Hearing aid, hearing aid apparatus, method of hearing aid method, and integrated circuit

[0054] (Example 1)

[0055] Reference Figure 1A~Figure 1C ,as well as figure 2 , The hearing aid according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, Figure 1A It is a block diagram showing the structure of the hearing aid 100.

[0056] The hearing aid 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a microphone 110 as a pickup unit, a work switching unit 120, a wireless communication unit 130, an amplifier (amplifier) ​​140, and an earphone 150 as an output unit. Typically, two hearing aids 100 with the same configuration are used as a set of binaural hearing aids (hearing aids).

[0057] The microphone 110 picks up sounds around the hearing aid 100. The work switching unit 120 switches the work mode of the hearing aid 100. Specifically, the hearing aid mode, the search mode, and the searched mode are switched interactively. The wireless communication unit 130 performs transmission and reception of signals with external devices. The amplifier 140 amplifies the input sound. The earphone 150 outputs the sound amplified by the amplifier 140.

[0058] Typically, the wireless communication unit 130 transmits and receives setting information between a pair of hearing aids 100 to synchronize the mutual setting values, or communicates at predetermined time intervals (for example, 10 seconds) to mutually confirm whether the other party is in normal work. In addition, the wireless communication unit 130 transmits and receives a search voice output instruction, a search voice, and the like described later. In addition, the type of wireless communication is not particularly limited, and electromagnetic induction, infrared, bluetooth, etc. can be used.

[0059] The amplifier 140 amplifies the sound acquired from the job switching unit 120 and outputs it to the earphone 150. In addition, the amplifier 140 according to the first embodiment can change the amplification ratio according to the mode of the hearing aid 100. The specific configuration is not limited, and it may be an amplifier capable of arbitrarily changing the amplification ratio, or may be configured with a plurality of amplifiers having different amplification ratios, and the operation switching unit 120 selects which amplifier to use according to the operation mode.

[0060] In addition, in Figure 1B The illustrated arrow shows signal transmission when the hearing aid 100A is operated in the "hearing aid mode" and the "search mode". While in Figure 1C The illustrated arrow shows signal transmission when the hearing aid 100B is operated in the "hearing aid mode" and the "searched mode". and, figure 2 It is a flowchart showing the operation of the hearing aid 100A and the hearing aid 100B in each operation mode.

[0061] When the hearing aid 100A is operating in the "hearing aid mode" (the "hearing aid mode" of S10), the operation switching unit 120 monitors the input of the hearing aid sound of the microphone 100 (S11). If it is detected that the microphone 110 has input the hearing aid sound ("Yes" in S11), the job switching unit 120 controls the amplifier 140 so that the amplifier 140 amplifies the hearing aid sound picked up by the microphone 110 at the first amplification ratio ( S12). Then, the amplified hearing aid sound is output from the earphone 150 (S13).

[0062] In addition, the first amplification ratio refers to an amplification ratio to the extent that the hearing aid sound output by the earphone 150 can be clearly heard by the user wearing the hearing aid 100. In addition, since the hearing aid 100B operates in the "hearing aid mode", the same is true, so the description is omitted.

[0063] When the hearing aid 100A is operating in the "search mode" (the "search mode" in S10), the operation switching unit 120 controls the wireless communication unit 130 to cause the wireless communication unit 130 to send a search sound output instruction to the hearing aid 100B (S21). Then, the job switching unit 120 monitors the input of the search voice of the microphone 110 (S22). If it is detected that the microphone 110 has input the search sound (Yes in S22), the job switching unit 120 controls the wireless communication unit 130 to cause the wireless communication unit 130 to transmit to the hearing aid 100 the search sound picked up by the microphone 110 ( S23).

[0064] When the hearing aid 100B operates in the "searched mode" (the "searched mode" of S10), the operation switching unit 120 monitors the input of the search voice of the wireless communication unit 130 (S31). If it is detected that the wireless communication unit 130 has input the search sound (Yes in S31), the job switching unit 120 controls the amplifier 140 so that the amplifier 140 amplifies the search sound received by the wireless communication unit 130 at the second amplification ratio ( S32). Then, the amplified search sound is output from the earphone 150 (S33).

