Hearing aid battery connected to the ear shell

Abstract

The present application discloses a hearing aid battery connected to an ear shell, wherein the in-ear hearing aid comprises: a faceplate (102); an ear shell (104) such as a custom ear shell; and a rechargeable battery (106); wherein the rechargeable battery is fixed to the ear shell, and the rechargeable battery is placed so as not to contact the faceplate (102).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an in-the-ear hearing aid. More specifically, the present invention relates to an in-the-ear hearing aid in which the battery is connected to the ear shell (e.g. floating relative to the faceplate), e.g. thereby enabling a reduction in the size of the in-the-ear hearing aid. The present invention also relates to a corresponding method and a binaural system. Background Art

[0002] The size of an in-the-ear hearing aid may be considered an important parameter because it indicates the size of the user the instrument may fit and / or because a smaller size is advantageous for reducing or eliminating the visible obtrusion of the hearing aid when placed in the user's ear canal. Therefore, there is a need to provide a solution that enables a size reduction. Summary of the invention

[0003] According to a first aspect, there is provided an in-ear hearing aid, comprising:

[0004] -panel;

[0005] - ear shells, such as custom-made ear shells; and

[0006] - a battery, wherein the battery is securable to the ear shell.

[0007] When designing a custom hearing instrument, one of the many constraints is that the placement and orientation of the microphone typically dictates the audio design (e.g., directionality). Another constraint is the placement of the battery, which is typically secured to the faceplate via its integrated battery drawer. Each hearing instrument is manufactured to fit the ear canal of an individual user, and since space is required for all of the components from which the hearing instrument is made, the shape of these components and their placement becomes a constraint on the design, and subsequently on the size of the instrument. The instrument size is an important parameter because it dictates the amount of users the instrument can fit. The ear shell and the faceplate are typically directly interconnected, i.e., the two are directly connected. Traditionally, the faceplate is manufactured first, and the custom components are formed according to the shape of the actual ear canal of the intended user and connected to the faceplate.

[0008] An advantage of fixing the battery to the ear shell is that there may be no restrictions on the orientation of the battery (e.g. the orientation of the battery relative to the panel), which may in turn result in the position and / or orientation of the battery being optimized for the size of the in-ear hearing aid, thereby making the in-ear hearing aid less visible or not visible at all during use.

[0009] The support for holding the battery in a desired position and / or orientation may be part of the concha, for example a custom housing for an in-the-ear hearing aid, and / or a formable part of an interface with the faceplate.

[0010] A "hearing aid" may generally be understood as a hearing device adapted to improve or enhance the hearing ability of a user by receiving an acoustic signal from the user's environment, generating a corresponding audio signal, possibly modifying the audio signal, and providing the possibly modified audio signal as an audible signal to at least one ear of the user. Generally, the hearing device comprises: i) an input unit, such as a microphone, for receiving an acoustic signal from the user's environment and providing a corresponding input audio signal; and / or ii) a receiving unit for electronically receiving the input audio signal. The hearing device further comprises a signal processing unit for processing the input audio signal and an output unit for providing an audible signal to the user based on the processed audio signal. An "in-the-ear hearing aid" may be understood as being the same as a hearing aid commonly used in the art, such as a hearing aid adapted to be worn completely or partially in the auricle and / or in the ear canal of a user. An "in-the-ear" hearing aid may be understood to also include "in-the-canal" and / or "deep-in-the-canal" hearing aids.

[0011] In the present specification, an in-the-ear hearing aid may be an “in-the-canal” hearing aid and / or a “deep-in-the-canal” (CIC) hearing aid and / or an invisible-in-the-canal (IIC) hearing aid.

[0012] According to the present invention, an in-ear hearing aid is provided, wherein the battery is placed so as not to be in contact with the panel, for example not to be in contact with the panel, for example adjacent to or adjacent to or in contact with the panel. A possible advantage of placing the battery so as not to be in contact with the panel or at least to have only little contact with the panel is that the position and / or orientation of the battery can be maintained independently of the panel. Another possible advantage of placing the battery so as not to be in contact with the panel is that the panel can be removed without interfering with the position and / or orientation of the battery. Similarly, the panel can be formed without an opening for a battery cover or battery compartment, which provides an additional degree of freedom, namely freeing up the panel for other purposes such as charging terminals, antennas, buttons, volume dials, other interface elements or ventilation holes. This can also make hearing instruments smaller and have a smaller cross-section, so that they can fit the ear canals of a wider population. Another possible advantage of placing the battery so as not to be in contact with the panel is that the ear shell and the battery can be assembled before the panel is installed.

