System and method for formulating non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness

Abstract

The present invention discloses a system and method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness, including: a sound-sensitive detection and pure tone hearing detection unit under normal environmental noise, a hearing signal preprocessing unit, a multi-channel sound pulse treatment plan making unit, and a sound pulse treatment implementation unit. Through the above-mentioned method, the present invention provides a system and method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness, which can accurately formulate and implement a sound pulse treatment plan for refractory ear stuffiness according to personalized detection results, and qualitatively and quantitatively adjustable sound pulses generate mechanical vibrations of the auditory pathway and regulate the conversion of electrical signals by the cochlea, so as to weaken or eliminate the perception of ear stuffiness.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of diagnosis and treatment systems, and in particular to a system and method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness. Background Art

[0002] The feeling of stuffy ears is a common symptom that may involve abnormalities in any part of the auditory organs, from the outer ear, middle ear to the inner ear and the auditory nerve. There is no exact definition of the feeling of stuffy ears in otorhinolaryngology textbooks at home and abroad. At the same time, an objective diagnosis and treatment system for the feeling of stuffy ears has not yet been established.

[0003] The feeling of stuffiness and blockage in the ears is a common symptom in outpatient clinics such as otolaryngology, neurology, and psychiatry. It can manifest as a feeling of fullness, blockage, pressure, or a feeling of being underwater in the ears. Patients may have symptoms such as increased hearing, hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, and various neurological dysfunctions, or there may be no obvious accompanying symptoms. Stuffy ears can easily cause patients to have negative emotions such as depression and anxiety, and even become isolated and cut off from the world. The outpatient incidence rate is about 1-5%, with more women than men, and the peak age is 40-45 years old.

[0004] The mechanism of the feeling of stuffiness in the ear has not yet been elucidated. Most current views believe that there are nerve endings that sense pressure changes in the external auditory canal, tympanic membrane, middle ear cavity, round window membrane and inner ear, which are mainly innervated by the trigeminal nerve, vagus nerve and glossopharyngeal nerve. The changes in the pressure in the middle ear cavity caused by middle ear diseases can cause symptoms by stimulating the pressure receptors of the tympanic membrane, middle ear cavity mucosa and round window membrane. Among them, the Eustachian tube is particularly critical in regulating the pressure in the middle ear cavity. Abnormal opening or obstructive opening of the Eustachian tube will cause abnormal middle ear pressure, which is one of the main reasons for the feeling of stuffiness in the ear. The latest research has found that abnormal activity of the tensor tympani muscle can also cause the compliance of the tympanic membrane and the pressure in the tympanic cavity to decrease, resulting in a feeling of stuffiness in the ear. At the level of the inner ear, changes in pressure in the cochlear duct caused by the disorder of the production or absorption of internal and external lymph will stimulate the pressure receptors of the round window membrane.

[0005] The principle of treatment for ear stuffiness should be to treat the cause as the main treatment and symptomatic treatment as the auxiliary treatment. Most diseases of the external auditory canal can be treated by local cleaning and medication. Middle ear or inner ear diseases with clear causes can be improved by surgery, such as chronic suppurative otitis media, otosclerosis, superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome, idiopathic labyrinthine fistula, etc. For some refractory middle ear diseases, such as recurrent secretory otitis media, incomplete middle ear expansion, and adhesive otitis media, Eustachian tube balloon dilatation can be tried when conservative treatment is ineffective. Symptomatic Eustachian tube dysfunction is the most common cause of ear stuffiness, with an incidence rate of up to 1-5%. Traditional treatment methods such as Eustachian tube function exercises, pinching the nose to inflate, and surgical methods including tympanostomy tube placement and Eustachian tubeplasty. At present, there is insufficient evidence to show that the above traditional treatment methods and any drug or surgery for the treatment of symptomatic Eustachian tube dysfunction have obvious clinical effects. Summary of the invention

