Method for directional signal processing of a hearing system

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for directional signal processing of a hearing system (HS) having at least one first hearing instrument (H1), in which a first input signal (E1) is generated from ambient sound (Us) by means of an electroacoustic first input transducer (M1) of the first hearing instrument (H1) and a second input signal (E2) is generated by means of an electroacoustic second input transducer (M2) of the hearing system (HS), wherein a number (# N) of dialogue partners (G1-3, Gj) of a wearer (T1) of the hearing system (HS) is determined from the first input signal (E1) and the second input signal (E2), according to the determined number (# N) of dialogue partners (G1-3, Gj), at least one compression and / or at least one directional sound transmission and / or at least one noise suppression is modified during processing of the first input signal (E1) and / or the second input signal (E2), and a first output signal (Out1) is produced therefrom.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for directional signal processing for a hearing system having at least one first hearing instrument, wherein a first input signal is generated from ambient sounds by a first electroacoustic input transducer of the first hearing instrument and a second input signal is generated by a second electroacoustic input transducer of the hearing system, wherein a first output signal is generated as a function of processing the first input signal and / or the second input signal. Background Art

[0002] One of the most difficult situations for hearing devices to compensate for hearing loss is to assist the hearing-impaired in situations with multiple potential conversation partners, such as the so-called "cocktail party" listening situation. Here, the multiple useful signals provided in the speech contribution of the conversation partner are usually located in a noise background, which itself may contain other possibly undefined or fragmented speech signals and which often has no clear origin.

[0003] In a two-person conversation, the hearing-impaired person can usually fully concentrate on the conversation with the only conversation partner, so that the hearing-impaired person can also pay special attention to non-verbal communication elements, such as the conversation partner's gestures and / or facial expressions, as well as direct interactions with the conversation partner (such as brief mutual interruptions, etc.). The hearing device can assist the two-person conversation in an effective way by particularly highlighting the speech contribution of the only conversation partner.

[0004] However, assistance with hearing aids often becomes difficult when there are multiple conversation partners, because the individual speech contributions cannot be satisfactorily highlighted in the background noise, or this highlighting can lead to an unnatural and therefore uncomfortable sounding background. In addition, one of the conversation partners is often not facing the hearing-impaired person, so that the perception of non-verbal communication elements is not as good as in a conversation between two people. This situation and the so-called "turn-taking", i.e. the possible lack of synchronicity in the order of speaking, can be very strenuous for the hearing-impaired person, so that they gradually withdraw from the conversation due to their increasing inability to follow the conversation, or even leave the conversation completely. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for a hearing instrument, by means of which the hearing-impaired person can be assisted as precisely as possible in complex conversation situations, while the background should remain as natural as possible.

[0006] The technical problem is solved according to the invention by a method for directional signal processing for a hearing system having at least one first hearing instrument, wherein a first input signal is generated from ambient sounds by a first electroacoustic input transducer of the first hearing instrument and a second input signal is generated by a second electroacoustic input transducer of the hearing system, wherein the number of conversation partners of a wearer of the hearing system is determined based on the first input signal and the second input signal, wherein, depending on the determined number of conversation partners, at least one compression and / or at least one directional sound transmission and / or at least one noise suppression is modified during processing of the first input signal and / or the second input signal and a first output signal is generated thereby.

[0007] A hearing instrument generally comprises a device which generates an electrical signal from an ambient signal by means of an input converter and processes the electrical signal into an output signal, and generates an output sound signal from the output signal and inputs the output sound signal into the auditory system of the wearer of the device. Hearing instruments include in particular earphones (such as "earplugs"), headsets, data glasses with a loudspeaker, etc. Hearing instruments also include hearing aids in the narrow sense, i.e. devices for compensating for the hearing loss of a wearer, wherein one or more input signals are processed into an output signal according to the hearing requirements of the wearer and are amplified in particular in a frequency band-dependent manner so that the output sound signal generated from the output signal by means of a loudspeaker or the like is suitable for at least partially compensating for the hearing loss of the wearer, in particular in a user-specific manner.