[0065] In addition, the second magnification ratio refers to the magnification ratio to the extent that the search sound output by the earphone 150 can be heard even at a position several meters away from the hearing aid 100 (tens of meters in a quiet environment). That is, the second enlargement ratio is greater than the first enlargement ratio.

[0066] There are several advantages to wearing the hearing aid 100 on both ears. For example, it is possible to hear the conversation on either side of the left and right sides, the ability to hear in noise becomes stronger, or to know the direction of the sound, etc. have an effect on the ability of listening and the perception of the direction of the sound source. Moreover, because of the binaural additive effect, the sensitivity of hearing becomes higher than when listening to sound with one ear. As a result, it is possible to lower the reproduced sound pressure to be set and reduce the burden on the ears compared to the case of single-ear hearing assistance. Because of this benefit, it can be predicted that the use of binaural hearing aids will increase in the future. He likes to use the ultra-small CIC (Completely Inthe Canal) type that is inconspicuous, small, and completely plugged into the ear hole, or the small open-ear (openfitting) type hearing aid that is characterized by no blockage. The number of people is increasing, and it can be expected that hearing aids will develop into hearing aids with shapes that take into account appearance and comfort.

[0067] However, as a shortcoming of a hearing aid that is small and has a small wearing feeling, even if it is dropped without paying attention, it is impossible to notice where it is dropped. Especially for people with mild deafness, the hearing aids are not accessible even if they don’t wear the hearing aids all day, so they may be lost during the process of wearing them for a while and taking them off. The main users of hearing aids are the elderly, and their eyesight is often reduced. Small hearing aids are difficult to find once they are lost. In addition, in places where two or more elderly people gather, such as gathering places where many people gather, there have been instances where two or more hearing aids were lost, or confusion with other people's hearing aids occurred. The method of finding hearing aids needs to be improved.

[0068] In the case of binaural hearing aids, only one may be lost or both may be lost. However, in the first embodiment, only one hearing aid 100B in the binaural hearing aid is lost, and an improvement countermeasure is explained.

[0069] use Figure 1B , Figure 1C as well as figure 2 Describes an effective search method when one of the hearing aids 100A and 100B of the binaural hearing aid is lost. In addition, set Figure 1B The hearing aid 100A shown is the one left at hand, Figure 1C The hearing aid 100B shown is the lost party for description.

[0070] In the first embodiment, the user searches for the hearing aid 100B by emitting a sound to the microphone 110 of the hearing aid 100A that is left at hand, and making the hearing aid 100B amplify the sound. In this case, the hearing aid 100A functions as a transmitter that transmits sound, and the hearing aid 100B functions as a receiver that receives the sound transmitted by the hearing aid 100A and outputs the sound for search. For the hearing aid 100B, in order to output the searcher's voice information, a built-in hearing aid speaker (earphone 150) is utilized.

[0071] The hearing aid 100A operating in the "search mode" transmits the search sound input by the searcher to the microphone 110 by the wireless communication unit 130 (operating as a wireless transmission unit) to the hearing aid 100B. On the other hand, the hearing aid 100B operating in the "searched mode" receives the search sound sent by the hearing aid 100A by the wireless communication unit 130 (operating as a wireless receiving unit). Then, the hearing aid 100B operating in the “searched mode” is output by the earphone 150 in order to notify the searcher of the search sound amplified by the amplifier 140 at the second amplification ratio. According to this, it is possible to find out the minute hearing aid 100B that is difficult to search visually by the search sound emitted by the hearing aid 100.

[0072] In addition, the operation mode can be switched by manually operating a mode switching switch (not shown) provided in the hearing aid 100. However, switching from other operating modes to the "searched mode" is performed when the search voice output instruction is received.

