Patent Grant
10028066
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Danish Patent Application No. PA 2015 70340 filed Jun. 3, 2015, pending, and European Patent Application No. 15170464.0 filed Jun. 3, 2015, pending. The entire disclosures of both of the above applications are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present disclosure relates to a new method for providing data relating to the configuration of a hearing aid, a hearing aid configured to perform the method, and a system for fitting a hearing aid utilizing the data relating to the configuration.
BTE (behind-the-ear) hearings aids are well-known in the art. A BTE hearing aid has a BTE housing that is shaped to be worn behind the pinna of a user. The BTE housing accommodates components for hearing loss compensation. An interconnecting member, i.e. a sound tube or an electrical conductor, transmits a signal representing the hearing loss compensated sound from the BTE housing into the ear canal of the user.
An output transducer of the BTE hearing aid may be a receiver positioned in the BTE hearing aid housing. In this event, the interconnecting member comprises a sound tube for propagation of acoustic sound signals from the receiver positioned in the BTE hearing aid housing and through the sound tube to an earpiece positioned and retained in the ear canal of the user and having an output port for transmission of the acoustic sound signal to the eardrum in the ear canal.
An output transducer of the BTE hearing aid may be a receiver positioned in an ear canal of the user of the hearing aid, a so-called Receiver-In-the-Ear. In the following, a hearing aid with a Receiver-In-the-Ear is denoted a RIE hearing aid.
In a RIE hearing aid, the interconnecting member comprises electrical conductors for propagation of hearing loss compensated audio sound signals from the hearing aid circuitry in the BTE hearing aid housing through the conductors to the receiver positioned in the ear canal of the user for emission of sound towards the eardrum of the user.
In order to position the receiver and/or the sound tube securely and comfortably in the ear canal of the user, an in-the-ear housing, earpiece, shell, or earmould may be provided for insertion into the ear canal of the user.
In the following, the terms in-the-ear-housing, earpiece, shell, and earmould are used interchangeably.
Typically, hearing aid manufacturers provide a number of different earpieces with receivers having different output power specifications, e.g. 5 different output power levels.
Typically, earpieces are also provided having interconnecting members of different lengths, e.g. 8 different lengths, to suit the individual anatomy of the intended user.
Thus, e.g., 8*5=40 different earpieces may be used together with a specific BTE-housing.
Additionally, in order to fit the user's ear and secure the interconnecting member and other components in their intended position in the ear canal and prevent the earpiece from falling out of the ear, e.g., when the user moves the jaw, the earpiece, shell, or earmould may be individually custom manufactured or may be manufactured in a number of standard sizes, which further multiplies the number of earpieces that may be used together with a specific BTE-housing.
The earpiece may further accommodate one or more microphones, e.g. a microphone used for suppressing the occlusion effect and/or one or more microphones for recording directional cues further multiplying the number of earpieces that may be used together with a specific BTE-housing.
This results in a very large variety of earpieces that can be used together with a specific BTE-housing.
Thus, a large variety of hearing aids may be provided by provision of different combinations of a smaller number of different subassemblies. Therefore, there is a need for automatic detection of the actual configuration of each hearing aid.
Thus, a novel hearing aid is provided with
a first module accommodating first circuitry,
a second module accommodating second circuitry, and
an interconnecting member configured for interconnecting the first circuitry with the second circuitry, and wherein
the second circuitry comprises
a memory for storing data relating to a configuration of the second module including the second circuitry, and
data communication circuitry configured for transmission of data relating to the configuration from the memory to the first circuitry.
The novel hearing aid may be configured for adjusting its operation in accordance with the data relating to the configuration.
The second circuitry with the data communication circuitry may be configured for transmission of the data relating to the configuration to the first circuitry at the time of powering up the hearing aid; and/or upon the hearing aid receiving a user request for transmission of the data relating to the configuration, from a user interface of the hearing aid; and/or upon the hearing aid receiving a request for transmission of the data relating to the configuration, from external equipment, such as a fitting instrument.
The first circuitry may comprise a radio for wireless communication.