[0008] The electroacoustic input converter here comprises in particular a device which is provided for generating a corresponding electrical signal from a sound signal. In particular, when generating the first or second input signal by the corresponding input converter, a preprocessing, for example in the form of a linear preamplification and / or A / D conversion, can also take place. The correspondingly generated input signal is provided here in particular by an electrical signal, the current fluctuations and / or voltage fluctuations of which substantially reflect the sound pressure fluctuations of the air.

[0009] The hearing system can here only comprise the first hearing instrument. In this case, the second input transducer is also arranged in the first hearing instrument. In particular, multiple conversation partners can be realized by (mono) directional sound transmission and / or other directional signal processing, wherein in addition, in particular a spectral analysis of the input signal can be performed.

[0010] However, the hearing system is preferably designed as a binaural hearing system, which includes a first hearing instrument and a second hearing instrument, which are respectively worn on one ear and the other ear, wherein the second input signal is generated by a second input transducer of the second hearing instrument. In this case, multiple conversation partners can be realized in particular by directional processing of the two input signals, for example by generating intermediate signals with different directional characteristics from the two input signals by means of directional microphones, and using the intermediate signals for detecting the conversation partners.

[0011] Signal processing in hearing instruments, in particular hearing devices for compensating hearing loss, usually takes place according to classified “listening situations”. These listening situations are standardized types of possible acoustic environments that are determined and divided according to certain characteristics that can be measured in the hearing instrument, such as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), speech content, speech intelligibility index (SII), etc.

[0012] However, in a complex listening environment with multiple conversation partners, in the presence of background noise (which may also contain speech signals but is not important for the wearer), this division may lead to overly aggressive noise suppression and / or directional sound transmission, thereby producing an unnatural sound impression. In addition, the conversation partner standing at the side may not be detected by the directional microphone at all, and on the other hand, the individual speech contributions may not be adequately highlighted.

[0013] The present invention solves this problem by detecting acoustic events in a situation to determine how many people are talking to the wearer of a hearing instrument or hearing system. In particular, different signal processing is used for one conversation partner on the one hand and for two or more conversation partners on the other hand. Preferably, the signal processing is also used differently for two or more conversation partners, i.e., in particular, a distinction is made between the case of two conversation partners and the case of three or more conversation partners.

[0014] When changing the first input signal and / or the second input signal, the change of the compression and / or the directional sound transmission and / or the noise suppression here particularly comprises deriving an intermediate signal from the first input signal and / or the second input signal, particularly using signal portions of other input signals, and adjusting the compression or noise suppression for the intermediate signal as a function of the number of conversation partners. Furthermore, the intermediate signal can in particular be provided by the directional signal.

[0015] This means in particular that when only one conversation partner is identified and the acoustic situation is given, a certain value is used for the parameter for compression or noise suppression or directional sound transmission, and when two or more conversation partners are identified, another correspondingly assigned value is assigned to the parameter. The first output signal is then preferably generated as a function of the intermediate signal or formed directly from the intermediate signal.

[0016] When determining the number of conversation partners, the speech activity of the determined conversation partners is preferably taken into account dynamically in such a way that after a predefined time without speech activity, for example after at least 100 ms, preferably 1 s and particularly preferably 3 s and at most 3 minutes, preferably at most 1 minute and in particular at most 10 s, this person is no longer considered a conversation partner. Thus, if a person who was previously considered a conversation partner does not have a corresponding speech contribution after this time period, the number of conversation partners is reduced by 1 (unless a new conversation partner joins).

[0017] Preferably, a first half-space signal and a second half-space signal are generated from the first input signal and the second input signal by means of a directional microphone, wherein compression and / or directional sounding and / or noise suppression is applied to the first or second half-space signal and / or separately for each of the two half-space signals depending on the determined number of dialogue partners. This includes in particular that the respective half-space signal attenuates the sound from one half-space to a great extent, preferably to the greatest extent, and accordingly only significantly contributes to the sound from the other half-space, i.e. the half-space that is complementary to the aforementioned half-space. The first half-space signal significantly contributes to or assists the first half-space, which may in particular be complementary to the second half-space, and the second half-space signal (rather than the first half-space signal) significantly contributes to or assists the second half-space. The first and / or second half-space signal may also be generated in particular from one or more intermediate signals, wherein the or each intermediate signal is generated in particular from the first and second input signal by means of a directional microphone. The half-space signal is an advantageous type of preprocessing, after which further signal processing can be applied to the half-space signal depending on the number of dialogue partners in order to improve the intelligibility of the dialogue partners.