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, a technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0007] Provided is a system for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precision treatment plan for ear stuffiness, comprising: a sound sensitivity detection and pure tone hearing detection unit under normal environmental noise not exceeding 60dB, a hearing signal preprocessing unit, a multi-channel sound pulse treatment plan making unit, and a sound pulse treatment implementation unit; the hearing signal preprocessing unit receives detection information input by the sound sensitivity detection and pure tone hearing detection unit under normal environmental noise, and divides the detection information into multiple frequency bands according to the frequency range, each frequency band corresponds to a signal processing channel, and formulates personalized single-mode sound pulses for each channel respectively; the multi-channel sound pulse treatment plan making unit superimposes or composites the sound pulses output by each channel to formulate a comprehensive multi-channel multi-modal sound pulse treatment plan; the sound pulse treatment implementation unit periodically transmits personalized sound pulses into the external auditory canal according to the sound pulse treatment plan, so as to adjust the middle ear pressure and auditory nerve perception under the combined effect of the mechanical vibration of the auditory pathway induced by the sound pulse and the regulation of the electrical signal converted by the cochlea, so that the pressure on both sides of the tympanic membrane is gradually re-balanced, and the ear stuffiness perception of the auditory nerve system is weakened or eliminated.

[0008] A method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precision treatment plan for ear stuffiness, the steps of which include: collecting clinical diagnosis information of patients; obtaining sound allergy information based on sound allergy test; obtaining detection information of sound allergy test and hearing threshold test by sound sensitivity detection and pure tone hearing detection unit under ordinary environmental noise not exceeding 60dB, and pre-processing the detection information to divide it into multiple frequency bands according to the frequency range in the detection information, each frequency band corresponds to a signal processing channel, and formulates personalized single-mode sound pulses for each channel respectively; formulates a comprehensive multi-channel multi-modal sound pulse plan according to the personalized sound pulses output by each channel; optimizes the multi-channel multi-modal sound pulse plan according to the patient's experience debugging or treatment information; and implements the multi-channel multi-modal sound pulse plan by periodically transmitting the sound pulses into the external auditory canal through earphones on the left and / or right ear sides respectively, so as to realize the periodic management of multi-course treatment of ear stuffiness.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the clinical diagnostic information for the symptoms of ear stuffiness in unilateral or bilateral ears includes but is not limited to: medical history information, underlying disease information, imaging information, and various scale assessment information reflecting the mental and psychological state, so as to diagnose the cause of the ear stuffiness.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a sound sensitivity test is performed on the affected ear under normal environmental noise conditions not exceeding 60dB. If sound sensitivity is present, a narrow-band noise desensitization plan is first formulated and sound desensitization treatment is performed within the sound allergy frequency range of ±50% of the sound allergy frequency. After the desensitization treatment, a non-invasive sound pulse precision treatment plan for ear stuffiness is formulated and implemented.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an extended high-frequency pure tone hearing threshold test is performed on the affected ear from 1 Hz to 12 kHz under normal environmental noise conditions not exceeding 60 dB, so as to obtain the lowest value of the patient's ability to perceive external sounds in a wide frequency range of up to 12 kHz as the hearing threshold, and to obtain the upper limit of the sound intensity and the discomfort range that the patient can accept.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the detection information is preprocessed: according to the pure tone hearing threshold diagram of the affected ear side, no more than 6 frequency bands are non-uniformly divided in the range of 1 Hz to 12 kHz, wherein the number of frequency bands divided in the range of 1 Hz to 400 Hz is no more than 3; according to the number of frequency bands, a corresponding plurality of independent channels for formulating sound pulse signals are set, one channel corresponds to one frequency band, and a single modal sound pulse is formulated in each channel: the sound pulse intensity is 5 to 80 dB above the hearing threshold corresponding to the frequency band of the channel, the discomfort domain of the corresponding frequency band measured by pure tone is used as the reference pulse upper limit, the frequency range of the sound pulse is 1 Hz to 500 Hz, the sound pulse waveform includes but is not limited to triangular wave, rectangular wave, sawtooth wave, and the waveform adjustment includes but is not limited to trough extension, change cycle, and waveform notch.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the output contribution weights of the corresponding channels are set according to the diagnostic information of ear stuffiness, and the single modal sound pulses output by each channel are superimposed or compounded according to the output contribution weights to form a multi-channel multi-modal sound pulse treatment plan.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sound pulses of the sound pulse therapy program are periodically output through headphones and conducted into the external auditory canal through the air, forming pulse pressure on the outside of the eardrum to generate vibrations, inducing mechanical vibrations in the ossicular chain and auditory pathway connected to the inside of the eardrum. At the same time, the ossicular chain vibrates the cochlea, causing the hair cells in the cochlea to move and generate electrical signal changes corresponding to the sound pulses. Under the combined action of mechanical vibration and electrical signal change regulation, the pressure on both sides of the eardrum is rebalanced, and the auditory nervous system's perception of ear blockage is weakened or eliminated.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, for patients with binaural impairment, left and right ear balance adjustment is performed by experiencing the sound pulses played by headphones to formulate an optimized binaural impairment precision treatment plan.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, detection and diagnosis information is periodically acquired, and treatment plan parameters are timely adjusted and optimized based on the detection and diagnosis information to formulate treatment cycles and courses.