[0073] In addition, the binaural hearing aid according to Embodiment 1 may have a remote controller (not shown). The remote control can keep the left and right hearing aids 100A, 100B synchronously setting setting information such as volume. In addition, the remote controller may further include a microphone (not shown in the figure) that picks up the search sound, and a wireless communication unit (not shown in the figure) that transmits the search sound output instruction and the search sound to the hearing aids 100A and 100B.

[0074] According to this, since the search sound output instruction and the search sound can be transmitted from the remote controller, and the search sound can be output from the hearing aids 100A and 100B, it is particularly effective when both hearing aids 100A and 100B are lost. In addition, when the search sound output instruction and the search sound are transmitted from the remote control, the “search mode” of the hearing aid 100 can be omitted.

[0075] According to the above configuration, when one of the binaural hearing aids is lost, by using the wireless communication function of the binaural hearing aids to speak to the microphone 110 or the remote control of the hearing aid 100A that is left at hand, the lost hearing aid 100B is The sound will be output. It is easy to find the lost hearing aid 100B by using this sound. In addition, since the earphone (speaker) 150 outputs the uttered sentence, it is possible to convey information from the owner such as "This is the hearing aid of XX" to the person near the hearing aid 100B. In addition, no extra memory for accumulating sound sources is required, so the memory can be reduced.

[0076] In addition, in the above embodiment 1, the "search mode" and the "searched mode" are described as separate working modes, but the searched mode and the search mode can also be used as one working mode (for example, "non-hearing mode"). ). In other words, the hearing aid 100 operating in the non-hearing aid mode is transmitted by the wireless communication unit 130 to the sound picked up by the microphone 110 (operation in the search mode), and the amplifier 140 receives the sound received by the wireless communication unit 130 at the second amplification ratio. The sound is amplified and output by the earphone 150 (working in the searched mode).

[0077] Furthermore, for users whose eyes cannot see clearly, if the hearing aid 100 detects loss, it may automatically switch to the non-hearing aid mode. Alternatively, as a loss detection method when the operating mode is automatically switched, the hearing aid 100A and the hearing aid 100B monitor the communication status with each other, and when the communication delay for a certain period of time or more or the number of timeouts exceeds a certain number of times, the “assistance” "Listening mode" automatically switches to "non-hearing aid mode". In addition, as other switching timings, the following method can also be used, that is, when the sound environment is determined separately and when there is a big difference, or when the sound of falling, the impact of falling, etc. are detected, or a certain time has passed after the detection The situation, etc., is judged as lost.

[0078] Furthermore, the hearing aid 100 may have an operation mode display unit such as an LED (light emitting diode) indicator for notifying the switching of the operation mode. If this LED indicator lights up, changes color, or flashes to notify the change of the working mode, the user can easily know the status of the switch. Because the remote controller is equipped with a display device such as an LCD screen, the same effect can be obtained by displaying the current working mode on the LCD screen instead of the LED indicator.

[0079] Moreover, in the case of switching the working mode with the hearing aid 100A or the remote control at hand, since the hearing aid 100A is small, it is not easy to operate if a switch is used. Therefore, as a countermeasure for a person who is difficult to handle by the opponent or when cold protection measures are implemented and it is difficult to operate by hand, it is also possible to use the microphone 110 for pickup and the voice recognition device, or the microphone 110 for pickup and the voice The detection device is assembled to the hearing aid 100A or the remote controller, and the working mode is switched by voice activation by voice recognition or voice detection.

[0080] It may also be that when the equipment is activated, the recognized sentence contains a predetermined keyword sentence as a criterion for recognition or detection, or the inputted voice analyzes the characteristics of the voice to perform emotional or state evaluation In the detection, the user's state of panic and distress is detected as a criterion for judgment. At this time, the user’s panic or distressed state can be considered to be related to the characteristic parameter by using a common voice recognition technique, that is, using the internal preset characteristic parameters, and analyzing the characteristics of the sound at a predetermined time. Consistent situation to judge, such a technology to achieve.

[0081] However, there is no case where the recognition rate of voice recognition is 100%, or the capacity of the circuit or the built-in program is increased to achieve 100%, so there is a possibility that the small hearing aid 100 cannot be equipped with voice recognition. In other words, it can be considered that a certain degree of recognition error will occur. For this reason, if the work mode is switched by sound, after accepting the sound input, it is necessary to confirm to the user whether the mode can be switched.