[0013] According to the invention, an in-the-ear hearing aid is proposed, wherein the battery floats relative to the faceplate and / or relative to the inner surface of the sidewall, for example relative to a custom-shaped portion of the in-the-ear hearing aid. If the battery in the in-the-ear hearing aid is not fixed to the faceplate but can float freely relative to the faceplate, this enables the in-the-ear housing to be designed to best fit the ear canal, for example by rotating and / or tilting the battery relative to the faceplate, so that the in-the-ear hearing aid can be made smaller, a better fit ratio is obtained, i.e. more users can be fitted with a similar type of in-the-ear hearing aid. In other hearing aids, the restriction that the battery is fixed to the faceplate, for example in a battery drawer, constrains the size of the hearing aid to a minimum size that cannot fit everyone. This is for example the case when a relatively large battery, such as a 13-cell battery, is stored in a battery drawer connected to the faceplate, which then also requires the placement of other elements such as microphones, buttons, etc., which again results in a certain size, such as diameter, which in the end means that the hearing aid may not fit the person it is intended to fit. Advantageously, the battery can be fixed to the housing, for example the custom-shaped portion of the in-the-ear housing, after a design phase where the program or the user has designed the positions of the elements of the hearing aid.

[0014] "Rotation" means that the battery can be rotated not about a central battery axis formed in the center of the circular battery, but, for example, about an axis transverse to the central battery axis, so that the battery can be located in a customized part making the customized part as small as possible.

[0015] Floating batteries are possible and advantageous, especially when considering rechargeable batteries (where the battery drawer and its limitations are eliminated). "The battery floats relative to the panel" may be understood to mean that the position and / or orientation of the battery may be changed relative to the panel, possibly even after the in-ear housing has been assembled.

[0016] According to the present invention, an in-ear hearing aid is provided, wherein the battery can be fixed to the concha independently of the panel, for example, glued to the concha and / or fixed to the concha via interference fit and / or via a protruding structure on the inner surface of the concha and / or via a structure connected to the inner surface of the concha. "Fixed to the concha independently of the panel" can be understood as the battery being fixed to the concha, and the fixation is independent of the panel, for example, the panel can be removed while the battery is still fixed to the concha. It also includes that the battery can also be fixed to the panel, that is, the battery can be fixed to the concha and the panel or only to the concha. The advantage of the battery being fixed to the concha independently of the panel is that the panel can be removed or installed while the battery is (or remains) fixed to the concha. Another advantage of fixing the battery to the concha independently of the panel is that the battery can be optimally positioned and / or oriented in order to reduce or minimize the size of the in-ear hearing aid.

[0017] According to the present invention, an in-the-ear hearing aid is proposed, wherein the battery can be fixed to the concha only, for example glued to the concha and / or fixed to the concha via interference fit and / or via a protruding structure on the inner surface of the concha and / or via a structure connected to the inner surface of the concha. The advantage of fixing the battery only to the concha is that other parts such as a faceplate can be removed or installed while the battery is (or remains) fixed to the concha. Another advantage of fixing the battery only to the concha is that the battery can be optimally positioned and / or oriented in order to reduce or minimize the size of the in-the-ear hearing aid. "Interference fit" can also be called press fit or friction fit, and can be understood as a fixation between two parts that is achieved by friction after these parts are pushed together, rather than by any other fixing means.

[0018] According to the present invention, an in-ear hearing aid is provided, wherein the central axis of the battery, e.g. the axis of the battery having the minimum moment of inertia and / or the axis about which the battery exhibits circular symmetry, is neither orthogonal to nor parallel to the panel plane (e.g. the mathematical plane of best fit relative to the panel), e.g. the angle between the axis and the plane is within [5°; 85°], such as within [10°; 80°], such as within [20°; 70°], such as within [30°; 60°]. A possible advantage of the central axis of the battery being neither orthogonal to nor parallel to the panel plane is that it enables improved orientation of the battery for the purpose of reducing or minimizing the size of the in-ear hearing aid.

