Examples described herein relate to hearing devices, and particularly hearing devices that are positioned in the ear canal for inconspicuous wear. This application is related to pending patent application Ser. No. 12/878,926, titled CANAL HEARING DEVICE WITH DISPOSABLE BATTERY MODULE, Ser. No. 13/424,242, titled BATTERY MODULE FOR PERPENDICULAR DOCKING INTO A CANAL HEARING DEVICE, and Ser. No. 13/461,327, titled TOOL FOR REMOVAL OF CANAL HEARING DEVICE FROM EAR CANAL, incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference for any purpose.
The ear canal 10, as illustrated in
Placement of a canal hearing device 20 inside the concha region 5 and the ear canal 10 can be challenging due to difficulty in access and manipulation of a miniature canal device, particularly when placed substantially inside the ear canal 10. However, it is generally desirable to place a hearing device inside the ear canal for achieving various advantages including reduction of the acoustic occlusion effect, improved energy efficiency, reduced distortion, reduced receiver (speaker) vibrations, and improved high frequency response. Another well-known advantage of ear canal placement is aesthetics as many hearing-impaired individuals refuse to wear visible hearing devices such as in-the-ear (ITE) or behind-the-ear (BTE) types.
The present disclosure describes systems and methods of handheld tools to facilitate inserting a canal hearing device into the ear canal. An example tool for manually inserting a canal hearing device into the ear canal includes medial section configured to removably couple to a lateral end of the canal hearing device, the medial section including a first cavity for cradling at least a portion of the lateral end of the canal hearing device and a second cavity for engaging a knob element attached with a shaft to the lateral end of the canal hearing device. The tool further includes a handle section laterally positioned and structured to manually release the knob element, wherein the tool is configured to secure the canal hearing device to the tool by retaining the knob element within the second cavity and cradling the lateral end of the canal hearing device within the first cavity.
According to some examples, a tool for inserting a canal hearing device into the ear canal includes a monolithic tool body which includes a medial section having a first cavity and a second cavity positioned laterally relative to the first cavity, the first cavity and the second cavity being connected by a first channel, the tool body further including a handle section extending lateral to the medial section and configured to be resiliently deformed from a first position to a second position upon the application of a force and wherein the handle section returns to the first position upon release of said force, wherein the handle section is coupled to the medial section such that deformation of the handle section changes a dimension of the first and second cavities.
Examples of methods for inserting a canal hearing device into the ear canal are described. According to one example, the method includes engaging a medial end of an insertion tool with a canal hearing device outside of the ear canal by axially joining the insertion tool to a lateral end of the canal hearing device, whereby a knob element of the canal hearing device is constrained within a locking cavity of the medial end and a portion of the lateral end of the canal hearing device is cradled within a cradling cavity of the medial end, grasping a handle of the insertion tool, and inserting the canal hearing device into the ear canal by advancing the medial end of the insertion tool with the canal hearing device engaged therewithin towards the ear canal t while the insertion tool is cradling the lateral end and constraining the knob element.
The above and still further objectives, features, aspects and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of certain preferred and alternate embodiments and method of manufacture and use thereof constituting the best mode presently contemplated of practicing the invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Certain details are set forth below to provide a sufficient understanding of embodiments of the invention. However, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that some embodiments may not include all details described. In some instances, well-known structures, hearing aid components, circuits, and controls, have not been shown in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the described embodiments of the invention.
Examples of methods and tools for inserting and removing canal hearing devices into and out of the ear canal are described. A tool for inserting a canal hearing device according to the present disclosure includes a clamping section and a handle section. The clamping section is located at the medial end of the tool body and configured to be removably coupled to a lateral end of the canal hearing device. The handle section may be located laterally to the clamping section (e.g. at a lateral end of the tool body) and may be adapted for engaging or disengaging the canal hearing device from the tool and/or manipulating the canal hearing device into the ear canal. The clamping section includes a first cavity and a second cavity positioned laterally to the first cavity. The first and second cavities are connected by a channel. The handle section may include structures for gripping the tool and manipulating the tool to engage with the canal hearing device.
