shown with reference to
Referring to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the controller 150 includes the power supply 142, one or more processors 152, a computer-readable medium 154, a memory 156, communication circuitry 158, a computer program product 159, a tone generator 160, and one or more input devices 161. The processor(s) 152, communication circuitry 158, and memory 156 may collectively be referred to as “logic and control circuitry.” The terms “controller” and “control circuitry” as used herein may refer to, be embodied by or otherwise included within a machine, such as a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed and programmed to perform or cause the performance of the functions described herein.
In some embodiments, and as depicted with reference to
In some embodiments, the power supply 142 is a permanent component within the apparatus 10, provides power to the other components of the apparatus 10, and may be recharged with an external power source. In other words, the power supply 142 may be a permanent battery. In other embodiments, the power supply 142 may be a separate component that is configured to be engaged and/or disengaged from the other components of the apparatus 10, such that the power supply 16 is replaceable. In other words, the power supply 142 may be a replaceable battery. In other embodiments still, the power supply 142 may be provided as an external power source that is engaged (e.g., plugged in) with the other components of the apparatus 10. In other words, the apparatus 10 may be operated by plugging a power chord into a power port located on the apparatus 10.
In some embodiments, the processor(s) 152 include any suitable processing circuitry capable of controlling operations of one or more components of the apparatus 10 (e.g., the first and second low frequency devices 120, 123, the first and second high frequency devices 130, 133, the first and second indicators, etc.). In some embodiments, the processor(s) 152 facilitate communications between various components within the apparatus 10. For example, the processor(s) 152 may receive outputs from the tone generator 160 and convey the outputs to the first and/or second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123, and/or the first and/or second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133. The term “processor” as used herein may refer to at least general-purpose or specific-purpose processing devices and/or logic as may be understood by one of skill in the art, including but not limited to a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a state machine, and the like. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
In some embodiments, the computer program product 159 includes a computer-readable storage medium (or media) having computer-readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present disclosure. For example, as discussed in greater detail below, the computer program product 159 may govern the particular provisions of various high and low frequency tones provided by the first and/or second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123, and/or the first and/or second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133.
In some embodiments, the tone generator 160 includes any suitable processing circuitry capable of converting electrical signals (e.g., control signals provided by the processor(s) 152) into audio signals, which may in turn be provided to the first and/or second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123, and/or the first and/or second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133. Depending on the implementation of the present disclosure, the tone generator 160 may receive one or more electrical signals and convert the one or more electrical signals into one or more audio signals. As a first example, in cases where the various bone conductors are controlled in unison, the tone generator 160 may receive only one electrical signal and respond with only one audio signal (provided to each of the implemented bone conductors(s)). As a second example, however, in cases where the various bone conductors are controlled on an individual basis (in terms of frequency, volume, etc.), the tone generator 160 may receive up to four electrical signals (e.g., one for each bone conductor, depending on the implementation), and respond with up to four audio signals (one for each implemented bone conductor).
In some embodiments, the communication circuitry 158 may include any circuitry capable of connecting the apparatus 10 with one or more external devices, as discussed in greater detail below with reference to
In various embodiments, the input device(s) 161 include a channel selector 162, a first frequency control 163, a second frequency control 164, a third frequency control 164, a fourth frequency control 165, a first volume control 166, a second volume control 167, a third volume control 168, a fourth volume control 169, and/or a power control 170.
In some embodiments, and as shown with reference to
Discussed below are various methods of controlling the apparatus 10 (using the controller 150 and other methods, devices, and systems, depending on the implementation).