[0019] According to the invention, an in-the-ear hearing aid is provided, wherein the battery is a rechargeable battery. An advantage of having a rechargeable battery is that it makes superfluous the act of replacing the battery when the energy in the battery has been exhausted in order to keep the in-the-ear hearing aid functioning. In the invention, the rechargeable battery can be recharged without having to remove the battery from the in-the-ear hearing aid, for example the battery can be recharged via electrical connections accessible without removing the battery, for example electrical connections accessible on an external part of the in-the-ear hearing aid, or the battery can be recharged wirelessly, for example via an induction coil. The advantage of being able to recharge the battery without removing the battery is that it enables not considering the restriction that the battery should be removable or even replaceable, for example easily removable or replaceable, and thus there is no restriction that the battery should be placed and oriented in a specific way in the in-the-ear hearing aid (such placement and orientation may not be optimal for reducing or minimizing the size of the hearing aid).

[0020] According to the present invention, an in-ear hearing aid is provided, wherein the battery is a rechargeable battery, and wherein the hearing aid may further comprise an induction coil configured to wirelessly charge the rechargeable battery. Alternatively or additionally, contact charging pads may be included. The induction coil may further be configured for communication, for example, operable between two states (i.e., charging and communicating), or even charging and communicating simultaneously, for example, intermittent charging and communicating, which may be perceived as both occurring simultaneously.

[0021] According to the present invention, an in-ear hearing aid is proposed, wherein the panel includes an antenna configured for high-frequency wireless communication, such as an antenna with an operating frequency of 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz. A possible advantage thereof is that an antenna such as another communication channel is generated. "Configured to have an operating frequency of 2.4 GHz" may be understood as being suitable for the 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. "Configured to have an antenna with an operating frequency of 2.4 GHz" may be understood as the antenna being suitable for transmitting and / or receiving electromagnetic signals within the 2.4 GHz ISM band and / or within the [2.4; 2.5] GHz wavelength range. "Configured to have an operating frequency of 5.8 GHz" may be understood as being suitable for the 5.8 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. "Configured to have an antenna with an operating frequency of 5.8 GHz" may be understood as the antenna being suitable for transmitting and / or receiving electromagnetic signals within the 5.8 GHz ISM band and / or within the [5.725; 5.875] GHz wavelength range.

[0022] According to the present invention, an in-the-ear hearing aid is proposed, wherein the panel comprises one or more microphones, such as one microphone, such as two microphones.

[0023] According to the invention, an in-the-ear hearing aid is proposed, wherein the battery is fixed to the concha via a protrusion which is integrated with the concha and may be integral with the concha. The protrusion enables an interference fit.

[0024] According to the present invention, an in-ear hearing aid is provided, comprising:

[0025] - a substrate carrying at least one electronic component;

[0026] The substrate carrying at least one electronic component is floated relative to the panel or connected to the panel.

[0027] According to the invention, an in-the-ear hearing aid is proposed, wherein a protective layer is applied to at least one electronic component in the in-the-ear hearing aid. If a protective layer, such as a thin liquid protective layer, such as epoxy resin or silicone or polyurethane (PU), is applied to at least one electronic component, such as an integrated circuit (IC), especially on the edge of the IC, the risk of damage can be dramatically reduced. The effect of the protective layer can vary depending on the properties, such as one or more of the following non-exhaustive list: stabilization by filling (micro) gaps and / or added force distribution layers and / or padding.

[0028] According to the invention, an in-ear hearing aid is provided, wherein the ear shell is integral, for example made as one part, for example 3D printed. Alternatively, the ear shell may be initially manufactured in multiple pieces and subsequently assembled to form a single piece. Possible advantages of an integral ear shell are that it enables simplified production, simplified assembly and / or increased resistance to moisture and liquids.

[0029] According to the present invention, an in-ear hearing aid is provided, wherein the in-ear hearing aid comprises a shell, the shell comprises a panel and an ear shell, and wherein the in-ear hearing aid further comprises a pickup coil arranged in the shell.

[0030] According to a second aspect, a plurality of in-the-ear hearing aids according to the first aspect are provided, for example the electronic components are identical across the plurality of hearing aids, wherein

[0031] - the shapes and / or sizes of the conchae differ from one another, for example, the shapes and / or sizes of the conchae are shaped for the left ear and the right ear of a particular person, respectively, wherein the conchae have different geometries from one another; and wherein

[0032] - The position and / or orientation of the cells relative to the respective panels differ from each other.

[0033] A possible advantage of the ear shells having different shapes and / or sizes is that the in-ear hearing aids can be adapted to different users, for example each in-ear hearing aid can be optimized for a specific user. A possible advantage of the batteries having different positions and / or orientations relative to the panel is that the size of each individual in-ear hearing aid can be minimized or reduced.

