This application claims priority of German application No. 10 2007 045 315.0 filed Sep. 21, 2007, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a tool for inserting a receiver of a hearing apparatus into an auditory canal, comprising a pair of tweezers with a first and a second tweezer arm, which are affixed to one another at one end. The term “hearing apparatus” is understood here to mean in particular a hearing device, but also any other device that can be worn on/in the ear for emitting sound such as a headset, a set of ear phones and the like.
Hearing devices are wearable hearing apparatuses which are used to assist the hard-of-hearing. In order to accommodate numerous individual requirements, various types of hearing devices are available such as behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing devices, hearing device with external receiver (RIC: receiver in the canal) and in-the-ear (ITE) hearing devices, for example also concha hearing devices or completely-in-the-canal (ITE, CIC) hearing devices. The hearing devices listed as examples are worn on the outer ear or in the auditory canal. Bone conduction hearing aids, implantable or vibrotactile hearing aids are also available on the market. The damaged hearing is thus stimulated either mechanically or electrically.
The key components of hearing devices are principally an input converter, an amplifier and an output converter. The input converter is normally a receiving transducer e.g. a microphone and/or an electromagnetic receiver, e.g. an induction coil. The output converter is most frequently realized as an electroacoustic converter e.g. a miniature loudspeaker, or as an electromechanical converter e.g. a bone conduction hearing aid. The amplifier is usually integrated into a signal processing unit. This basic configuration is illustrated in
In order to wear a RIC hearing device it is necessary to insert into the auditory canal the receiver that is separate from the hearing device housing, and to affix to the concha the hearing device housing that is connected to the receiver by means of a cable. Experience has shown that hearing device wearers find it difficult, at least at the beginning, to insert the receiver of the RIC hearing device correctly into the auditory canal. In many cases this compromises the level of spontaneous acceptance of RIC hearing devices. The receiver can only be inserted into the auditory canal with difficulty because the receiver is itself very small and can only be pushed sufficiently far into the auditory canal with a very high level of fingertip control. Consequently the receiver is generally pushed back and forth with the aid of the connected cable until it is felt that the receiver is positioned correctly. However the hearing device wearer continues to feel uncertain as to whether or not the receiver is positioned sufficiently deeply in the ear.
The object of the present invention is thus to facilitate the insertion of a receiver into an auditory canal.
This object is inventively achieved by means of a tool for inserting a receiver of a hearing apparatus into an auditory canal of a wearer, said tool comprising a pair of tweezers with a first and a second tweezer arm, which are affixed to one another at one end, with the first tweezer arm having a holding device at its free end by means of which the movements of the receiver to be held are restricted in at least three directions, and with one of the two tweezer arms having a stopper that stands substantially perpendicular to the tweezer arm and serves to abut against a concha of the user during insertion of the receiver.
The user and/or hearing device wearer can advantageously by means of the inventive tool not only grasp securely but also insert the receiver into the auditory canal to a defined depth.
The aforementioned holding device preferably has a U-shaped cross-section. The receiver can easily be engaged in a holding recess shaped in this way and can be squeezed tight by means of the second tweezer arm.
Furthermore it can be advantageous if an aforementioned stopper is arranged on each of the tweezer arms. This can further facilitate the insertion of the receiver and prevent the receiver being pushed too far into the auditory canal.
Furthermore the pair of tweezers can have a bend along its length that is transverse to the direction of movement of the tweezer arms. This shape of tweezers enables ergonomic considerations to be accommodated better.
According to a further embodiment the tool can be made of a plastic. In this way not only the weight of the tool but also the risk of damage to the receiver can be reduced.
Furthermore the free end of one or both of the tweezer arms can have a rubber coating. As a result the receiver can be grasped and held better.
The present invention is described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings, in which
The basic idea of the present invention consists in providing a tool that assists the hearing device wearer to insert the external receiver 10 (cf.
In accordance with the exemplary embodiment of
The first tweezer arm 11 has at its free end a recess 13 with a U-profile as a holding device for the receiver 10. Each of the two tweezer arms 11, 12 further has a stopper 14, 15 that extends substantially perpendicular to the corresponding tweezer arm 11, 12. In principle a single stopper on one of the two tweezer arms is also sufficient. This stopper or these stoppers prevent the receiver from being capable of being inserted too deeply into the auditory canal with the tool. The stoppers 14, 15 can accordingly also be designed to be adjustable so that the acoustician for example can configure the correct depth of insertion for the hearing device wearer. The configuration can be performed e.g. by means of a retaining screw or a thread on the upper surface of one of the tweezer arms.
A typical external receiver 10 is shown in
The tool is preferably made of a rigid plastic or metal.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2007 045 315.0 | Sep 2007 | DE | national |