Patent Grant
8019104
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of hearing aids. More specifically, the invention relates to a hearing aid with an adaptive filter for suppression of acoustic feedback. The invention also relates to a method of adjusting the signal path gain and to an electronic circuit for a hearing aid. The invention further relates to a hearing aid having means for measuring the spectral gain in an adaptive feedback suppression filter, to a method of measuring the spectral gain in the adaptive feedback suppression filter, and to an electronic circuit for such a hearing aid.
2. The Prior Art
Acoustic feedback occurs in all hearing instruments when sounds leak from the vent or seal between the ear mould and the ear canal. In most cases, acoustic feedback is not audible. But when in-situ gain of the hearing aid is sufficiently high, or when a larger than optimal size vent is used, the output of the hearing aid generated within the ear canal can exceed the attenuation offered by the ear mould/shell. The output of the hearing aid then becomes unstable and the once-inaudible acoustic feedback becomes audible, e.g. in the form of ringing, whistling noise or howling. For many users and the people around, such audible acoustic feedback is an annoyance and even an embarrassment. Feedback also distorts signal processing and limits the gain available for the user.
Audible feedback is a sign of instability of the hearing instrument system. In Cook, F.; Ludwigsen, C.; and Kaulberg, T.: “Understanding feedback and digital feedback cancellation strategies”, The Hearing Review, February 2002; Vol. 9, No 2, pages 36, 38-41, 48 and 49, there are suggested two possible solutions to regain stability. One solution is to control the signal feeding back to the microphone by controlling the leakage factor β. The other is to reduce gain G of the hearing instrument.
Managing feedback by gain reduction is in particular a problem in linear hearing aids. Most linear hearing aids are adapted for greater gain in the high frequencies, where the hearing deficiency tends to be more profound. Unfortunately, the typical feedback path also provides less attenuation at high frequencies than at low frequencies. Therefore, the risk of audible feedback is highest in the higher frequency range. One common method to control feedback is to lower the high frequency gain of the hearing aid through the use of tone control or low pass filtering. However, gain in the higher frequency regions is also compromised with this approach. Speech intelligibility may suffer as a consequence.
An additional problem with managing feedback in linear hearing aids is that these devices provide the same gain at all input levels, so that a gain constraint that is imposed to combat feedback will be effective at all input levels. This means that soft sounds, as well as medium-level sounds will be affected to the same extent. Speech intelligibility at all input levels may be affected. Feedback may necessitate lowering the gain over a wide frequency range, even though the feedback signal may originate in a narrow frequency band only.
In case of a more sophisticated hearing aid, it may be possible to lower the gain in a selected narrow frequency range. However, an assumption behind the “narrow-band gain reduction” approach to feedback management is that there is only one fixed feedback frequency. In reality, such an assumption is seldom true. Typically, there is more than one frequency at which instability occurs. Suppressing one frequency may create feedback at another frequency, as it is described, e.g. in Agnew, J.: “Acoustic feedback and other audible artefacts in hearing aids”, Trends in Amplification, 1996; 1 (2): pages 45-82.
A non-linear or a compression hearing aid is capable of providing less gain at higher input levels. In case of a feedback tone, the compression feature kicks in to control the level of the signal, however the feedback tone will not be removed by the compressor.
Generally, the feedback path is not stationary; it is dynamically modified by the state of the hearing aid instrument wearer. Consequently, feedback may arise during normal service, even though the fitter has been careful in testing the fit in the clinic and has attempted to set safe gain limits.
In WO 94/09604, a hearing aid with digital, electronic compensation for acoustic feedback is disclosed. The hearing aid comprises a digital compensation circuit comprising a noise generator for the insertion of noise, and an adjustable, digital filter, which is adapted to the feedback signal. The adaptation takes place using a correlation circuit. The digital compensation circuit further comprises a digital circuit which monitors the loop gain and regulates the hearing aid amplification via a digital summing circuit, so that the loop gain is less than a constant K. This is done by evaluating the coefficients in the adaptive filter and continuously computing the amplification in the adaptive filter at different frequencies.