In some examples, the tool body may be formed as a monolithic structure, for example to minimize costs and simplify production of the tool. The tool body may be generally symmetric about its longitudinal axis thereby defining a first half and a second half. The first half and the second half may be attached to one another by a pivot portion, also integral with the monolithic tool body. The pivot portion may be located centrally at an intermediate location between the medial and lateral ends of the tool body. In other examples, the pivot portion may be located at the lateral end of the tool body. Other configurations and relative arrangements of the components of the tool body may also be used without departure from the present scope. Regardless of location of the pivot portion, the tool is configured to deform resiliently from a first position to a second position upon the application of a force and to return to the first position upon releasing of said force. Particular examples of tools and methods according to the present disclosure will now be described in further detail with reference to
Examples of tools and methods of use of handheld tools for safely inserting a canal hearing device 20 into the ear canal 10 are described herein with reference to
The elements of the insertion tool 30 may be formed of a monolithic structure to minimize cost and manufacturing complexity and to improve the reliability of the tool. In some examples, the monolithic structure may be molded of plastic material, such as PEEK. Materials other than PEEK may also be used. In these examples, the tool may be 0.6-1.5 inches long to allow for close proximity to and to facilitate short distance leveraging with respect to the canal hearing device 20, for example, for ease of navigating the canal hearing device 20 through the contours of the ear. In the depicted embodiments, the medial section 32 of the insertion tool 30 is designed and sized to cradle the lateral end 22 or a portion thereof of the canal hearing device 20. The lateral end 22 of the canal hearing device 20 may be generally in the shape of a removable battery module 23, as disclosed in related patent applications Ser. Nos. 12/878,926 and 13/424,242, incorporated herein in their entirety for any purpose. The handle section 35 of the insertion tool 30 may be sized to be comfortably grasped by a user's fingers for engaging the canal hearing device 20 and manipulating it into the ear canal 10 (
In one embodiment, as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiments in
The insertion tool 30 may be configured for positioning the knob element 24 generally at the aperture vicinity 11 (
In the depicted embodiments, the cradling cavity 34 is configured for self-centering with respect to the lateral end 22 of the canal hearing device 20 when mating thereto. Self-centering provides an automatic alignment mechanism for users, particularly the hearing impaired with limited vision or manual dexterity. In the preferred embodiments, the cradling cavity 34 is generally C-shaped as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiments depicted in
The handle section 35 may incorporate grooves 47 or other suitable structures to facilitate grasping of the handle section by a user's fingers. As discussed above, in embodiment shown in
In some examples, the insertion tool 30 may be a part of a multi-purpose tool kit (not shown) for operating and manipulating the canal hearing device 20. In yet another embodiment shown in
The design and features of the present invention as described above may be particularly suited for hearing impaired individuals, who may find it difficult to manipulate and insert a highly miniaturized canal hearing device into the ear canal. This may be due to limited dexterity, poor vision, or poor visualization of ear canal contours. The insertion tool also allows for operation in conjunction with a canal hearing device having a low profile handle, thus making it particularly inconspicuous. For example, by providing a canal hearing device with a 4.5 mm long handle, instead of normally 7 mm or longer as frequently used in conventional canal hearing devices. The shaft of canal hearing device in the examples according to the present disclosure may be substantially elongated with a diameter substantially less than the length of the shaft, with dimensions selected to ensure sufficient clearance for locking the knob element within the locking cavity of the insertion tool.
Although examples of the invention have been described herein, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a consideration of the foregoing description of presently preferred and alternate embodiments and methods of fabrication and use thereof, and that variations and modifications of this exemplary embodiment and method may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the above-described embodiments of the invention should not be viewed as exhaustive or as limiting the invention to the precise configurations or techniques disclosed. Rather, it is intended that the invention shall be limited only by the appended claims and the rules and principles of applicable law.
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