[0018] It is preferred that the first half-space signal has a directional characteristic that maximally attenuates the rear half-space, and / or the second half-space signal has a directional characteristic that maximally attenuates the front half-space, wherein the front half-space and the rear half-space are defined relative to the front direction of the wearer. This means in particular that the first half-space (for which only the first half-space signal provides significant assistance) is provided by the front half-space, which is determined relative to the front direction of the wearer (when the hearing system is worn as intended), and the second half-space (for which only the second half-space signal provides significant assistance) is provided by the rear half-space.

[0019] Advantageously, a first auxiliary input signal is generated from the ambient sound by a first auxiliary input transducer of the first hearing instrument, and a second auxiliary input signal is preferably generated by a second auxiliary input transducer of the second hearing instrument, wherein the number of conversation partners of the wearer of the binaural hearing system is additionally determined from the first auxiliary input signal and / or the second auxiliary input signal. This means in particular that the binaural hearing system generates two input signals in each of the two hearing instruments, to which local preprocessing can be applied if necessary (by means of directional microphones). The number of conversation partners is determined at least in the (first) hearing instrument from at least two local input signals (first input signal and first auxiliary input signal) and at least one input signal (second input signal), and preferably from two input signals of the other hearing instrument (second hearing instrument) (i.e. also from the second auxiliary input signal), wherein for this purpose in particular the corresponding input signals (or intermediate signals derived from these input signals, which can be generated if necessary by means of local directional microphones) can be transmitted to the other hearing instrument in each case. In the manner described here, the position of the conversation partner can be determined particularly precisely by means of the auxiliary input signals.

[0020] Preferably, the first output signal is generated as a function of the first input signal and the first auxiliary input signal and in particular as a function of the second input signal and / or the second auxiliary input signal. This includes in particular including in the first output signal a signal component of the input signal which is also used to determine the number of dialogue partners.

[0021] Advantageously, the speech share in the ambient sound is monitored based on the first and second input signals and preferably also based on the first and / or second auxiliary input signals, wherein a spatial analysis is performed based on the first and second input signals to determine the number and position of the dialogue partners and, for this purpose, in particular the angular direction of the sound source of the ambient sound, and wherein the presence and position of the individual speakers is determined based on the speech share and the angular direction. This is particularly advantageous as a pre-stage for determining the number of dialogue partners. In order to better distinguish between the different speakers, in particular, a spectral analysis is performed on the individual speech shares.

[0022] Advantageously, in a further step, the length of the speech contribution and / or the overlap of the speech contribution with the speech contribution of the wearer is determined for each speaker based on the first and second input signals and preferably also based on the first and / or second auxiliary input signals, and the respective speaker is thus determined as a conversation partner of the wearer. In particular, speakers who are involved in other conversations in an unclear acoustic environment and are therefore not conversation partners of the wearer can be filtered out.

[0023] It is expedient to determine the presence and position of the individual speakers only in one half-space, which corresponds to one of the two half-space signals. This makes it possible to pre-filter the acoustic environment, in particular for the determination in the first half-space.

[0024] It has also proven to be advantageous to track changes in the positions of individual speakers. This can be achieved, for example, by updating the positions with sufficient frequency. By tracking their positions, already identified conversation partners can remain identified without having to constantly perform a new, comprehensive analysis of the conversation partners with regard to the overlap of the spectral frequency components of the speech shares or the speech contributions.