However, it is not possible to directly measure or monitor the loop gain in a hearing aid by means of a feedback suppression filter. The feedback suppression filter can only be used for an estimate of the acoustic feedback gain. In an ideal situation, wherein the feedback suppression filter removes 100% of the feedback component in the input signal, the corresponding allowable processor gain will be infinite. In a non-ideal situation, there will always be some amount of residual feedback. This residual feedback is determining the actual allowable processor gain. There are, e.g. in WO 02/25996, proposals on how to determine this residual feedback and thereby the allowable processor gain. However, such methods for determining allowable processor gain are expensive in hardware and it is also necessary to have access to the current coefficients of the feedback suppression filter.
On this background, it is an object of the present invention to provide an adaptive system and, in particular, a hearing aid with an adaptive filter for suppression of acoustic feedback, and a method of the kind defined, in which the deficiencies of the prior art are remedied, and, in particular, to provide an adaptive system and a method of the kind defined which allow to prevent feedback howling without monitoring the loop gain and evaluating of filter coefficients in the adaptive feedback suppression filter.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other problems by providing a hearing aid and a method of adjusting the signal path gain of a hearing aid. More specifically the invention in a first aspect provides a hearing aid comprising an input transducer transforming an acoustic input signal into an electrical input signal, a processor generating an electrical output signal by amplifying said electrical input signal according to a processor gain, an output transducer transforming said electrical output signal into an acoustic output signal, an adaptive feedback suppression filter generating a feedback cancellation signal, and a model gain estimator determining a model gain estimate of the adaptive feedback suppression filter and generating an upper limit of said processor gain, said model gain estimator including a model evaluation block providing a control parameter indicating a possible misadjustment of the model.
Methods, apparatuses, systems and articles of manufacture like computer program products and electronic circuits consistent with the present invention determine the gain in the adaptive feedback suppression filter (from now on also referred to as the “model gain”) and use this model gain to derive an upper processor or signal path gain limit.
Preferably, the model gain is continuously determined in order to cope with different fluctuating acoustic environmental surroundings and at the same time to allow maximum desired processor gain in the hearing aid, so that a time varying processor gain constraint imposed is safe without being overly restrictive.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a hearing aid comprises an input transducer for transforming an acoustic input signal into an electrical input signal, a processor for generating an electrical output signal by amplifying the electric input signal according to a processor gain, an output transducer for transforming the electrical output signal into an acoustic output signal, an adaptive feedback suppression filter for generating a feedback cancellation signal out of the electrical output signal by using an error signal generated from the difference between the feedback cancellation signal and the electrical input signal, and a model gain estimator generating an upper processor gain limit by determining the gain in the adaptive feedback suppression filter.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the determination of the gain in the adaptive feedback suppression filter (the model gain) is carried out by comparing the level of the electrical output signal to the level of the feedback cancellation signal. The level of each of these signals is, e.g., estimated as a norm within a selected window. The derived level difference between the electrical output signal and the feedback cancellation signal is then used as an estimate for the model gain. Thus, the upper gain limit in the processor is determined by merely estimating the acoustic feedback gain and not by trying to estimate the loop gain in the hearing aid.
However, if the step size and length of the adaptive feedback suppression filter is known, it is possible to estimate the precision within which the adaptive feedback suppression filter can match the acoustic feedback, i.e., it can be estimated that the acoustic feedback compensation leaves a residual feedback relative to the feedback cancellation signal. Thus, it can be estimated how much the loop gain probably will be reduced. From this estimate it is possible to derive an offset, i.e. a safety margin, which, added to the gain limit derived from the acoustic feedback gain, yields an appropriate upper processor gain limit. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the upper processor gain limit may therefore be determined by the precision of the adaptive feedback suppression filter, the feedback cancellation signal and the safety margin.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, spectral signal path gains of the processor are adjusted in accordance with respective time varying upper gain limits. These spectral upper gain limits are obtained by measuring the spectral acoustic feedback gains in the adaptive feedback suppression filter. Spectral gains are necessary when the signal paths of the respective signals in the hearing aid are split into two or more frequency bands. For example, the electrical input signal is split into different frequency bands before being inputted to the processor, implying that the processor has to estimate two or more spectral gains according to the frequency bands of the electrical input signal. In that case it is also necessary to differentiate the model gain estimate into an equal number of frequency bands in order to derive upper gain limits for each frequency band. Normally, the processor is preceded by, e.g., an FFT-circuit or an input signal filter bank splitting the electrical input signal into respective frequency bands. It is therefore possible to calculate the spectral acoustic feedback gains with exactly the same bandwidth by the processor in the signal path by using the same filter bank or FFT-circuit and thereby reducing the error of the estimate.