Referring again to
Referring particularly to
As shown, the power control 170 may be located on the second side 104, while the volume control 166 may be located on the first side 102. Moreover, the first and second frequency controls 163, 164 may be located on or near the first and second over-ear straps 126, 127 (respectively). However, in other embodiments, and as shown with particular reference to
In some embodiments, the first and second frequency controls 163, 164 allow the user 14 to manually increase or decrease the frequency (e.g., hertz) of the tones provided by the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 (respectively). In this sense, the frequencies of the tones provided by the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 may be individually controlled. For example, the first low frequency bone conductor 120 may be operated to provide a tone at fifty hertz, while the second low frequency bone conductor 123 may be simultaneously operated to provide a tone at sixty hertz. In other embodiments, only one of the first and second frequency controls 163, 164 are provided on the apparatus 10. In some cases of such embodiments, the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 are be operated at, and simultaneously adjusted to, the same frequency. In other cases of such embodiments, the channel selector 162 is used to toggle which of the bone conductors between the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 are operated by the single frequency control. For example, the single frequency control may be operated to adjust the frequency of the first low frequency bone conductor 120, the channel selector 162 may be pressed to toggle the control over to the second low frequency bone conductor 120, and then the single frequency control may be operated to adjust the frequency of the second low frequency bone conductor 123.
In some embodiments, the volume control 166 may be used to increase or decrease the volume (in decibels for example) of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123. In some embodiments, the volume of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 may be set to approximately forty decibels (or adjusted thereabout) in order for the tones produced by the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 to be perceptible to the user. In some embodiments, and as shown, there may be only one volume control 166 on the apparatus 10. In such cases, as discussed above with reference to embodiments of the apparatus 10 that include a single frequency control, the channel selector 162 may be used to toggle the control applied by the volume control 162 between the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123.
As shown with particular reference to
In some embodiments, the first and second frequency controls 163, 164 allow the user 14 to manually increase or decrease the frequency of the tones provided by the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 in a fashion similar to that which is described above. In some arrangements, and as shown, there are only two frequency controls (the first and second frequency controls 163, 164), while the apparatus 10 includes four bone conductors (the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133). In some cases of such arrangements, the frequencies of each of the first low frequency bone conductor 120 and the first high frequency bone conductor 130 are simultaneously adjusted by the first frequency control 163, while the frequencies of each of the second low frequency bone conductor 123 and the second high frequency bone conductor 133 are simultaneously adjusted by the second frequency control device 164. In other cases of such arrangements, the channel selector 162 may be used to simultaneously toggle the control applied by the first frequency control 163 between the first low frequency bone conductor 120 and the first high frequency bone conductor 130, as the control applied by the second frequency control 164 between the second low frequency bone conductor 123 and the second high frequency bone conductor 133. In other arrangements, there are four frequency controls, each applicable to one of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and the first and second low frequency bone conductors 130, 133.
In some embodiments, the volume control 166 may be used to increase or decrease the volume of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 in a fashion similar to that which is described above. In some arrangements, and as shown, there is only the one volume control 166, while the apparatus 10 includes four bone conductors (the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133). In some cases of such arrangements, the volumes of each of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and the first and second high frequency bone conductor 130, 133 are simultaneously adjusted by the volume control 166. In other cases of such arrangements, the channel selector 162 may be used to toggle the control applied by the volume control 166 between each of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and the and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133. In other arrangements, there are four volume controls, each applicable to one of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and the first and second low frequency bone conductors 130, 133.
The various controls for manual operation of the apparatus 10 as discussed above in relation to
Referring to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the apparatus 10 includes the components described above with respect to
Depending on the implementation of the present disclosure, the user mobile device 180 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a wireless device such as a mobile phone or a smart phone, a smartwatch, a gaming console, an application server, a database server, or some other type of computing device. The user mobile device 180 may include a physical computing device or may include a virtual machine executing on another computing device. In conjunction with the server 202, the user mobile device 180 may form a cloud computing system, a distributed computing system, or another type of multi-device system.