[0025] In an advantageous embodiment, when only one conversation partner is identified, a predetermined first value of the amplification parameter is applied to the intermediate signal generated from the first and / or second input signal, and when exactly two conversation partners are identified, a second value of the amplification parameter is applied to the intermediate signal, the second value being 2 dB to 5 dB lower than the first value, and / or when exactly three conversation partners are identified, a third value of the amplification parameter is applied to the intermediate signal, the third value being 4 dB to 10 dB lower than the first value. The intermediate signal can be provided in particular by a directional signal and in particular contained in the first output signal, wherein, if necessary, additional frequency band-dependent amplification and / or compression is applied to the intermediate signal.

[0026] Preferably, a quantitatively different signal processing is performed for one, two or three conversation partners, in particular in such a way that the noise suppression is stronger the more conversation partners there are. Above three conversation partners, the signal processing can also remain unchanged.

[0027] Preferably, the amplification value and / or the noise amplification value and / or the compensation value of the background sound amplification is used as the amplification parameter for the second half-space signal, and the second half-space signal has a directional characteristic that attenuates the front half-space to the greatest extent. This means that as the number of dialogue partners increases, the sound from the back half-space is attenuated to an increasing extent.

[0028] The present invention further discloses a hearing system having at least one first hearing instrument, wherein the hearing system is configured to implement the above method. The hearing system is preferably designed as a binaural hearing system, which also includes a second hearing instrument.

[0029] The hearing system according to the invention has the advantages of the method according to the invention. The advantages of the method and its developments can be substantially transferred to the hearing system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail below with the aid of the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 The block diagram shows a schematic diagram of a binaural hearing system with two hearing devices.

[0032] Figure 2 Show according to Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a top view of the wearer of the binaural hearing system and the surrounding environment, and

[0033] Figure 3 According to Figure 2 The diagram shows the dialog partner in the surroundings according to Figure 1 Schematic flow chart of a method for signal processing of a binaural hearing system.

[0034] Parts and dimensions that correspond to one another are provided with the same reference symbols in all figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Figure 1 Schematically shown in the block diagram is a binaural hearing system HS having a first hearing instrument H1 and a second hearing instrument H2. The two hearing instruments H1 and H2 are designed here as first and second hearing devices HG1 and HG2, respectively, which are arranged and designed to compensate for hearing loss of a wearer of the binaural hearing system HS. The first hearing device HG1 has a first input converter M1 and a first auxiliary input converter Mh1, while the second hearing device HG2 has a second input converter M2 and a second auxiliary input converter Mh2. The input converters are provided here as corresponding microphones.

[0036] The first input converter M1 and the first auxiliary input converter Mh1 are respectively configured to generate the first input signal E1 or the first auxiliary input signal Eh1 from the ambient sound Us. Accordingly, the second input converter M2 and the second auxiliary input converter Mh2 are respectively configured to generate the second input signal E2 or the second auxiliary input signal Eh2 from the ambient sound Us.

[0037] The first hearing device HG1 has a first control unit St1, which processes the first input signal E1 and the first auxiliary input signal Eh1 into a first output signal Out1 in a manner which will still be explained, which is converted into a first output sound signal Sout1 by a first output converter L1 of the first hearing device HG1. The first output converter L1 is provided here by a loudspeaker. However, the first output converter L1 can also be provided by a bone conduction earpiece. Correspondingly, the second hearing device comprises a second control unit St2, which processes the second input signal E2 and the second auxiliary input signal Eh2 into a second output signal Out2. The second output signal Out2 is converted into a second output sound signal by a second output converter (not shown) of the second hearing device HG2.

[0038] Figure 2 The top view shows the Figure 1 Wearer T1 of a binaural hearing system HS. There are multiple persons P1-P5 around the wearer, wherein in particular there may be other persons not shown outside the local area shown. The persons P1-P5 partially talk to each other or to the wearer T1, wherein additional background noise not shown in detail may also be present (e.g. conversations that are far away or cannot be localized, or traffic noise or other environmental noise). Relative to the front direction F of the wearer T1, the persons P1, P2, P3 located in the front half-space R1 participate in the conversation with the wearer T1 and are therefore regarded as the wearer's conversation partners G1, G2, G3. Person P4, who is also standing in the front half-space R1 of the wearer T1, participates in other conversations. Person P5 stands in the back half-space R2 of the wearer T1, which is complementary to the front half-space R1, and therefore does not participate in the conversation with the wearer, but in other conversations ( Figure 2 The corresponding dialogue partners of persons P4 and P5 are not shown).