According to the present invention, the upper gain limit is derived from the model gain determination, which is done by comparing the input (electrical output signal) and the output (feedback cancellation signal) of the adaptive feedback suppression filter but not by using the filter coefficients themselves. It is therefore possible to estimate the upper gain limit independently of the chosen embodiment of the adaptive feedback suppression filter.
According to a preferred embodiment in which the processor is preceded by the input signal filter bank splitting the electrical input signal into two or more frequency bands, the model gain estimator performs spectral equivalent model gain estimation in these frequency bands. For that purpose, the feedback cancellation signal and the electrical output signal are fed into their respective filter banks of the model gain estimator. The output of each filter bank is a signal vector from which a level measure is taken. In a filter gain estimator block of the model gain estimator a ratio is determined between these level measures taken before and after the model, and a gain estimate in each frequency band is obtained. These estimates are now used as spectral upper gain limits in the processor.
According to a preferred embodiment, the level measure is taken by calculating a weighted average of the absolute value of each signal in the signal vector over a certain time window as a so called norm.
According to another preferred embodiment, the level measure is taken by calculating a simple average of the absolute value of each signal in the signal vector over a certain time, i.e., the time window is a rectangular window.
According to another embodiment, the average of the absolute value of a signal is calculated by a first order low pass filter, i.e., the time window is exponential.
According to still another embodiment, the level measure is taken by computing an energy measure, i.e. calculating an average of the squared values of each signal in the signal vector over a certain time window, where said window either is rectangular or exponential.
The result of adjusting the spectral signal path gain or gains by means of time varying feedback model gain estimates is to increase the stability of the hearing aid. In case the adaptive feedback suppression filter (also referred to as the model) produces a feedback cancellation signal that corresponds to or is at least close to the acoustic feedback signal, the model has converged correctly and the feedback component of the electrical input signal will be reduced, thereby increasing the stability margins in all frequency bands. As a result, larger processor gains are possible. At the same time, the model gain estimates will become more accurate. This means, that upper gain limits can be less restrictive, and it is possible to increase these with some amounts, depending on the accuracy of the model. However, it is advisable to select the upper gain somewhat lower than required to achieve stability, because gains close to the upper limit can result in unpleasant audible effects.
According to a preferred embodiment, the model gain estimator comprises a model evaluation block to measure the accuracy of the model. Measuring the accuracy of the model is necessary because if the model is misadjusted the estimated model gains will be unreliable. If the model is misadjusted, relevant precautions can be taken. The model evaluation block does this by delivering respective control parameters to the filter gain estimator. The control parameters may thereby control the filter gain estimator, e.g. freeze the gain estimates in a certain time period or make the gain limits leak towards their default values, which, e.g., may have been measured when fitting the hearing aid.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the accuracy of the model is measured by comparing a norm of the electrical input signal without feedback compensation with a norm of the feedback controlled electrical input signal. The feedback controlled electrical input signal is the electrical input signal from which the feedback cancellation signal is subtracted. If the norm of the electrical input signal without feedback compensation is smaller than the norm of the feedback controlled electrical input signal which means that the subtraction actually increases the norm of the input signal, the model is most likely misadjusted and, as a result of this, the gain estimation block is frozen, blocked, or other precautions are taken. A model evaluation device which compares the norm of the electrical input signal with the norm of the feedback controlled electrical input signal is disclosed in co-pending patent application PCT/EP03/09301, filed on 21 Aug. 2003, and published as WO-A1-2005/020632, the contents of which are incorporated here into by reference.