In some embodiments, the communications circuitries 158, 184, and 206 of the apparatus 10, the user mobile device 180, and the server 202 (respectively) each include any circuitry capable of connecting the apparatus 10, the user mobile device 180, and the server 202 with one or more external devices, including each other. Accordingly, the communication circuitries 158, 184, and 206 may include any circuitry capable of connecting the apparatus 10, the user mobile device 180, and the server 202 (respectively) to the network 30 and with each other over the network 30. The communication circuitries 158, 184, and 206 may support any suitable communications protocol including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi (e.g., 802.11 protocol), Bluetooth®, radio frequency systems (e.g., 900 MHz, 1.4 GHz, and 5.6 GHz communications systems), infrared, GSM, GSM plus EDGE, CDMA, quadband, VOIP, or any other communications protocol, or any combination thereof. Thus, one or more of the communications circuitries 158, 184, and 206 may be configured for a wireless connection, as shown. In other embodiments, one or more of the communications circuitries 158, 184, and 206 are configured for a wired connection, as depicted above with reference to the apparatus 10 as shown in
In some embodiments, the memories 156 and 188 of the apparatus 10 and the user mobile device 180 (respectively) may each store various data structures and/or modules in order to perform the systems and methods described herein. Similarly, the database 210 of the server 202 may include one or more data structures for performing the systems and methods described herein. For example, in order for the apparatus 10 to function in accordance with the systems and methods described herein, the apparatus 10 may receive stored data from the user mobile device 180 and/or the server 202. Pursuant to such systems and methods, the apparatus 10 may store, at least temporarily, such received data. In some embodiments, the memory 188 of the user mobile device 180 stores data regarding the user 14 and/or an operating system 190, which includes a control program 192. As described in greater detail below, the control program 192 may (via the user interface 194) display one or more graphical user interfaces (“GUI(s)”) and perform operations relating the systems and methods described herein.
Referring particularly to
As shown, the apparatus 10 may receive data from the user mobile device 180 and/or the server 202 in the form of one or more data packets 310. Each data packet 310 may include a list of data that is interpretable by the apparatus 10 for controlling the various components therein. For example, and as shown with reference to
In some embodiments, a single data packet 310 may indicate, for each of the bone conductors, a series of control values to be applied by the apparatus 10 for an indefinite period of time (e.g., until another data packet 310 is received by the apparatus 10 indicating a change in the control values). In other embodiments, a single data packet 310 may indicate, for each of the bone conductors, a series of control values to be applied for a specific amount of time (0.01 seconds, 0.1 seconds, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, etc.) before a new data packet 310 is expected to be received and/or applied by the apparatus 10. In this sense, various control values may be “streamed” to the apparatus 10 by the user mobile device 180 and/or the server 202. In other embodiments still, a series of data packets 310 may be received by the apparatus 10 from the user mobile device 180 and/or the server 202, each with a series of control values and configured to be evaluated together, in order, to compile a programmed session of the apparatus 10 as described above. In this sense, the apparatus 10 may receive a number of data packets 310 from the user mobile device 180 and/or the server 202 which, when applied by the apparatus 10 in order, form a programmed session of the apparatus 10.
As suggested above, by receiving and effectuating multiple data packets 310, the apparatus 10 may perform various programmed sessions for tinnitus treatment. As a first example, variables of operation of the apparatus 10, such as frequency of the various bone conductors, may go through “sweeps” (e.g., fluctuations) across a range of values. Such sweeps may be carried out sinusoidally, step-wise, and in accordance with other various algorithms in order to optimize treatment and/or masking of tinnitus. Moreover, the one or more of the bone conductors may be operated to the exclusion of one or more of the other bone conductors. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that numerous patterns of applying the low and high frequency tones as discussed herein may be provided by the apparatus 10 in order to treat and/or mask tinnitus.
