Patent Application
20230133275
None
This invention relates to the field of hearing aids. More particularly, this invention relates to a safety connector system for hearing aid ear tips.
Ear tips—also sometimes referred to as “domes”—for hearing aids are small, bell-shaped or mushroom-shaped silicone pieces that fit on the end of hearing aid tubing (aka thin tubes) and are inserted deep into the ear canal. They come in different shapes and sizes to accommodate the unique twists, turns and size of each individual's ear canal. Ear tips typically attach to the thin tubes of behind-the-ear (BTE) styles of hearing aids, or they attach directly to the receivers of receiver-in-canal (RIC) or receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) styles of hearing aids.
There are various configurations of ear tips that can be attached to the receiver or thin tube. Often these tips need to be removed by the consumer for cleaning or replaced by the consumer because of wear. Many hearing aid consumers are older with poor finger dexterity, and they often do not get the tips properly seated on the receiver or thin tube. When ear tips are not properly seated, they can become detached and stuck in the ear canal.
Typically, the removal of detached tips from within the ear canal requires the services of an audiologist, an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor, or other professional. Sometimes detached tips are lodged against the eardrum and must be removed under a surgical microscope. Thus, the problem: when the thin tube or receiver is removed from the ear canal, the improperly-seated tip can detach and remain in the ear canal, thereby requiring a trip to the professional for removal.
What is needed, therefore, is a simple and reliable system for allowing the hearing aid user to retrieve a detached ear tip from the ear canal.
The above and other needs are met by an ear tip assembly for use with a hearing aid of a type that includes either a thin tube with a thin tube connector or a receiver wire attached to an in-the-canal receiver. In a preferred embodiment, the ear tip assembly includes an ear tip that is inserted into the ear canal of the user and a safety connector attached to the ear tip. The ear tip is configured to be removably attached to the thin tube connector or to a post on the in-the-canal receiver. The safety connector prevents the ear tip from remaining lodged in the ear canal in case the ear tip detaches from the thin tube connector or from the post on the in-the-canal receiver. In a preferred embodiment, the safety connector comprises a lanyard and a loop. The lanyard has a first end secured to the ear tip and a second end secured to the loop. The loop is configured to receive the thin tube or the receiver wire within the loop so as to prevent detachment of the ear tip assembly from the thin tube or the receiver wire when the thin tube or the receiver wire is pulled from the ear canal.
In some embodiments, the loop is formed of elastic material that will allow the loop to stretch sufficiently to slide over the thin tube connector to receive the thin tube within the loop, or to slide over the in-the-canal receiver to receive the receiver wire within the loop.
In some embodiments, the ear tip, the lanyard and the loop are integrally formed from a single material, such as silicone.
In some embodiments, the lanyard and loop are formed of metal wire with an opening in the loop into which the thin tube or the receiver wire may be inserted. In other embodiments, the lanyard and loop are formed from monofilament line, such that the thin tube or the receiver wire may be inserted into the loop and a slipknot will cinch down to hold the loop in place. Alternatively, a metal ring may be attached to the end of the monofilament line, with a break in the loop for receiving the thin tube or the receiver wire.
In some embodiments, the ear tip comprises an ear mold, an open dome, a closed dome, a power dome, or a sleeve.
Other embodiments of the invention will become apparent by reference to the detailed description in conjunction with the figures, wherein elements are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein:
In other embodiments, the lanyard 24 and loop 26 of the safety connector 22 are formed from monofilament line, and the end of the lanyard 24 is sutured into the silicone material of the ear tip 14. In another embodiment, the loop 26 may be a metal ring attached to the end of the monofilament line.
In yet another embodiment, the lanyard 24 and the loop 26 of the safety connector 22 are formed from wire, and the lanyard 24 is attached to the ear tip 14 using adhesive or a small barb or hook that embeds into an inside surface of the ear tip 14.
In various embodiments, the ear tip 14 may be an ear mold, an open dome, a closed dome, a power dome, or a sleeve.
As shown in
As depicted in
In an alternative embodiment of the ear tip assembly 20 shown in
In another embodiment, the loop 26 is a small metal ring that does not attach directly to the thin tube 30 or wire 16. In this embodiment, if the ear tip 14 becomes disconnected from the receiver 12 or the thin tube connector 34 and remains lodged in the ear canal, the loop 26 can be grabbed using a tweezer at the end of a curette or using a hook curette, so that the whole ear tip assembly 20 may be pulled out of the ear canal.
The foregoing description of preferred embodiments for this invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of the invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.