[0017] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that, based on the personalized test results, an acoustic pulse treatment plan for intractable ear stuffiness can be accurately formulated and implemented, and the qualitatively and quantitatively adjustable acoustic pulses produce mechanical vibrations in the auditory pathway and regulate the electrical signals converted by the cochlea, so that the perception of ear stuffiness is weakened or eliminated. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work, among which:

[0019] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of a system and method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse accurate treatment plan for ear stuffiness and blockage of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of a system and method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness and blockage of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3It is a structural schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of a system and method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness and blockage of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] See also Figure 1-3 , the embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0024] A non-invasive sound pulse precision treatment program formulation system for ear stuffiness, the structure of which includes: a sound sensitivity detection and pure tone hearing detection unit under ordinary environmental noise not exceeding 60dB, a hearing signal preprocessing unit, a multi-channel sound pulse treatment program preparation unit, and an sound pulse treatment implementation unit; since personalized sound pulses are mechanical waves with sufficient potential energy and kinetic energy, personalized sound pulses are used to periodically transmit into the external auditory canal, and under the combined effect of the induced mechanical vibration of the auditory pathway and the cochlear conversion electrical signal regulation, the middle ear pressure and auditory nerve perception are regulated, so that the pressure on both sides of the eardrum is gradually re-balanced, and the auditory nerve system's ear stuffiness perception is weakened or eliminated.

[0025] A method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness, the steps of which include:

[0026] (1) Collecting clinical diagnostic information of patients. The clinical diagnostic information collected for unilateral or bilateral ear congestion symptoms includes but is not limited to: medical history information, underlying disease information, imaging information, and various scale assessment information reflecting mental and psychological status, in order to diagnose and confirm the cause of the congestion.

[0027] (2) Obtaining sound allergy information based on the sound allergy test. In particular, the sound allergy test is conducted on the affected ear under normal environmental noise conditions not exceeding 60dB, and sound desensitization treatment can be performed first using noise in a specific frequency band.

[0028] If you are allergic to sound, first develop a narrow-band noise desensitization plan and perform sound desensitization treatment within the sound frequency range of ±50% of the sound allergy frequency, with the sound intensity not exceeding the discomfort range obtained by the pure tone test. After the desensitization treatment, develop and implement a non-invasive sound pulse precision treatment plan for ear stuffiness.

[0029] (3) Obtain a hearing signal based on a hearing threshold test and preprocess the hearing signal.

[0030] (3.1) Perform an extended high-frequency pure tone hearing threshold test from 1 Hz to 12 kHz on the affected ear under normal environmental noise conditions not exceeding 60 dB, so as to obtain the lowest value of the patient's ability to perceive external sounds in a wide frequency range of up to 12 kHz as the hearing threshold, and obtain the upper limit of sound intensity and discomfort range that the patient can accept.

[0031] (3.2) Based on the pure tone audiometry threshold diagram of the affected ear, divide the frequency range from 1 Hz to 12 kHz into no more than 6 bands (the industry standard audiogram itself is a semi-logarithmic curve, with the horizontal axis being frequency (logarithmic) and the vertical axis being loudness (linear)), especially within the range from 1 Hz to 400 Hz, divide the frequency range into no more than 3 bands.

[0032] (3.3) Set up multiple independent sound signal processing channels for developing sound pulse signals, one channel corresponds to one divided frequency band, develop a single modal sound pulse in each channel, and the sound pulse intensity is near the hearing discomfort range of 5 to 80dB above the hearing threshold corresponding to the frequency band of the channel, so as to develop the limit of oscillating sound intensity that the patient can feel and accept. Among them, the frequency range of the sound pulse is 1Hz to 500Hz, the sound pulse waveform includes but is not limited to triangular wave, rectangular wave, sawtooth wave, and the waveform adjustment includes but is not limited to trough extension, change cycle, and waveform notch.