[0034] According to a third aspect, a binaural system is proposed, comprising two in-ear hearing aids according to the first aspect. In the present invention, these hearing aids may be configured as a "binaural (hearing) system", e.g. a system comprising two hearing aids, wherein the two hearing aids are adapted to cooperatively provide audible signals to the two ears of a user.

[0035] According to a fourth aspect, a method for providing an in-the-ear hearing aid, such as the in-the-ear hearing aid according to the first aspect, is proposed, the method comprising:

[0036] - acquiring data, such as three-dimensional data, representing the shape and / or size of the ear canal of a particular person, such as at least a portion of the ear canal extending from the outer ear to the middle ear;

[0037] - based on the data, creating a digital model of the concha of the hearing aid, such as a custom concha, for the ear canal;

[0038] Wherein the providing comprises determining the position and / or orientation (orientation) of the battery in the concha, which position and / or orientation increases or maximizes the distance from the concha to the faceplate. The method may be useful for receiving information about the geometry of the ear canal and providing information about the concha for the ear canal, such as a computer-aided design (CAD) model or another digital model, wherein the position and / or orientation of the battery is optimized to minimize or reduce the size of the concha (and / or maximize the distance from the concha to the faceplate, which maximization may reduce or eliminate the visibility of the in-ear hearing aid during use). The result of the method may be information related to the concha, such as a digital model of the concha.

[0039] It can be said that the basic insight of the inventors is that the position and / or orientation of the battery can advantageously be optimized during the design of the in-the-ear hearing aid, such as during the design of at least the custom designed part of the hearing aid (such as the concha), and that this optimization can be performed in order to minimize or reduce the size of the concha (and / or maximize the distance from the outer ear to the faceplate, which maximization can reduce or eliminate the visibility of the in-the-ear hearing aid during use). It will be appreciated that during the design process, the battery can "float" relative to the faceplate, for example the position and / or orientation of the battery can be optimized independently of the position and / or orientation of the faceplate. This can enable an improved design of the in-the-ear hearing aid for situations where there are restrictions on the orientation and / or position of the battery. A further advantage is that the hearing instrument can be formed so that a battery drawer is not required, which enables the hearing instrument to be smaller than a hearing instrument in which the battery drawer is included in or connected to the faceplate (where a battery door is formed in the faceplate to enable battery replacement).

[0040] According to the present invention, a method for providing an in-ear hearing aid is proposed, the method further comprising, for example, the following sequence:

[0041] - acquiring data, such as three-dimensional data, representing the concha for the ear canal;

[0042] - providing an ear conch (optionally with a protrusion enabling an interference fit / interference fit with a battery), for example via three-dimensional printing, based on data representing an ear conch for said ear canal;

[0043] - connecting the battery to the ear shell, for example by gluing or interference fit;

[0044] - Attach the faceplate to the ear shell.

[0045] The result of the method may be an in-the-ear hearing aid, possibly for example an in-the-ear hearing aid according to the first aspect.

[0046] The features and / or technical details outlined above may be combined in any suitable manner.

[0047] According to a first alternative aspect, such as an aspect that is not necessarily limited by the features of the claims, an in-the-ear hearing aid is provided, which may include a faceplate, an ear shell, such as a custom ear shell, a battery, and wherein the battery is fixed to the faceplate, wherein a central axis of the battery, such as an axis of minimum moment of inertia of the battery and / or an axis about which the battery exhibits circular symmetry, may be neither orthogonal to nor parallel to the faceplate plane (such as a mathematical plane of best fit relative to the faceplate), such as an angle between the axis and the plane is within [5°; 85°], such as within [10°; 80°], such as within [20°; 70°], such as within [30°; 60°]. This first alternative aspect may be combined with any other feature.

[0048] According to the present invention, there can be provided an in-ear hearing aid in which a battery is connected to a face plate via a protrusion formed integrally with the face plate or via an insert.

[0049] According to the present invention, an in-the-ear hearing aid may be provided, wherein the battery is only connected to the panel, for example the battery is not connected to the ear shell.

[0050] According to a second alternative aspect, such as an aspect not necessarily limited by the features of the claims, an in-the-ear hearing aid is provided, comprising:

[0051] -panel;

[0052] -Ear shells such as custom ear shells;

[0053] -Battery;

[0054] Wherein the battery is floating relative to the panel.This second alternative aspect may be combined with any other aspect and / or any other feature of the present invention.