[0039] The multiple conversations around him (here, for example, the conversations of persons P4 and P5) and the additional background noise make it difficult for the wearer T1 to keep up with his conversation with his conversation partners G1-G3. The wearer may need to pay more attention and may be less likely to notice the non-verbal communication elements (such as gestures, facial expressions) of the conversation partners G1-G3, and may therefore be limited in fully participating in the conversation.

[0040] A method is proposed to solve this problem. Figure 3 The block diagram shown is used for explanation.

[0041] like Figure 1 As described, in the first hearing device HG1, a first input signal E1 and a first auxiliary input signal Eh1 are generated from the ambient sound Us, and in the second hearing device HG2, a second input signal E2 and a second auxiliary input signal Eh2 are generated from the ambient sound Us. The ambient sound Us here includes the speech contribution of the persons P1-P5 and other local and / or diffuse background noise.

[0042] exist Figure 2In the case shown, the number of conversation partners of the wearer T1 is determined by the input signals E1, E2, Eh1, Eh2. For this purpose, the input signals E2, Eh2 generated in the second hearing device and / or the second intermediate signal Z2 generated by local preprocessing of the input signals are transmitted from the second hearing device HG2 to the first hearing device HG1 by means of suitable communication devices (not shown) of the two hearing aids HG1, HG2. In the embodiment shown, only the second intermediate signal Z2 is transmitted, and the input signals E2, Eh2 of the second hearing device HG2 are not transmitted to the first hearing device.

[0043] Based on the first input signal E1 and the first auxiliary input signal Eh1 as well as the second input signal E2 and the second auxiliary input signal Eh2 (especially in the form of the second intermediate signal Z2), the angular direction αj of each individual sound source SQj and the speech portion SpA is determined. For this purpose, for example, a directional signal with a variable maximum direction (a bat-shaped directional signal) or a directional signal with a variable minimum direction (a groove-shaped directional signal) can be generated from the input signals E1, Eh1, E2, Eh2 or Z2. In this case, in particular, the angular direction αj of the sound source SQj can be first determined, and then the speech portion SpA of the sound source SQj can be determined in order to identify whether the sound source SQj is a speaker. The presence and position of each individual speaker in the surroundings of the wearer T1 are thereby determined. In this case, different speakers can be distinguished from each other, in particular, by spectral analysis of the speech portion SpA.

[0044] In order to identify whether the speech contribution Bj of the speaker determined and located as described above belongs to the conversation with the wearer T1 and whether the speaker is the conversation partner Gj of the wearer T1, the length Dj of the speech contribution Bj and the corresponding overlap ULj of the speech contribution Bj with the speech contribution BT of the wearer T1 are determined. Within the range of suitably selected limit values, there can be an overlap ULj for the conversation partner Gj, because in the conversation the individual interruptions of the participants are taken into account again and again, which repeatedly redefines the order of the speech. However, if the overlap ULj exceeds this limit value, which can also be selected based on the length Dj of the corresponding speech contribution Bj, it can be considered that the speech contribution Bj is a different conversation and not a conversation with the wearer T1. Accordingly, the speaker is not regarded as a conversation partner. In particular, the position of the identified and located conversation partner gj can be tracked (not shown), so that it is not necessary to re-check its speech contribution Bj, which is resource-intensive.

[0045] In this way, individual conversation partners Gj of the wearer T1 can be identified and the number of conversation partners #N can be determined. The determination of the number of conversation partners can be limited to the front half-space R1 (for example by identifying and localizing sound sources SQj only in the front half-space R1).