[0082] For example, when the user enters "search mode start" with "search mode start" as a predetermined keyword sentence, a sound such as "can you start search mode?" is issued as confirmation, a synthetic sound, or work according to this standard Voice, monitor the user’s voice input. Thereafter, the user sends out an understanding signal, such as a predetermined voice such as "Yes", or a voice generally recognized as understanding. And, when a keyword sentence indicating understanding is recognized, the mode is switched. According to this, it is prevented that the mode switching caused by the recognition error of the keyword sentence causes the hearing aid 100B to emit an abnormal sound or a change in the sound pressure level.

[0083] In addition, when the hearing aid 100A or the remote control that is left at hand performs the switching of the working mode, the user can confirm the switching of the working mode by watching, or with sound or light, but usually cannot confirm the lost hearing aid 100B , And it cannot be switched manually. Therefore, when the working mode of the hearing aid 100A or the remote control that is left at hand has been switched to the "non-hearing aid mode", the wireless communication unit 130 can notify the lost hearing aid 100B of the mode switch (for example, send a search sound Output instruction), in order to switch the working mode of the lost hearing aid 100B to the "non-hearing aid mode".

[0084] In addition, when the hearing aid 100A left at hand is switched to the "non-hearing aid mode", the wireless communication unit 130 may also switch the remote control to the "non-hearing aid mode" at the same time. If the remote control can display the working mode, the user can easily confirm the switching of the working mode. Using the remote control to switch the working modes of the two hearing aids of the binaural hearing aid, and confirm the mode with the hearing aid 100A that is left at hand, the same effect can be obtained. In this way, by switching all the hearing aids of the remote control and binaural hearing aids to "non-hearing aid mode", when the remote control is also equipped with a microphone, it can be performed by both the remote control and the hearing aid 100A that is left at hand search for.

[0085] In the case of searching by inputting the search sound into the remote control, even if the working mode of all hearing aids 100A and 100B is switched to "non-hearing aid mode", if the lost hearing aid 100B cannot be recognized, the hearing aid 100A, 100B will be Both parties emit the search sound input by the remote control. The search sound may be very loud. If the hearing aid 100A is inserted in the ear, the sound may make the user unpleasant. To prevent this from happening, when the search sound is input from the remote control, a switch is set to select which of the hearing aids 100A and 100B to send the search sound to. When the switch is pressed, the user wearing the hearing aid 100A can The sound pressure level that is heard gives an announcement. Or, by turning on or flashing the LED indicator, changing the color of the LED indicator, vibrating the hearing aid 100A, etc., it is warned in advance that the search sound will be issued.

[0086] In addition, for wireless communication, the remote controller, hearing aids 100A, and 100B can communicate with each other using Bluetooth or the like, and search within a wireless reachable range. For binaural hearing aids, when performing signal processing such as noise suppression or emphasizing sound, or when there is a processing time difference between the left and right sides to correct the time difference of the sound output by the earphone, etc., it is necessary to communicate between the two ears for synchronization. The use of communication means for inter-aural communication to perform voice communication in the "non-hearing-aid mode" eliminates the need to add new transceivers to the hearing aids 100A and 100B, enabling a compact design.

[0087] In addition, the wireless communication units of the hearing aids 100A and 100B can respectively change the communication modes when operating in the "hearing aid mode" and when operating in the "non-hearing aid mode". Specifically, when both hearing aids 100A and 100B operate in the "hearing aid mode", they communicate in the first communication mode. When one of the hearing aids 100A and 100B is operating in the "search mode" and the other is operating in the "searched mode", communication is performed in the second communication mode.

[0088] Here, compared with the first communication mode, the second communication mode has a wider communication range and higher power consumption. For example, it may be that the first communication mode is communication using electromagnetic induction, and the second communication mode is communication using Bluetooth. Moreover, either one of them may communicate using infrared rays.