[0055] According to a third alternative aspect, such as an aspect not necessarily limited by the features of the claims, an in-the-ear hearing aid is provided, comprising:

[0056] -panel;

[0057] -Ear shells such as custom ear shells;

[0058] -Battery;

[0059] - a substrate carrying at least one electronic component, such as a battery;

[0060] The substrate carrying at least one electronic component is floating relative to the panel or connected to the panel. This third alternative aspect may be combined with any other aspect and / or any other feature of the present invention.

[0061] In addition, multiple in-the-ear hearing aids according to any aspect presented herein, for example, wherein the electronic components are identical across the multiple hearing aids, wherein the shapes and / or sizes of the ear shells of the multiple in-the-ear hearing aids are different from each other, for example, the shape and / or size of each of these ear shells are respectively formed for the left ear and the right ear of a specific person, wherein the ear shells have different geometric shapes from each other; and wherein the positions and / or orientations of the batteries relative to the corresponding panels are different from each other.

[0062] Furthermore, there may be provided a binaural system comprising two in-ear hearing aids according to any of the preceding aspects.

[0063] Additionally, there may be provided a method for providing an in-the-ear hearing aid, such as an in-the-ear hearing aid according to any of the preceding aspects, the method comprising:

[0064] - acquiring data, such as three-dimensional data, representing the shape and / or size of the ear canal of a particular person, such as at least a portion of the ear canal extending from the outer ear to the middle ear;

[0065] - based on the data, creating a digital model of the concha of the hearing aid, such as a custom concha, for the ear canal;

[0066] The providing includes determining a position and / or orientation of the battery in the space within the concha that increases or maximizes the distance from the outer ear to the panel.

[0067] The method may also include, for example, the following sequence:

[0068] - acquiring data, such as three-dimensional data, representing the concha for the ear canal;

[0069] - providing the concha according to data representing the concha for the ear canal, for example by three-dimensional printing;

[0070] -Connect the battery to the ear shell;

[0071] - Attach the faceplate to the ear shell.

[0072] The features and / or technical details outlined above may be combined in any suitable manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] Various aspects of the present invention will be best understood from the detailed description below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For clarity, the drawings are schematic and simplified, and only the details necessary for understanding the present invention are given, while other details are omitted. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals are used for the same or corresponding parts. The various features of each aspect may be combined with any or all features of the other aspects. These and other aspects, features and / or technical effects will be apparent from and illustrated in conjunction with the following figures, in which:

[0074] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an in-ear hearing aid;

[0075] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an in-ear hearing aid;

[0076] Figure 3 A method according to the invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] The detailed description presented below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings serves as a description of a variety of different configurations. The detailed description includes specific details for providing a thorough understanding of a number of different concepts. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be implemented without these specific details. Several aspects of the in-ear hearing aid, multiple in-ear hearing aids, binaural systems, and methods are described by multiple different blocks, functional units, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). Depending on the specific application, design limitations, or other reasons, these elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer programs, or any combination thereof.

[0078] The electronic hardware may include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other appropriate hardware configured to perform a number of different functions described in this specification. Computer programs should be broadly interpreted as instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, execution threads, programs, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other names.

[0079] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an in-ear hearing aid 100 placed in the ear canal of a user as seen in a direction parallel to the ear canal axis. The in-ear hearing aid has two microphones that are constrained to be located on a horizontal axis. The first dotted line (forming a rectangle with the sides parallel to the edge of the paper and the horizontal axis) shows an orientation of the battery 106 that complies with the constraint that the battery 106 must be placed in that orientation (orientation). This constraint may result in an in-ear hearing aid that is unnecessarily large. The second dotted line (forming a rectangle that is approximately 60 degrees relative to the rectangle formed by the first dotted line) shows an alternative orientation of the battery 106, which may be the result of an optimization to reduce or minimize the size of the in-ear hearing aid, and which may result in a smaller in-ear hearing aid (compared to a possible design under the constraint that the battery 106 must be oriented as indicated by the first dotted line).

[0080] Figure 2Schematic diagram of an in-ear hearing aid 100 with a concha 104 and a panel 102 placed in the ear canal of a user, as seen in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the ear canal and parallel to the plane of the panel 102. The first dotted line (forming a rectangle with sides parallel to the edge of the paper) shows an orientation of the battery 106 that complies with the constraint that the battery 106 must be placed in that orientation. This constraint may result in an in-ear hearing aid that is unnecessarily large. The second dotted line (forming a rectangle approximately 60 degrees relative to the rectangle formed by the first dotted line) shows an alternative orientation of the battery 106, which may be the result of an optimization to reduce or minimize the size of the in-ear hearing aid, and which may result in a smaller in-ear hearing aid (compared to a possible design under the constraint that the battery 106 must be oriented as indicated by the first dotted line).