The radio may be connected to a conductor accommodated in the interconnecting member and forming an antenna, such as a monopole antenna; or, at least a part of an antenna, such as a dipole antenna.
The data communication circuitry may be configured for transmission of data via the conductor.
The second circuitry may include a power supply that is powered from the first circuitry.
The power supply may be powered utilizing the conductor. For example, the power supply may be charged by transmitting a high frequency signal f>20 kHz on the conductor.
The power supply may be a capacitor.
A novel method of configuring the novel hearing aid is also provided, comprising:
transmitting data stored in the memory utilizing the conductor forming at least part of the antenna.
A novel fitting instrument for fitting the novel hearing aid is also provided, configured for reception of the data relating to the configuration.
The novel fitting instrument may be configured for fitting the hearing aid based on the data relating to the configuration.
The novel fitting instrument may be configured for displaying a message in response to the data relating to the configuration.
The novel fitting instrument may be a dedicated instrument, or a PC with suitable fitting software, a hand-held device, e.g. a tablet computer, a smartphone, etc., with suitable apps, etc.
With automatic identification of a component, or a combination of components, e.g. a receiver in an earpiece, maladjustment of the hearing aid in question is avoided.
For example, faster and safer initial fitting can be performed by the dispenser due to the automatic identification of component(s), e.g. a receiver type, during the initial fitting of the hearing aid to the intended user, e.g. inadvertently exchanged left and right in-the-ear housings may be automatically detected. The dispenser is also relieved of the task of manually entering data relating to the configuration during fitting, and incorrect gain calibrations and output levels due to erroneously manually entered component information are avoided.
Further, malfunctioning of the hearing aid due to inadvertent undesired combination of components, such as inadvertent interconnection of a wrong in-the-ear housing to a BTE-housing, is avoided. For example, a boot process of the hearing aid may be stopped when an undesired combination of components is detected, and/or certain functions of the hearing aid may only be enabled if a combination of components suitable for performing the functions is detected.
Yet further, correct replacement part numbers may be easily identified for the hearing aid in question.
Still further, a user of the hearing may be warned of an incorrect combination of components, such as when left ear and right ear components are unintentionally exchanged, e.g. when an in-the-ear housing intended for the right ear is inadvertently connected to the BTE-housing fitted for the left ear. A user may also be warned if wrong replacement parts are inadvertently delivered to the user and used with the hearing aid, whereby the user may be saved annoyance and possible extra visits to the dispenser's office.
The automatic identification may be provided without increasing the number of conductors interconnecting the first and second circuitry, since the conductor used for transmission of the data relating to the configuration may already be present for another purpose, namely functioning as an antenna or as part of an antenna and/or for supplying power to the second circuitry. In this way, some existing hearing aid housings may be configured to operate as part of the new hearing aid without hardware modification, such as modification of interconnections with the interconnecting member. Also, complexity and cost of the interconnections are kept at a minimum.
The second circuitry may include a receiver.
An audio signal representing sound for transmission to a receiver positioned in the ear for emission of the sound towards an eardrum of the user may be transmitted utilizing another conductor that is not used for transmission of the data relating to the configuration.
The data relating to the configuration may include information identifying the particular arrangement of parts or components of the second circuitry.
In particular, the data relating to the configuration may include an identifier of a component, and/or a combination of components, of the second circuitry.
The data relating to the configuration may include an identifier of a combination of components of the second circuitry.
For example, earpieces may be provided, accommodating
a) one receiver and zero microphones,
b) one microphone and zero receivers,
c) one receiver and one microphone positioned for preservation of directional cue,
d) one receiver and one microphone positioned for suppressing occlusion,
e) one receiver and two microphones positioned for preservation of directional cue and suppressing occlusion, etc.
The earpieces may further be provided with receivers with different power ratings, e.g. 4 different ratings, and may further have interconnecting members of different lengths, e.g. 5 different standard lengths.
Still further, earpieces may be provided configured for the left ear and earpieces may be provided configured for the right ear.
Yet still further, some earpieces may be provided with other sensors, such as temperature sensors, pressure sensors, directional sensors, blood pressure sensors, etc.