[0089] Or, it may be that the first and second communication modes are the same communication method, but the output sound pressure levels are different. For example, it may be that both the first and second communication modes use Bluetooth communication, and the output sound pressure level in the second communication mode is higher than that in the first communication mode. According to this, the communication range of hearing aids 100A and 100B can be arbitrarily selected within a range of about 30 cm to several tens of meters.

[0090] According to the above configuration, when the hearing aids 100A and 100B are worn on the left and right ears (in the case of the "hearing aid mode"), communication is performed in a communication mode with a narrow communication range and low power consumption, so they can be used continuously for a long time. On the other hand, when searching for the missing hearing aid 100B, communication is performed in a communication mode with a wide communication range and high power consumption. Therefore, even a certain distance from the hearing aid 100B, the location can be identified.

[0091] Moreover, the hearing aid 100 may have a normal mode in which all functions are operating (power is supplied to all functional blocks), and only a part of the functions including the operation switching unit 120 and the wireless communication unit 130 are operating (the power is only Provided to some functional blocks) power saving mode. Furthermore, the hearing aid 100 in the power-saving mode may shift to the normal mode when receiving the sound output instruction for search.

[0092] According to this, until the user discovers that the hearing aid 100B is missing, it waits in the power-saving mode, and shifts to the normal mode at the timing of starting the search (that is, sending the search sound output instruction), so even if a long time has passed after the loss, the hearing aid can be found The probability of 100B is also very high.

[0093] In addition, in the case where a large area search is required, such as when it is lost when traveling, a large area search may be performed through network communication via a nearby access point (access point). In recent years, in airports, subways, cafes, or hotels, hot spots that can use wireless LANs have increased. Using such a line to communicate between hearing aids or between hearing aids and hearing aid remote controllers, a wide range of searches can be carried out at home.

[0094] (Example 2)

[0095] Secondly, refer to the attached Figure 3A And 3B, the hearing aids 200A and 200B according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, Figure 3A It is a block diagram showing the data flow of the hearing aid 200A operating in the "hearing aid mode" and the "search mode". Figure 3B It is a block diagram showing the data flow of the hearing aid 200B operating in the "hearing aid mode" and the "searched mode". In addition, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same constituent elements as in the first embodiment, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0096] The hearing aid 200B according to the second embodiment further includes a delay (output delay unit) 260 between the amplifier 140 and the earphone 150. The delayer 260 temporarily holds the sound output from the amplifier 140, delays it for a predetermined time, and outputs it to the earphone 150.

[0097] In addition to the operation of the task switching unit 120, the job switching unit 220 also performs an operation to control the delay 260. Specifically, only when the operating mode of the hearing aid 200B is the "searched mode", the delay 260 is operated. In addition, Figure 3A In the hearing aid 200A shown, a delay (not shown) is also arranged between the amplifier 140 and the earphone 150, but the delay 260 is not required to operate when it is operated in the "hearing aid mode" and the "search mode", so Illustration is omitted.

[0098] In the first embodiment, there may be cases where the search sound input to the microphone 110 of the hearing aid 100A overlaps with the search sound output from the earphone 150 of the hearing aid 100B, so that the spoken sound and the heard sound cannot be distinguished. . For this reason, in the second embodiment, a delay 260 is added to delay the output timing of the search sound output from the earphone 150 of the hearing aid 200B by a predetermined time.

[0099] In addition, in the above description, although the delay 260 is provided between the amplifier 140 of the hearing aid 200B and the earphone 150, the description is made only in the case of operating in the "searched mode", but the search The configuration in which the sound output timing is delayed is not limited to the above configuration. For example, a delay is provided between the work switching unit 120 and the wireless communication unit 130 of the hearing aid 200A. Then, when the hearing aid 200A is operating in the “search mode”, the search sound picked up by the microphone 110 is delayed by the delayer, and then transmitted by the wireless communication unit 130.