Referring particularly to
In some embodiments, the control program 192 may allow a user to manually input the various control metrics (e.g., frequency and/or volume of the tones produced by the first and/or second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and/or the first and/or second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133) via the manual control selections 330 for operation of the apparatus 10. For example, via the control program 192, the first low frequency bone conductor 120 may be identified as “A,” the second low frequency bone conductor 123 may be identified as “B,” the first high frequency bone conductor 130 may be identified as “C,” the second high frequency bone conductor may be identified as “D,” the frequency and volume for each of the various bone conductors may be set, a pre-determined amount of time for the duration of operation of the apparatus 10 under such control variables may be set, and such control may be activated. In this sense, the control program 192 may be operated similar to the use the first frequency control 166, the second frequency control 167, and/or the volume control 166 located on the apparatus 10 as depicted with reference to
As suggested above, the manual control selections 330 may allow the user 14 to select a “sweep” of the various control metrics. For example, the user mobile device 180 may transmit various data packets 310 to the apparatus 10 to gradually increase or decrease the operating frequencies and/or volumes of the first and/or second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and/or the first and/or second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133. The user 14 may perceive the various sweeping changes to the control variables until the user 14 perceives an operational variable that the user 14 prefers (e.g., for treatment of tinnitus, for masking tinnitus, etc.). The user 14 may then stop the sweep (e.g., by re-selecting the sweep option on the manual control selections 330) and save one or more of the various control metrics to be later selected as one of the pre-selected treatments 320. Furthermore, the user 14 may select a particular sweep across a range of particular variables for a particular amount of pre-determined time.
In some embodiments, one or more selections of control variables may be saved to later be selected as a programmed session 320 (e.g., “Session A,” “Session B,” and so on). Thus, the control program 192 may allow a user to select a particular pattern of control metrics for operation of the apparatus 10. For example, and as suggested herein, there are a number of variables relating to the operation of the apparatus 10. As a first example, the frequency and volume of the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 and/or the first and second high frequency oscillation devise 130, 133 may not only be variable selected, but vary over a pre-determined amount of time. As a first example, the pre-determined amount of time for administration of the low and high frequency tones via the apparatus 10 may be one minute. As a second example, the pre-determined amount of time may be fifteen minutes. In this sense, one of the bone conductors may start at a particular frequency, increase in frequency, decrease in frequency, and so on, over a particular span of time. Additionally, the operation of the various bone conductors in a binary sense (producing tones versus not producing tones whatsoever) may be varied over a span of time. In this sense, the first and second low frequency bone conductors 120, 123 may be operated while the first and second high frequency bone conductors 130, 133 are not (and vic-versa); the first low and high frequency devices 120, 130 (e.g., the bone conductors on the first side 102 of the apparatus 10) may be operated while the second low and high frequency devices 123, 133 (e.g., the bone conductors on the second side 104 of the apparatus 10) are not; the second high frequency bone conductor 133 may be operated while the other bone conductors are not; and so on. The above variable aspects of operating the apparatus 10 may all be variably controlled over time in a specific pattern by the control program 192.
Thus, a set of control variables for a particular duration of time may be selected and saved as a programmed session 320, or multiple sets of control variables for multiple durations of time (e.g., one minute, fifteen minutes, etc.) may be selected and saved as a single programmed session 320. Further, the control program 192 may allow other customization options such as editing one of the pre-existing programmed sessions 320. In some embodiments, one or more of the programmed sessions 320 are supplied (e.g., pre-configured) by the control program 192. In some cases, some or all of the programmed sessions 320 may be retrieved form the database 210 of the server 202. As discussed in greater detail below, some of such pre-configured programmed sessions 320 may be “trial” sessions that can be used to evaluate the tinnitus of the user 14 or the treatment/masking preferences of the user 14.