[0033] (4) Formulation of a multi-channel multi-modal acoustic pulse treatment plan. The output contribution weights of the corresponding channels are set according to the diagnostic information of ear congestion, so as to superimpose or compound the single-modal acoustic pulses output by each channel, thereby forming a multi-channel multi-modal acoustic pulse treatment plan.

[0034] (5) Optimize the single / double ear sound pulse precision treatment plan based on the patient's experience debugging information. For patients with double ear sound pulses, the left and right ears are balanced by experiencing the sound pulses played by the headphones, and then the double ear sound pulse precision treatment plan is optimized based on the patient's experience debugging information.

[0035] The sound pulses in the sound pulse therapy program, which are mechanical waves with sufficient potential energy and kinetic energy, are periodically output through headphones and conducted into the external auditory canal through the air. The mechanical wave vibration is transmitted to the eardrum, and the eardrum vibration transmits the pulse pressure into the middle ear cavity, opening the Eustachian tube, thereby regulating the pressure perception of the middle ear cavity, Eustachian tube, round window membrane and inner ear, so that the pressure on both sides of the eardrum is gradually balanced. This is the mechanical effect of the sound pulse therapy. On the other hand, the vibration of the eardrum drives the ossicular chain, which promotes the ossicular chain to oscillate the endolymph of the cochlea, drives the hair cells in the cochlea to move periodically, and restores some hair cells in an abnormal state to normal. The movement of the hair cells generates electrical signal potential fluctuations corresponding to the sound pulse, which acts on the middle ear and inner ear nervous systems at the same time. This is the electrical signal stimulation effect of the sound pulse neural regulation therapy. Under the combined effect of the mechanical vibration of the auditory pathway induced by the sound pulse and the electrical signal regulation of the cochlea, the pressure on both sides of the eardrum is rebalanced, and the auditory nervous system's perception of ear blockage is weakened or eliminated.

[0036] (6) Development and implementation of multi-course treatment plans. Continuous acoustic pulse therapy is performed, each session lasting 5 to 30 minutes, 2 to 5 times a day. For patients with persistent ear congestion, a multi-course acoustic pulse therapy plan is developed, with one course lasting 1 to 5 days. After each course, the parameters of the treatment plan are adjusted and optimized in a timely manner according to the changes in the condition to achieve the best treatment effect.

[0037] The beneficial effects of the system and method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness of the present invention are: based on personalized detection results, a multi-channel and multi-modal sound pulse treatment plan for refractory ear stuffiness can be accurately formulated and implemented, and the qualitatively and quantitatively adjustable sound pulses generate mechanical vibrations of the auditory pathway and regulate the cochlear conversion of electrical signals, so that the perception of ear stuffiness is weakened or eliminated.