The present invention further provides a method of adjusting the spectral signal path gain or gains by means of time varying feedback model gain estimates.
The present invention, in a second aspect, provides a method of adjusting the signal path gain of a hearing aid comprising selecting an input transducer transforming an acoustic input signal into an electrical input signal, a processor generating an electrical output signal by amplifying said electrical input signal with said signal path gain, and an output transducer transforming said electrical output signal into an acoustic output signal, generating a feedback cancellation signal by an adaptive feedback suppression filter, determining a model gain estimate of the adaptive feedback suppression filter by evaluating said feedback cancellation signal, generating an upper limit of said signal path gain by said model gain estimate upon evaluation of said feedback cancellation signal and said electrical output signal and providing a control parameter indicating a possible misadjustment of the model.
The invention, in a third aspect, provides a computer program comprising program code for performing a method of adjusting the signal path gain of a hearing aid comprising selecting an input transducer transforming an acoustic input signal into an electrical input signal, a processor generating an electrical output signal by amplifying said electrical input signal with said signal path gain, and an output transducer transforming said electrical output signal into an acoustic output signal, generating a feedback cancellation signal by an adaptive feedback suppression filter, determining a model gain estimate of the adaptive feedback suppression filter by evaluating said feedback cancellation signal, generating an upper limit of said signal path gain by said model gain estimate upon evaluation of said feedback cancellation signal and said electrical output signal and providing a control parameter indicating a possible misadjustment of the model.
The invention, in a fourth aspect, provides an electronic circuit for a hearing aid comprising: a processor circuit generating an electrical output signal by amplifying an electrical input signal submitted by an input transducer of said hearing aid with a processor gain, an adaptive feedback suppression filter circuit generating a feedback cancellation signal to be subtracted from said electrical input signal before said electrical input signal is provided to said processor circuit, a model gain estimation circuit determining a model gain estimate of the adaptive feedback suppression filter and generating an upper limit of said processor gain, and said model gain estimation circuit including a model evaluation block providing a control parameter indicating a possible misadjustment of the model.
Further aspects and variations of the invention are defined by the dependent claims.
The present invention and further features and advantages thereof will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description of particular embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
Reference is first made to
To suppress such undesired feedback it is well-known in the art to include an adaptive filter in the hearing aid to compensate for the feedback. Such a system is schematically illustrated in
Reference is now made to
The signal path of the hearing aid 100 comprises an input transducer or microphone 10 transforming an acoustic input signal into an electrical input signal 15 by, e.g., converting the sound signal to an analogue electrical signal, an A/D-converter (not shown) for sampling and digitising the analogue electrical signal into a digital electrical signal, and an input signal filter bank (not shown in
In
The undelayed electrical output signal 35 for the output transducer 30 (in
According to an embodiment of the invention, a model gain estimator 60 is provided, to which the electrical output signal 35 and the feedback cancellation signal 45 are submitted. Based on these signals the model gain estimator 60 determines the gain in the model which is then used to derive an upper gain limit 55 which is submitted to processor 20.
According to an embodiment, the adaptive feedback suppression filter 40 is an adaptive digital filter with a certain length and step size. The initial filter coefficients are preferably stored in memory (not shown) of the hearing aid and are loaded into the adaptive feedback suppression filter every time the hearing aid is switched on. With these filter coefficients, the adaptive digital filter is able to generate an initial filter output FBC which can be used as default feedback cancellation signal 45. Depending on the precision within which the adaptive digital filter can match the acoustic feedback signal FBA, an offset as a so called safety or feedback margin is introduced to the model gain as the estimate of the acoustic feedback gain. This feedback margin represents the gain below the level where audible feedback occurs. For example, a feedback margin of 6 dB is selected which means that the upper processor gain limit is set 6 dB below where audible feedback occurs. After the hearing aid is switched on, the adaptive feedback suppression filter starts with its adaptive modelling to match the acoustic feedback by evaluating the filter coefficients so that an adapted feedback cancellation signal is generated.