[0081] Figure 3 A method according to the invention is shown, which shows a method for providing an in-the-ear hearing aid, such as the in-the-ear hearing aid according to the first aspect, the method comprising:

[0082] Step 232, obtaining data such as three-dimensional data representing the shape and / or size of the ear canal of a specific person, such as at least a portion of the ear canal extending from the outer ear to the middle ear;

[0083] Step 234, based on the data, establishing a digital model of an ear shell of the hearing aid, such as a customized ear shell, for the ear canal;

[0084] The method includes step 233, determining the position and / or orientation (orientation) of the battery 106 in the concha 104, which position and / or orientation increases or maximizes the distance from the concha to the panel 102, and the method also includes, for example, in the following order:

[0085] Step 236, providing the ear shell 104 (optionally with a protrusion enabling interference fit / interference fit with the battery) based on the data representing the ear shell for the ear canal, for example, by 3D printing;

[0086] Step 238, attaching the battery 106 to the ear shell, such as by gluing or interference fit;

[0087] Step 240, connecting the panel 102 to the ear shell.

[0088] The method may be viewed as a sequence, but alternatively the method may simply define individual steps that may be interchanged in sequence with other steps or may have intermediate steps in between.

[0089] Unless expressly stated, the singular forms "one", "the" used herein include the plural form (i.e., have the meaning of "at least one"). It should be further understood that the terms "having", "including" and / or "comprising" used in the specification indicate the presence of the described features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or combinations thereof. It should be understood that, unless expressly stated, when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be an intermediate intervening element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more listed related items. Unless expressly stated, the steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed.

[0090] It should be appreciated that reference to "an embodiment" or "embodiment" or "aspect" or features that "may" be included in this specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the specific features, structures or characteristics may be appropriately combined in one or more embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to implement the various aspects described herein. Various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects.

[0091] The claims are not limited to the various aspects shown herein, but rather have the full scope consistent with the claim language wherein, unless expressly stated otherwise, elements referred to in the singular do not mean "one and only one" but rather "one or more." Unless expressly stated otherwise, the term "some" means one or more.

[0092] Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be judged based on the following claims.

Claims

1. An in-ear hearing aid, comprising: Panel (102); Custom ear shells (104); and Rechargeable battery (106); wherein the rechargeable battery is secured to the custom ear shell, and the rechargeable battery is positioned out of contact with the faceplate (102) such that the position and / or orientation of the rechargeable battery can be varied relative to the faceplate.

2. The in-the-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the panel (102) comprises one or more microphones.

3. The in-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the panel (102) comprises two microphones arranged to be located in a horizontal line when the hearing aid is placed in the ear of the user.

4. The in-the-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the rechargeable battery (106) is fixed to the custom ear shell (104) independently of the faceplate (102).

5. The in-the-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the rechargeable battery (106) is fixed only to the custom ear shell (104).

6. The in-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein a central axis of the rechargeable battery (106) is neither perpendicular to nor parallel to a panel plane.

7. The in-the-ear hearing aid of claim 1, wherein the hearing aid further comprises an induction coil configured to wirelessly charge the rechargeable battery.

8. The in-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the panel (102) comprises an antenna configured for high frequency wireless communication.

9. The in-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the rechargeable battery (106) is fixed to the custom ear shell (104) via a protrusion that is integrated with the custom ear shell (104).

10. An in-the-ear hearing aid according to any preceding claim, comprising: - a substrate carrying at least one electronic component; The substrate carrying at least one electronic component is positioned so that the position and / or orientation of the substrate can be changed relative to the panel (102), or the substrate is connected to the panel (102).

11. The in-ear hearing aid according to claim 10, wherein a protective layer is applied to at least one electronic component in the in-ear hearing aid (100).

12. The in-the-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the customized ear shell is a one-piece structure.

13. The in-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the in-ear hearing aid (100) comprises a shell, the shell comprising the panel (102) and the customized ear shell (104), and wherein the in-ear hearing aid (100) further comprises a pickup coil arranged in the shell.

14. The in-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein: The axis about which the cell exhibits circular symmetry is neither orthogonal nor parallel to the plane of the panel.

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