[0046] The first output signal Out1 is generated according to the number #N of conversation partners Gj by means of the above-mentioned input signals E1, Eh1, E2, Eh2. For this purpose, in the first hearing device HG1 (especially the first control unit St1), a first half-space signal SR1 is generated by means of the input signals E1, Eh1, E2, Eh2 (the input signals E2, Eh2 of the second hearing device HG2 can be preprocessed into a second intermediate signal Z2 in particular) through the directional microphone BF, which first half-space signal only contributes to the sound source SQj from the front half-space R1 defined as the first half-space in this example, while the sound source SQj from the rear half-space R2 defined as the second half-space in this example is substantially completely attenuated (wherein, if necessary, there is a narrow transition region between the first and second half-spaces, for example in an angular range of approximately 10° to 20°, which transition region is taken into account to a lesser extent in the first half-space signal SR1). Therefore, the first half-space signal SR1 is a directional signal, and the signal shares of the input signals E1, Eh1, E2, Eh2 are taken over by this directional signal (after local preprocessing into the second intermediate signal Z2 if necessary, and after local preprocessing from the input signals E1, Eh1 into the first intermediate signal if necessary).

[0047] In a similar manner, a second half-space signal SR2 is generated from the input signals E1, Eh1, E2, Eh2 by means of the directional microphone BF, which second half-space signal only significantly contributes to the sound sources SQj from the front half-space R2, while the sound sources SQj from the front half-space R1 are essentially completely attenuated (wherein, if necessary, there is also a narrow transition region between the first and second half-spaces, the sound sources of which transition region are taken into account to a lower extent in the second half-space signal SR1).

[0048] Depending on the number #N of dialogue partners Gj, an amplification value V1, V2 or V3 for #N=1, #N=2 or #N≥3 is applied to the second half-space signal SR2 (i.e. a determined value is applied to the amplification of the second half-space signal SR2 in the dependency). This can be implemented in particular in a frequency band-dependent manner. The second half-space signal SR2 amplified in this way is combined with the first half-space signal SR1 and the first output signal Out1 is generated therefrom (it is still possible to perform a frequency-dependent amplification or compression of the signal combined from SR1 and SR2, however in Figure 3 not shown separately).

[0049] Similarly to the above, compression can also be performed according to the number #N of conversation partners Gj, for example, by applying sequentially shorter attack constants (Attack-Konstant) and / or larger compression ratios to the first intermediate signal Z1 or the first half-space signal SR1 derived from the first input signal E1 and the first auxiliary input signal Eh1 for one, two, and three (or more) conversation partners. Other ways of performing signal processing according to the number #N of conversation partners Gj when generating the first output signal Out1 are also conceivable.

[0050] Although the details of the present invention have been illustrated and described in detail through the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the disclosed examples, and those skilled in the art may derive other different variations therefrom without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0051] Reference numerals list

[0052] BF Directional Microphone

[0053] Bj Voice Contribution

[0054] BT (wearer's) voice contribution

[0055] The length of Dj (voice contribution Bj)

[0056] E1 / 2 1st / 2nd input signal

[0057] Eh1 / 2 1st / 2nd auxiliary input signal

[0058] F Front direction

[0059] G1-3, Gj Dialogue Partner

[0060] H1 / 2 First / Second Hearing Device

[0061] HG1 / 2 First / Second Hearing Device

[0062] HS Binaural Hearing System

[0063] L1 First output converter

[0064] M1 / 2 1st / 2nd input converter

[0065] Mh1 / 2 1st / 2nd auxiliary input converter

[0066] Out1 / 2 1st / 2nd output signal

[0067] P1-5 people

[0068] R1 / 2 front / rear half space Sout1 First output sound signal SpA Voice Share SQj Sound Source

[0069] SR1 / 2 First / Second Half Space Signal St1 / 2 First / Second Control Unit T1 Wearer

[0070] Us Ambient Sound ULj Overlap

[0071] V1-3 Amplification value

[0072] Z2 Second intermediate signal #N Number of conversation partners αj Angle direction

Claims

1. A method for directional signal processing of a hearing system (HS) having at least one first hearing instrument (H1), in, A first input signal (E1) is generated from ambient sound (Us) by a first electroacoustic input transducer (M1) of the first hearing instrument (H1), and a second input signal (E2) is generated by a second electroacoustic input transducer (M2) of the hearing system (HS), wherein the number (#N) of conversation partners (G1-3, Gj) of the wearer (T1) of the hearing system (HS) is determined based on the first input signal (E1) and the second input signal (E2), In which, depending on the determined number (#N) of dialogue partners (G1-3, Gj), at least one compression and / or at least one directional sound transmission and / or at least one noise suppression are modified when processing the first input signal (E1) and / or the second input signal (E2), and a first output signal (Out1) is generated thereby.