As discussed above with reference to
In a first step 402 of the method 400, the apparatus 10 may be activated by the user 14. Before or after activation of the apparatus 10, the user 14 may also activate the control program 192 on the user mobile device 180, at which point the user mobile device 180 may begin communicating with the apparatus 10 over the network 30 as discussed above with reference to
In a second step 404 of the method 400, the user mobile device 180 may retrieve one or more selectable programmed sessions (e.g., the programmed sessions 320 depicted with reference to
In a third step 406 of the method 400, the user mobile device 180 may display the retrieved programmed sessions 320 via the user interface 194, as depicted with reference to
In a fourth step 408 of the method 400, the user mobile device 180 may receive an indication from the user 14 selecting one of the programmed sessions 320. For example, the user 180 may select “Session A” on the graphical user interface 194 depicted with reference to
In a fifth step 410 of the method 400, the user mobile device 180 may transmit the selected programmed session 320 to the apparatus 10. In some embodiments, as mentioned above, the data (e.g., a number of data packets 310 depicted with reference to
In a sixth step 412 of the method 400, the apparatus 10 may be operated in accordance with the selected programmed session 320. As suggested above, the apparatus 10 may receive data packets 310 associated with the selected programmed session 320 from the user mobile device 180 or the server 202. In some embodiments, as each data packet 310 is received by the apparatus 10, the apparatus 10 may immediately be controlled in accordance with the data packet 310 until a new data packet 310 is received that changes the control of the apparatus 10. In other words, the apparatus 10 may begin “streaming” the selected programmed session 320 from the user mobile device 180 or the server 202. In other embodiments, all of the data packets 310 associated with the selected programmed session 320 may be received by the apparatus 10 from the user mobile device 180 or the server 202 before the apparatus 10 begins functioning in accordance with the selected programmed session 320. The data packets 310 may be stored, at least temporarily, in the memory 156 of the apparatus 10, and once the complete selected programmed session 320 is stored in the memory 156 of the apparatus 10, the apparatus 10 may begin functioning in accordance with the programmed session. In other words, the apparatus 10 may “download” the data associated with the selected programmed session 320 and function accordingly upon completion of the download.
Referring now to
In a first step 502 of the method 500, the control program 192 may determine the severity of the tinnitus exhibited by the user 14. In some embodiments, the control program 192 of the user mobile device 180, via the user interface 194, may provide the user 14 with various GUIs facilitating a questionnaire in order to evaluate the tinnitus of the user 14 (e.g., the severity of the tinnitus of the user 14). As a first example, the questionnaire may simply allow the user 14 to rate their perceived impact of tinnitus (e.g., how bad is the perceived ringing of the user 14 due to tinnitus, how well does the user 14 hear in spite of tinnitus, etc.) on a subjective “one-to-ten” scale. As a second example, the questionnaire may provide various circumstantial questions that are evaluated by the control program 192 in order to evaluate the tinnitus of the user 14.
In other embodiments, the control program 192 of the user mobile device 180 may provide the user 14 with various GUIs facilitating a test in order to evaluate the tinnitus of the user 14. For example, the test may be provided in the form of a hearing exercise to determine the severity of the tinnitus of the user 14. In this sense, the user mobile device 180 may transmit a series of sounds or tones of various frequencies and/or volumes, and the user can respond as to their recognition of the sounds (e.g., pressing a button every time the user 14 hears a tone, providing an input identifying how many times the user perceived a tone over a span of time, etc.). The test tones may be provided to the user 14 over a set of head-phones in communication with the user mobile device 180.
In other embodiments, the control program 192 may provide, as one of the programmed sessions 320 displayed with reference to
In some embodiments, the questionnaire, test, or trial session may correspond to standard methodologies applied in clinical settings (e.g., otolaryngological studies). In other embodiments, the questionnaire, test, or programmed session may be generated independently of such clinical methodologies.
In some embodiments, the control program 192 may use the questionnaire, test, and/or trial session in order to determine the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) index of the user 14. For example, the THI index of the user 14 may be a numeric score between zero and one-hundred. A score of zero to sixteen indicates no or slight handicap related to tinnitus, a score of eighteen to thirty-six indicates a mild handicap related to tinnitus, a score of thirty-eight to fifty-six indicates a moderate handicap related to tinnitus, a score of fifty-eight to seventy-six indicates a severe handicap related to tinnitus, and a score of seventy-eight to one-hundred indicates a catastrophic handicap related to tinnitus. In other embodiments, the control program 192 may determine other variables in order to index the particular severity and/or circumstances of the tinnitus suffered by the user 14.