The function of the adaptive feedback suppression filter is now further explained with reference to the flow chart as described in
The model gain estimate is determined by continuously estimating the gain in the adaptive feedback suppression filter. The model gain estimation is done by comparing the input signal to the adaptive feedback suppression filter which is the electrical output signal 35 and the output of the adaptive feedback suppression filter which is the feedback cancellation signal 45. This comparison is done by the model gain estimator 60. The model gain and if necessary plus the feedback margin is used to derive the upper processor gain limit. The adaptive feedback suppression filter 40 is also capable of selecting and introducing suitable delays to the signals, e.g. the inputted electrical output signal 35 as part of its adaptive modelling.
The model gain in the adaptive feedback suppression filter is generally negative, as referred to a logarithmic expression, since the feedback signal reaching the microphone is generally an attenuated version of the output signal. The numerical value of this gain, equivalent to FBA, effectively signifies the maximum allowable gain in the processor in a state absent feedback compensation.
From this estimated gain limit a deduction has to be made. As signal distortion will be audible even at loop gains somewhat below 1, a deduction must be made to ensure that the maximum allowable processor gain stays below the stability limit by a margin. This safety or feedback margin will be set according to testing. In one test setup, a margin setting of 6 dB has been found suitable to avoid any audible signal distortion. Thus, in this example, the maximum allowable gain without feedback compensation becomes FBA−6 dB.
In the event the adaptive feedback suppression filter produces a perfect simulation of the feedback transfer function, all feedback will be cancelled, feedback will impose no constraints on the allowable processor gain, and the model provides information about the current feedback path transfer function. In the practical case, however, the adaptive feedback suppression filter produces a less-than-perfect simulation of the feedback transfer function; there will be a residual feedback
FBR=FBA−FBC
reaching the microphone to be picked up and amplified by the processor, and there will be an upper limit to the processor gain in order to avoid instability, i.e. to avoid a loop gain exceeding 1. In particular, the step size and length of the adaptive feedback suppression filter has an effect on the precision within which the acoustic feedback can be matched by the feedback cancellation signal.
The maximum allowable processor gain will be estimated by assessing the level of residual feedback, based on the current information about the feedback transfer function provided by the model.
As the filter e.g. processes a finite time window of signal, it does not take into account the entire signal. In one exemplary test setup, level estimates based on a time window of 1 millisecond (ms) were found to include 80% of the energy of the feedback signal. When basing the feedback compensation on such time windows, it can be expected that the compensation leaves a residual feedback at a magnitude of 25% of the feedback cancellation signal.
As FBR=FBA−FBC and with the filter output signal having a level of 80% of that of the acoustic feedback signal according to this exemplary test setup, FBC=0.8 FBA, the residual feedback is:
FBR=FBA−0.8 FBA=0.2 FBA.
As FBA=FBR+FBC, the residual feedback is:
FBR=0.2(FBR+FBC), and thus:
FBR=0.25×FBC.
In this example, the adaptive feedback suppression filter then raises the limit to maximum allowable gain by a factor of
FBC/FBR=4,
equivalent to 12 dB. Thus the maximum allowable processor or signal path gain becomes −20 log(FBC)−6 dB+12 dB=−20 log(FBC)+6 dB.
As the filter is digital and settings incremental, allowance must particularly be made for the step size, i.e. the finite resolution of the adaptive filter. Accounting for incremental settings and assessing the resulting potential error is considered to lie within the capabilities of those skilled in the relevant art.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the upper processor gain limit may therefore be determined by the precision of the adaptive feedback suppression filter, the feedback cancellation signal and the safety margin. The person skilled in the art will then evaluate residual feedback FBR from the feedback cancellation signal and the filter precision. The level of the residual feedback and the safety margin are then be used to derive the upper processor gain limit.