Thus, a large variety of ear pieces may easily be provided; and thus, automatic detection of the configuration of the second module currently connected to the BTE housing is highly advantageous, e.g. in order to avoid mistakes.
The fitting parameters of the hearing aid may be dependent on the component, or combination of components, of the second module, including the second circuitry.
Therefore, it is important to provide the correct combination of first and second circuitry of the hearing aid and fitting parameters of the hearing aid, for a specific user.
An incorrect combination may result in maladjustment of the hearing aid.
The first module may comprise a behind-the-ear housing and the second module may comprise an earpiece.
The second circuitry may include a microcontroller configured to control transmission of the data relating to the configuration.
BTE hearing aids, such as RIE hearing aids, may be provided with a connector for easy connection and disconnection of the second circuitry of the second module comprising the earpiece and the interconnecting member to the first circuitry of the first module comprising the BTE housing. Thus, the interconnecting member may be provided with a connector mating a corresponding connector of the BTE housing.
For example, in this way various types of receivers accommodated in respective earpieces may easily be connected to a BTE housing thereby providing different hearing aids with the same type of BTE housing but with different receivers.
The novel fitting instrument may automatically respond to received data relating to the configuration, e.g., by selecting hearing aid parameters in accordance with the received data relating to the configuration, e.g. a specific model of receiver identified. In this way, the receiver, the hearing aid and the hearing aid fitting parameters are combined correctly.
The operator of the novel fitting instrument may take appropriate action in response to a display of the data relating to the configuration, e.g., by adjusting hearing aid parameters in accordance with the data relating to the configuration, e.g. a specific model of receiver identified. In this way, the receiver, the hearing aid and the hearing aid fitting parameters are combined correctly.
The operator of the novel fitting instrument may take appropriate action in response to a display of the data relating to the configuration, e.g., by replacing the receiver, which is appropriate in case adjustment of the hearing aid to the specific model of receiver identified is not possible. In this way, undesired combinations of receiver, hearing aid and hearing aid fitting parameters can be discovered and corrected.
Adjustment of the hearing aid and hearing aid parameters may be controlled internally by the hearing aid.
Throughout the present disclosure, the “audio signal” may be used to identify any analogue or digital signal forming part of a signal path from an input to an output of the hearing aid.
Signal processing in the new hearing aid and in the new fitting instrument may be performed by dedicated hardware or may be performed in a signal processor, or performed in a combination of dedicated hardware and one or more signal processors.
As used herein, the terms “processor”, “signal processor”, “controller”, “system”, etc., are intended to refer to CPU-related entities, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution.
For example, a “processor”, “signal processor”, “controller”, “system”, etc., may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread of execution, and/or a program.
By way of illustration, the terms “processor”, “signal processor”, “controller”, “system”, etc., designate both an application running on a processor and a hardware processor. One or more “processors”, “signal processors”, “controllers”, “systems” and the like, or any combination hereof, may reside within a process and/or thread of execution, and one or more “processors”, “signal processors”, “controllers”, “systems”, etc., or any combination hereof, may be localized on one hardware processor, possibly in combination with other hardware circuitry, and/or distributed between two or more hardware processors, possibly in combination with other hardware circuitry.
Also, a processor (or similar terms) may be any component or any combination of components that is capable of performing signal processing. For examples, the signal processor may be an ASIC processor, a FPGA processor, a general purpose processor, a microprocessor, a circuit component, or an integrated circuit.
A hearing aid includes: a first module accommodating first circuitry; a second module accommodating second circuitry; and an interconnecting member configured for interconnecting the first circuitry with the second circuitry; wherein the second circuitry comprises a memory for storing data relating to a configuration of the second module including the second circuitry, and data communication circuitry configured for transmission of the data relating to the configuration from the memory to the first circuitry.
Optionally, the first circuitry comprises a radio for wireless communication.
Optionally, the radio is connected to a conductor accommodated in the interconnecting member, the conductor being at least a part of an antenna.
Optionally, the second circuitry includes a power supply that is powered from the first circuitry.
Optionally, the power supply is powered utilizing a conductor accommodated in the interconnecting member, the conductor being at least a part of an antenna.