In some embodiments, the control program 192 may communicate with the server 202 in order to determine the severity of the tinnitus of the user 14. For example, the server 202 may accumulate data (stored in the database 210) that correlates responses to the questionnaire, test, and/or trial session and the severity of tinnitus of the user 14. Such data may not only include the responses to the questionnaire, test, and/or trial session by the user 14, but also responses by other users who use the control program 192 and the apparatus 10, as well as other clinical data accumulated by the server 202.
In a step 504 of the method 500, the control program 192 may provide a recommendation of programmed sessions for operation of the apparatus 10 in order to treat and/or mask tinnitus in the user 14. For example, the control program 192 may at least partially populate the programmed sessions 320 depicted with reference to
In a step 506 of the method 500, the control program 192 may track the use of the programmed session(s) recommended to the user 14 in accordance with the steps above. For example, the control program 192 may record each use of the recommended programmed session(s) by the user 14 (as opposed to using other pre-set programmed sessions, manual control of the apparatus 10, etc.). In some embodiments, the control program 192 stores such data in the memory 188. In other embodiments, the control program 192 provides records of such data to the server 202, to be stored in the database 210 in a data store associated with the user 14.
In a step 508 of the method 500, the control program 192 and/or the server 202 may make an updated determination of the severity of the tinnitus experienced by the user 14. For example, the questionnaire, test, and/or trial session may be periodically repeated presented to the user 14 by the control program 192. As suggested above, such results may be transmitted to the server 202 for an actual determination of the updated severity of the tinnitus experienced by the user 14.
In a step 508 of the method 500, the control program 192 and/or the server 202 may determine the effectiveness of the programmed session(s) recommended the step 504. For example, the severity of the tinnitus determined at the step 506 may be compared to the severity of the tinnitus determined at the step 502 (e.g., improvement, worsening, remaining the same, etc.). This comparison may further be cross-referenced with the data accumulated with respect to the programmed sessions recommended at the step 506 (in addition to any other programmed sessions or manual operations used by the user 14 since the severity determination made at the step 502). Accordingly, any improvements, worsening, or otherwise may be correlated with the particular use the user 14 has made of the apparatus 10, including any programmed sessions previously recommended at the step 504, other programmed sessions created and used by the user 14, or other manual operations of the apparatus 10. Such data may be transmitted and/or processed by the server 202 (or, in other embodiments, independently on the user mobile device 202) for improvements to the various programmed sessions recommended to the user 14. As a first example, the processing may be done on an individual basis. In this sense, the improvements, worsening, or otherwise of the tinnitus experienced by the user 14 may be individually processed with respect to the use of the user 14, determining the effectiveness of the various programmed sessions and manual operations used by the user 14 in treating and/or masking tinnitus. As a second example, the processing may be done on an aggregate basis. In this sense, the data associated with the user 14 may be compared and correlated with data associated with other users of the apparatus 10 and the control program 192.
In any case, such processing of data may be associated with artificial intelligence, machine learning, or otherwise. For example, the server 202 may train a machine learning model in accordance with the data accumulated in accordance with the steps above. The machine learning model may develop training data in the form of the use of the user 14 and/or other users (a first determination of severity, recommended programmed sessions used, other programmed sessions used, manual operations used, and a second determination of severity). The machine learning model may ingest the training data in order to compile a learned model that associates a user's severity or other symptoms associated with tinnitus and ensuing use of the apparatus 10 with results (e.g., changes to the user's severity or other symptoms associated with tinnitus).
In a step 510 of the method 500, the control program 192 may provide the user 14 with an updated recommendation of programmed sessions to be displayed as one or more of the programmed sessions 320 depicted with reference to
Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of the present invention of a new and useful APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR TREATING TINNITUS it is not intended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of this invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63325666 | Mar 2022 | US |