An embodiment of the model gain estimator 60 is shown in detail in
An output signal filter bank 210 and a compensation signal filter bank 220 produce signal vectors 215, 225 of the electrical output signal 35 and the feedback cancellation signal 45, respectively, in the respective frequency bands. The signal vectors 215, 225 are each fed to the model gain estimator, in which these signal vectors are submitted to an output level measurement circuit 230 and to a compensation level measurement circuit 240, respectively, for generating respective vectors of level measures 235, 245. The level measures are generated by computing a norm of the signal vectors 215, 225 over a predetermined time window as will be described below in more detail. The level measures 235, 245 are submitted to a filter gain estimator block 250 for calculating a vector of ratios between these level measures. The vector of ratios is then assumed to represent a gain estimate in each frequency band. The model gain estimator uses these estimates to derive upper gain limits 55, 255, which are submitted by the gain estimation block 250 to processor 20 (ref.
The model gain estimator 60 further comprises model evaluation block 260 for measuring the accuracy of the model. The model evaluation block 260 receives a vector of electrical input signals 275 from the input signal filter bank 270 and a vector of feedback cancellation signals from the compensation signal filter bank 220 and generates control parameter 265 to control the filter gain estimator block 250. To generate control parameter 265, the model evaluation block 260 generates and compares a norm of the electrical input signal without feedback compensation to a norm of the feedback controlled electrical input signal. If the norm of the feedback controlled electrical input signal exceeds the norm of the electrical input signal without feedback compensation, the model is most likely misadjusted and the control parameter 265 indicates to take other action. The control parameter 265 may also be a vector of control parameters for each frequency band. Other actions could be to stall or to freeze the gain estimation for a certain amount of time, or it could be to let the gain limits derived from the model gain estimator leak towards a set of default values. Appropriate default values may, e.g., be measured when fitting the hearing aid.
The function of the model gain estimator is now further explained with reference to
According to an embodiment, a simple average of the absolute value of each signal in a certain time frame is taken as the level measure and the time window is rectangular. In a computational low-cost embodiment, the average is calculated by a first order low pass filter, i.e., the time window is exponential.
According to another embodiment, direct energy computation is used to generate the level measure. The level measure is taken by computing an energy measure which is achieved by calculating an average of the squared values of each signal in the signal vectors 215, 225 over a certain time window, where the time window again can be either rectangular or modelled by a first order low pass filter.
The model gain estimate is then generated by determining a ratio between the level measures 235, 245 of said electrical output signal and of the feedback cancellation signal in operation 730. Since the ratio is determined for each frequency band, a vector of gain estimates in respective frequency bands is obtained. These estimates are then used to derive upper spectral processor gain limits in the signal path.
According to an embodiment, the norm signals are calculated according to the general formula:
wherein xk is the k-th sample (k=1, . . . L) of the signal of which the norm is to be calculated, Fk represents a window or filter function and natural number p is the power of the norm. According to a particular embodiment of this formula p=1 and the filter function Fk is defined by the following recursive formula:
N(k)=λ|xk|+(1−λ)N(k−1),
wherein λ is a constant 0<λ≦1.
It should be acknowledged here that according to further embodiments, the present invention may also be implemented as a computer program or an electronic circuit. The computer program then comprises computer program code which when executed on a digital signal processor or any other suitable programmable hearing aid system performs a method of adjusting the signal path gain of a hearing aid device according to any one of the embodiments described herein. The electronic circuit may be realised as an application specific integrated circuit which then may be implemented in a hearing aid system to employ a hearing aid according to any of the embodiments described herein.
The present application is a continuation-in-part of International application No. PCT/EP2004/053547, filed on Dec. 16, 2004, with The European Patent Office and published as WO 2006/063624 A1.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7489789 | Kaulberg | Feb 2009 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 0 843 502 | May 1998 | EP |
| WO 0225996 | Mar 2002 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20080273728 A1 | Nov 2008 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2004/053547 | Dec 2004 | US |
| Child | 11763767 | US |