2. The method according to claim 1, in, providing a binaural hearing system having the first hearing instrument (H1) and the second hearing instrument (H2) as the hearing system (HS), And wherein the second input signal (E2) is generated by a second input converter (M2) of a second hearing instrument (H2).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, generating a first half-space signal (SR1) and / or a second half-space signal (SR2) by means of a directional microphone according to the first input signal (E1) and the second input signal (E2), respectively; And wherein, according to the determined number (#N) of dialogue partners (G1-3, Gj), compression and / or directional sound transmission and / or noise suppression are - applied to said first or second half-space signal (SR1, SR2), and / or - Applied separately for each of the two half-space signals (SR1, SR2).

4. The method according to claim 3, in, The first half-space signal (SR1) has a directional characteristic of maximally attenuating the rear half-space (R2), and / or the second half-space signal (SR2) has a directional characteristic of maximally attenuating the front half-space (R1), The front half space and the rear half space (R1, R2) are defined relative to the front direction (F) of the wearer (T1).

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, in, generating a first auxiliary input signal (Eh1) from ambient sound (Us) by means of a first auxiliary input transducer (Mh1) of the first hearing instrument (H1), and / or generating a second auxiliary input signal (Eh2) by means of a second auxiliary input transducer (Mh2) of the second hearing instrument (H2), And wherein the number (#N) of conversation partners (G1-3, Gj) of the wearer (T1) of the binaural hearing system (HS) is additionally determined based on the first auxiliary input signal (Eh1) and / or the second auxiliary input signal (Eh2).

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The first output signal (Out1) is generated as a function of the first input signal (E1) and a first auxiliary input signal (Eh1) and in particular as a function of the second input signal (E2) and / or a second auxiliary input signal (Eh2).

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, in, monitoring a speech share (SpA) in the ambient sound (Us) based on the first and second input signals (E1, E2), wherein the angular direction (αj) of the sound source (SQj) of the ambient sound (Us) is determined according to the first and second input signals (E1, E2), And wherein the presence and position of each speaker is determined based on the speech share (SpA) and the angular direction (αj).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: According to the first and second input signals (E1, E2), for each of the speakers - determine the length (Dj) of the speech contribution (Bj), and / or - determining the overlap (ULj) of the speech contribution (Bj) and the speech contribution (BT) of the wearer (T1), and thereby determining the respective speakers as conversation partners (G1-3, Gj) of the wearer (T1).

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein: The presence and position of each speaker is determined in only one half-space (R1, R2), which corresponds to one of the two half-space signals (SR1, SR2).

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: Track changes in the positions of individual speakers.

11. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: - when only one conversation partner (G1-3, Gj) is identified, applying a predetermined first value (V1) of the amplification parameter to the intermediate signal generated from the first and / or second input signal (E1, E2), and - when exactly two dialogue partners (G1-3, Gj) are identified, applying a second value (V2) of the amplification parameter to the intermediate signal, said second value being 2 dB to 5 dB lower than the first value, and / or - when exactly three dialogue partners (G1-3, Gj) are identified, a third value (V3) of the amplification parameter is applied to the intermediate signal, said third value being 4 dB to 10 dB lower than the first value.

12. The method according to claim 11 in combination with claim 4, wherein: The amplification value and / or the noise amplification value and / or the compensation value of the background sound amplification are used as amplification parameters for the second half-space signal (SR2), and the second half-space signal has a directional characteristic that maximally attenuates the front half-space (R1).

13. A hearing system (HS) having at least one first hearing instrument (H1), wherein: The hearing system (HS) is configured to carry out the method according to any of the preceding claims.

14. A hearing system (HS) according to claim 13, wherein The hearing system is designed as a binaural hearing system, further comprises a second hearing instrument (H2), and is configured to carry out the method according to any one of claims 2 to 12.

Images