Optionally, the data communication circuitry is configured for signal transmission via the conductor.
Optionally, the second circuitry includes a receiver, and the receiver is connected to the first circuitry through separate signal conductors.
Optionally, the data stored in the memory includes an identifier of one or more components of the second circuitry.
Optionally, the data stored in the memory includes a plurality of identifiers of respective components of the second circuitry.
Optionally, the first module comprises a behind-the-ear housing, and the second module comprises an in-the-ear housing.
A fitting instrument for the hearing aid that is configured for reception of the data stored in the memory.
Optionally, the fitting instrument is configured for fitting the hearing aid based on the data stored in the memory.
Optionally, the fitting instrument is configured for displaying a message in response to the data stored in the memory.
A method of configuring a hearing aid is provided. The hearing aid includes: a first module accommodating first circuitry; a second module accommodating second circuitry; and an interconnecting member configured for interconnecting the first circuitry with the second circuitry, the interconnecting member accommodating a conductor that is at least a part of an antenna; wherein the second circuitry comprises a memory for storing data relating to a configuration of the second module including the second circuitry, and data communication circuitry configured for transmission of the data relating to the configuration from the memory to the first circuitry. The method includes: sending the data stored in the memory of the second circuitry; transmitting the data utilizing the conductor that is at least a part of the antenna; and receiving the data by the first circuitry.
Other and further aspects and features will be evident from reading the following detailed description of embodiments.
Below, the novel method, hearing aid, and fitting instrument are explained in more detail with reference to the drawings in which various examples are shown. In the drawings:
The novel method, hearing aid, and fitting instrument will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various examples of the novel method, hearing aid, and fitting instrument are shown. The novel method, hearing aid, and fitting instrument may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein.
It should also be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are not intended as an exhaustive description of the invention or as a limitation on the scope of the invention. In addition, an illustrated embodiment needs not have all the aspects or advantages shown. An aspect or an advantage described in conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarily limited to that embodiment and can be practiced in any other embodiments even if not so illustrated, or if not so explicitly described.
Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Like elements will, thus, not be described in detail with respect to the description of each figure.
The hearing loss compensated output signal is transmitted through conductors 44 and 46, see (not visible) accommodated in an interconnecting member 20 to a receiver 22 of a second circuitry 24 accommodated in a second module 34 including the earpiece (outer walls have been removed to make internal parts visible). The receiver 22 provides an acoustic output signal for transmission towards the eardrum of the user based on the hearing loss compensated output signal. The second module 34 comprises the earpiece 62, see
The interconnecting member 20 comprises a connector 30 for easy connection and removal of the second module 34 with the earpiece 62 to and from the first module 32 with the BTE housing.
The second module 34 comprises the earpiece 62 and the interconnecting member 20 with the connector 30, and the earpiece 62 and the interconnecting member 20 with the connector 30 are supplied as one unit. A large number of different earpieces may be connected to the first module 32 of the BTE housing with the connector 30, such as earpieces accommodating
f) one receiver and zero microphones,
g) one microphone and zero receivers,
h) one receiver and one microphone positioned for preservation of directional cue,
i) one receiver and one microphone positioned for suppressing occlusion,
j) one receiver and two microphones positioned for preservation of directional cue and suppressing occlusion, etc.
The earpieces may further be provided with receivers with different power ratings, e.g. 4 different ratings, and may further have interconnecting members 20 of different lengths, e.g. 5 different standard lengths.
Still further, earpieces may be provided configured for the left ear and earpieces may be provided configured for the right ear.
Yet still further, some earpieces may be provided with other sensors, such as temperature sensors, pressure sensors, directional sensors, etc.
Thus, a large variety of ear pieces may easily be provided; and thus, automatic detection of the configuration of second module 34 actually connected to the BTE housing with the connector 30 is highly advantageous, e.g. in order to avoid mistakes.
The earpiece 62 shown in the figures accommodates one In-the-Ear (ITE) microphone 26 that is positioned at the entrance to the ear canal when the earpiece 62 is positioned in its intended position in the ear canal of the user. The ITE microphone 26 is connected to an A/D converter (not shown) and optionally to a pre-filter (not shown) in the BTE housing, with interconnecting conductors (not visible) accommodated in the interconnecting member 20.