[0100] Regarding the delay time, if the shift time between the search sound input to the microphone 110 of the hearing aid 200A and the search sound output from the earphone 150 of the hearing aid 200B is too short, it is difficult to hear because the emitted sound and the heard sound overlap. Since the duration of a vowel that is considered to be the smallest in duration of a syllable is 0.2 seconds, the delay time is preferably 0.2 seconds or more. If the staggering time is too long, it will be mistaken as not found, so it is best to set it to about 0.2 to 5 seconds.

[0101] Also, as in the first embodiment, for a binaural hearing aid with a remote control, a function of changing the delay time is provided in the remote control so that the user can change it at any time to make the delay time appropriate.

[0102] When both hearing aids 200A and 200B are lost, it is sufficient to search for hearing aids 200A and 200B by using a remote controller having a microphone and a wireless communication unit. However, if two hearing aids 200A and 200B simultaneously output search sounds, it is difficult to determine two locations at once, and it is not easy to know which one is at which location. In this regard, a remote controller may be used to set different delay times for the delayers 260 of the two hearing aids 200A and 200B. That is, by setting a time difference between the search sounds output by the earphone 150 of the two hearing aids 200A and 200B, the location of the hearing aids 200A and 200B can be more easily determined.

[0103] (Example 3)

[0104] Secondly, refer to Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 5A as well as Figure 5B The hearing aids 300A and 300B according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, Figure 4A It is a block diagram showing the data flow of the hearing aid 300A operating in the "hearing aid mode" and the "search mode". Figure 4B It is a block diagram showing the data flow of the hearing aid 300B operating in the "hearing aid mode" and the "searched mode". Figure 5A as well as Figure 5B It is a diagram showing an example of the hearing characteristics of a deaf person. In addition, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same constituent elements as those in the first and second embodiments, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0105] The hearing aid 300B according to the third embodiment further includes a storage unit 370 that stores parameters 371 for each user. The storage unit 370 is constituted by, for example, a nonvolatile memory or the like. The parameter 371 includes information on the frequency band corresponding to the user's residual hearing (ie, the frequency band that is easier to hear for the user).

[0106] Then, when the hearing aid 300B is operating in the "searched mode", the amplifier 340 selectively amplifies only the frequency band indicated by the parameter 371 in the search sound at the second amplification ratio. Specifically, the filtering process of extracting only the frequency band indicated by the parameter 371 from the search sound and the amplification process of amplifying the extracted components are sequentially performed. In addition, for example, a band pass filter (Band Pass Filter: BPF) can be used to realize filter processing.

[0107] use Figure 5A as well as Figure 5B An example of setting the parameter 371 will be described. Figure 5A It is the hearing characteristic of high-frequency gradual deafness (upper part), indicating that the hearing ability of high-frequency is deteriorated. At this time, set the filter characteristics (lower section) to emphasize the relatively high-sensitivity mid- and low-frequency sounds. in contrast, Figure 5B It is the hearing characteristic of low-frequency impaired deafness that indicates the deterioration of low-frequency hearing ability (upper part). At this time, set the filter characteristics (lower section) to emphasize the high-sensitivity mid- and high-frequency sounds. Since the sound can be heard in a frequency band with high auditory sensitivity, the search sound can be prevented from being missed.

[0108] When a search sound is sent to the microphone 110 of the hearing aid 300A that is left at hand to find the lost hearing aid 300B, the hearing aids 300A and 300B are removed from the ears. Therefore, even if the lost hearing aid 300B emits a sound It is not easy to hear the sound. For this reason, the search sound output from the earphone 150 of the hearing aid 300B may be processed into a sound that is easy to hear even if the hearing aids 300A and 300B are removed by performing signal processing corresponding to the user's residual hearing.

[0109] In addition, when the hearing aids 300A and 300B operate in the "hearing aid mode", signal processing is performed according to the user's hearing characteristics and then output. However, the signal processing at this time is a frequency band that makes it difficult for users to hear ( Figure 5A Medium is high frequency, Figure 5B A process in which the amplification ratio of the middle frequency band is larger than that of other frequency bands. That is, it is a completely different process from the above-described process of selectively amplifying only the frequency band that is easy for the user to hear.