[0038] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention specification, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for formulating non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plans for ear congestion, characterized in that: include: Sound sensitivity detection and pure tone hearing detection unit under normal environmental noise not exceeding 60dB, hearing signal preprocessing unit, multi-channel sound pulse treatment plan making unit, and sound pulse treatment implementation unit; the hearing signal preprocessing unit receives the detection information input by the sound sensitivity detection and pure tone hearing detection unit under normal environmental noise, and divides the detection information into multiple frequency bands according to the frequency range, each frequency band corresponds to a signal processing channel, and formulates personalized single modal sound pulses for each channel respectively; The multi-channel acoustic pulse treatment plan making unit superimposes or compounds the acoustic pulses output by each channel to formulate a comprehensive multi-channel multi-modal acoustic pulse treatment plan; The sound pulse treatment implementation unit periodically transmits personalized sound pulses into the external auditory canal according to the sound pulse treatment plan, so as to adjust the middle ear pressure and auditory nerve perception under the combined effect of the mechanical vibration of the auditory pathway induced by the sound pulse and the regulation of the electrical signal converted by the cochlea, so that the pressure on both sides of the eardrum is gradually re-balanced, and the perception of ear blockage in the auditory nerve system is weakened or eliminated; The steps of the method for formulating a non-invasive sound pulse precision treatment plan for ear stuffiness include: collecting clinical diagnosis information of the patient; obtaining sound allergy information based on the sound allergy test; obtaining detection information of the sound allergy test and the hearing threshold test through the sound sensitivity detection and pure tone hearing detection unit under ordinary environmental noise not exceeding 60dB, and pre-processing the detection information to divide it into multiple frequency bands according to the frequency range in the detection information, each frequency band corresponds to a signal processing channel, and formulates personalized single-mode sound pulses for each channel; formulates a comprehensive multi-channel multi-modal sound pulse plan based on the personalized sound pulses output by each channel; optimizes the multi-channel multi-modal sound pulse plan based on the patient's experience debugging or treatment information; the multi-channel multi-modal sound pulse plan is implemented by periodically transmitting the left and / or right earphones into the external auditory canal respectively, so as to realize the periodic management of multi-course treatment of ear stuffiness; Perform a sound sensitivity test on the affected ear under normal environmental noise conditions not exceeding 60dB. If there is sound sensitivity, first formulate a narrow-band noise desensitization plan with a sound intensity that does not exceed the discomfort range of the pure tone test within the sound sensitivity frequency range of ±50% of the sound sensitivity frequency and perform sound desensitization treatment. After the desensitization treatment, perform a pure tone hearing threshold test, formulate and implement a non-invasive sound pulse precision treatment plan for ear stuffiness; When preprocessing the detection information: according to the pure tone hearing threshold diagram of the affected ear side, no more than 6 frequency bands are unevenly divided in the range of 1Hz to 12KHz, wherein the number of frequency bands divided in the range of 1Hz to 400Hz is no more than 3; a plurality of independent signal processing channels corresponding to the number of frequency bands are set to formulate sound pulse signals, one channel corresponds to one frequency band, and a single modal sound pulse is formulated in each channel: the sound pulse intensity is 5 to 80dB above the hearing threshold corresponding to the frequency band of the channel, and the discomfort domain of the corresponding frequency band measured by pure tone is used as the reference pulse upper limit, the frequency range of the sound pulse is 1Hz to 500Hz, the sound pulse waveform includes but is not limited to triangular wave, rectangular wave, sawtooth wave, and the waveform adjustment includes but is not limited to trough extension, change cycle, and waveform notch; The output contribution weights of the corresponding channels are set according to the diagnosis information of ear stuffiness, and the single-mode sound pulses output by each channel are superimposed or compounded according to the output contribution weights to form a multi-channel multi-mode sound pulse treatment plan; The sound pulses of the acoustic pulse therapy program are periodically output through headphones and transmitted into the external auditory canal through the air, forming pulse pressure on the outside of the eardrum and generating vibrations, inducing mechanical vibrations in the ossicular chain and auditory pathway connected to the inside of the eardrum. At the same time, the ossicular chain vibrates the cochlea, causing the hair cells in the cochlea to move and generate electrical signal changes corresponding to the sound pulses. Under the combined effect of mechanical vibration and electrical signal change regulation, the pressure on both sides of the eardrum is rebalanced and the auditory nervous system's perception of ear blockage is weakened or eliminated.

2. The system for formulating non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clinical diagnostic information for unilateral or bilateral ear stuffiness symptoms includes, but is not limited to: medical history information, underlying disease information, imaging information, and various scale assessment information reflecting the mental and psychological state, to diagnose the cause of the stuffiness.

3. The system for formulating non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness according to claim 1, characterized in that: Under normal environmental noise conditions not exceeding 60dB, an extended high-frequency pure tone hearing threshold test from 1Hz to 12KHz is performed on the affected ear to obtain the lowest value of the patient's ability to perceive external sounds in a wide frequency range of up to 12KHz as the hearing threshold, and to obtain the upper limit of sound intensity and discomfort range that the patient can accept.

4. The system for formulating non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness according to claim 1, characterized in that: For patients with binaural impairment, the left and right ears are balanced by experiencing the sound pulses played by the headphones, so as to develop an optimized binaural sound pulse precision treatment plan.

5. The system for formulating non-invasive sound pulse precise treatment plan for ear stuffiness according to claim 4, characterized in that: Acquire test and diagnosis information periodically, and adjust and optimize treatment plan parameters in a timely manner based on the test and diagnosis information to formulate treatment cycles and courses.

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