The BTE hearing aid 10 is powered by battery 28. The battery 28 may be rechargeable.
In use, the ITE microphone 26 is positioned at an entrance to an ear canal of the user. In this position, the output signal of the ITE microphone 26, in the following denoted the ITE audio sound signal, generated by the ITE microphone 26 in response to acoustic sound received by the ITE microphone 26, preserves spatial cues of the received acoustic sound signal; or, in other words, the ITE microphone 26 is positioned so that its transfer function constitutes a good approximation to the Head Related Transfer Functions of the user.
The processor 18 conveys the directional information contained in the ITE audio sound signal to the hearing loss compensated output signal thereby also preserving spatial cues so that the user maintains his or her localization capability.
The ITE microphone 26 operates proximate the receiver 22 so that risk of feedback is high, which limits the maximum stable gain available with the hearing aid 10 when the ITE audio sound signal is reproduced by the receiver 22.
However, in the hearing aid 10, output signals of the microphones 14, 16 and the ITE microphone 26 are subjected to signal processing, e.g. adaptive filtering as for example explained in more detail in European patent application No.: 12199761.3, in such a way that spatial cues are preserved and conveyed to the user of the hearing aid while feedback is simultaneously suppressed.
As mentioned above, a microphone may also be accommodated in the second module 34, i.e. in the earpiece 62, for suppressing occlusion. The microphone is positioned inside the ear canal proximate the ear drum when the earpiece 62 is positioned in its intended position in the ear canal of the user.
Typically, occlusion of the ear canal by the earpiece leads to an altered user perception of the user's own voice.
Sounds originating from the vocal tract (throat and mouth) are transmitted into the ear canal through the cartilaginous tissue between these cavities and the outer portion of the ear canal.
When nothing is positioned in the ear canal, most of this predominantly low frequency sound simply escapes from the ear canal. However, when the ear canal is blocked these bone-conducted sounds cannot escape from the ear canal. The result is a build-up of high sound pressure levels in the residual ear canal volume. This increase in low frequency sound pressure is audible and will cause them to hear their own voice as loud and boomy. Change in perception of own voice is the most dominant occlusion related complaint, but not the only one. Other occlusion related problems include too much amplification at low frequencies for hearing aid users with good low frequency hearing, reduced speech intelligibility, poorer localization, physical discomfort and increased risk of external ear irritation and infection. Hearing aid users do not adapt to occlusion and the occlusion effect has been cited by as many as 27% of hearing aid wearers as a reason for dissatisfaction with their hearing aids. This emphasizes the need for alleviating or, even better, eliminating the occlusion effect.
As explained in more detail in EP 2 434 780 A1, the receiver may compensate for the body conducted sound based on an output signal of the microphone positioned proximate the ear drum when the earpiece is positioned in its intended position in the ear canal of the user, so that the user perceives to listen to the hearing loss compensated signal only, whereby the occlusion effect is suppressed.
Data relating to the configuration may be transmitted wirelessly 80 to the fitting instrument 70, e.g. to be displayed on a display of the fitting instrument 70 for verification by the operator of the fitting instrument 70, and possible corrective action in the event that the detected type of earpiece is not of the desired type.
The fitting instrument 70 is configured for fitting the hearing aid 10 in accordance with the data relating to the configuration.
The fitting instrument 70 has a processor 72 that is configured for responding to the data relating to the configuration received from the hearing aid 10.
The fitting instrument may be configured to access a remote server through the Internet 200, e.g. to access a data base for further information on the hearing aid 10, e.g. based on the received data relating to the configuration, e.g. with new values of fitting parameters relating to a new type of earpiece 62.
The interconnecting member 20 accommodates three conductors 44, 46, 50; two of which 44, 46 transmit the hearing loss compensated audio signal to the receiver 22 as a balanced signal. The receiver 22 is driven by a first receiver driver 42 and a second receiver driver 41 of the first circuitry 12 accommodated in the BTE-housing 60. During normal operation of the hearing aid 10, the receiver drivers 41, 42 transmits the hearing loss compensated sound signal to the receiver as a balanced signal utilizing conductors 44 and 46 accommodated in the interconnecting member 20.
The second circuitry 24 comprises a microcontroller 40 with a non-volatile memory for storing data relating to a configuration of the second module 34 including the second circuitry 24, such as data that uniquely identifies component(s) of the second module 34 to the circuitry 12 of the first module 32, including the type of ear piece 62, the type of receiver 22 and possible other components of the second circuitry 24. The transmitted data contains, e.g., the power rating of the receiver 22, whether the ear piece 62 is for the left ear or the right ear, and possibly the length of the interconnecting member 20, and possibly the number and types (occlusion and/or spatial cue) of microphones 26 of the second circuitry, and possibly the number and types of other sensors of the second circuitry, etc.
The microcontroller 40 also comprises data communication circuitry configured for transmission of the data relating to the configuration from the memory to an input transceiver 47 of the first circuitry 12, the input transceiver 47 providing the received data signals to the processor 18 of the first circuitry 12 and the processor 18 is configured for adjusting operating parameters of the hearing aid based on the data relating to the configuration. The data communication circuitry of the microcontroller 40 is also configured for reception of data provided by the processor 18 and conveyed to the microcontroller 40 via an output transceiver 48, including data to be stored in the non-volatile memory, such as data relating to the configuration, and commands to the microcontroller 40 for performing certain operations, such as perform a transmission of the data relating to the configuration.
In
The microcontroller 40 is configured for detection of presence of the high frequency signal. The microcontroller 40 is further configured for transmission of the data on conductor 50 upon secure detection of the high frequency signal.
In another example, the microcontroller 40 may be configured for transmission of the data relating to the configuration upon the hearing aid 10 receiving a user request for transmission of the data relating to the configuration, from a user interface, e.g. a wireless user interface, of the hearing aid 10; and/or upon the hearing aid 10 receiving a request for transmission of the data relating to the configuration, from external equipment, such as a fitting instrument 70.
The microcontroller 40 may be configured to transmit the data related to configuration of the second module 34 repeatedly until power is no longer available from the capacitor 52, or, the microcontroller 40 may be configured to transmit the data relating to configuration repeatedly until receipt of an acknowledge signal from the first circuitry 12 that the data has been successfully received, e.g. by emission of the high frequency signal for a predetermined time period.
The first circuitry 12 comprises a radio 36 that is connected to conductor 50 of the interconnecting member 20 that functions as a first part of a dipole antenna 78 with a second part (not shown) of the dipole antenna residing in the first module 32. A second inductor 56 is positioned in the second circuitry 24 between the rectifier 54 and the second capacitor 52 in order to prevent the high-frequency radio transmissions sharing conductor 50 from inadvertently powering up the microcontroller 40 while using the radio 36.
The conductor 50 is also used for transmission of the data relating to the configuration and for charging of the capacitor 52 that constitutes the power supply of the second circuitry 24. The conductor 46 is used as the reference conductor for the second circuitry 24 during charging of the second capacitor 52 and during transmission of the data. Thus, transmission of the audio signal to the receiver 22 is not performed simultaneously with charging of the capacitor 52 or with transmission of the data relating to the configuration. This may e.g. be realized by putting the first receiver driver 42 and the second receiver driver 41 in a high impedance, tri-state mode during transmission of the data relating to the configuration.
The second circuitry 24 includes a power supply comprising rectifier 54 and capacitor 52 that is charged by the signal from the output transceiver 48 of the first circuitry 12.
The capacitor 52 is charged utilizing conductors 50 and 46 with the conductor 50 as the active conductor and the conductor 46 as the reference conductor as described in the foregoing. For example, the capacitor 52 is charged by transmitting a high frequency signal f>20 kHz on the conductors 50, 46, providing a rapidly alternating current through the second inductor 56 and the rectifier 54, thus charging the capacitor 52 to a stable voltage suitable for powering the microcontroller 40.
Although particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the claimed inventions, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed inventions. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The claimed inventions are intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as defined by the claims.
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