METHOD AND HEARING SYSTEM FOR CREATING AN AUDIOGRAM OF A TEST PERSON USING A HEARING INSTRUMENT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method according to claim 1 for creating an audiogram of a test person using a hearing instrument, wherein a test sound is generated by an electroacoustic output transducer of the hearing instrument and output into an ear canal of the test person that is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument, and wherein a hearing threshold of the test person at at least one test frequency is determined based on a reaction of the test person to the test sound. The invention further relates to a hearing system according to claim 6, by means of which a hearing threshold of a test person at at least one test frequency can be determined. A hearing instrument generally includes any device that is intended and configured to generate a corresponding output sound from an electrical output signal by means of an electroacoustic output transducer and to supply this output sound to a user's ear.A loudspeaker, in particular, can be used as such an output transducer, but thermoacoustic transducers or bone conduction transducers can also be used. A hearing instrument can, on the one hand, be designed solely to generate the output sound based on audio data, for example, in the form of wireless headphones, particularly earplugs. In this case, the output sound is generated based on audio data, which can be provided by music, for example, and which has been stored in advance, or transmitted to the hearing instrument via a corresponding antenna (via a stream).

[0002] However, a hearing instrument can also be in the form of a hearing aid which is designed to correct or at least partially compensate for a hearing impairment of a user, for example by converting ambient sound into a corresponding electrical input signal by means of at least one electroacoustic input transducer, which is processed in the hearing aid in accordance with the audiological requirements of the user and is amplified in particular frequency band by frequency, so that the processed input signal is fed to the user's hearing as output sound via the electroacoustic output transducer.

[0003] In particular, for the correction of a user's hearing impairment in the case of a hearing aid (in the "narrower sense"), an audiogram is usually created. This audiogram indicates the user's respective hearing threshold at the relevant frequency for individual test frequencies, which preferably cover the entire acoustic spectrum of human hearing perception. This allows the user's hearing ability to be compared, in particular, with that of people with normal hearing, in order to draw conclusions for the aforementioned individualized signal processing in the hearing aid. However, creating an audiogram can also be beneficial for adapting a hearing instrument (in the "broader sense") to a user to improve sound perception, for example, for better acoustic performance in certain frequency ranges.

[0004] The hearing threshold measurement at the individual test frequencies is usually performed by an audiologist or an audiologist in private practice. A test probe with a sound generator is often inserted into the user's ear canal. Individual test tones at each test frequency are generated with a continuously increasing or decreasing sound level, allowing the user to indicate when they can or can no longer hear the test tone at a given test frequency. A disadvantage is that such audiogram measurements must be performed by the audiologist or audiologist.

[0005] CH 678 692 A5 describes a method for measuring the individual acoustic conditions in an ear. The ear canal is sealed with a suitably shaped ear cup for an in-the-ear hearing aid, and the measurements are taken using a receiver built into the ear cup and a measurement microphone in a closed sound field directly in front of the eardrum. The receiver and microphone can be designed as separate components, or means can be provided that allow the receiver to function alternately as a receiver or microphone.

[0006] US 2021 / 0 076 146 A1 describes a method for operating a hearing aid that performs active noise suppression to suppress noise signals with one or more frequency components. An audiogram is provided that indicates a hearing threshold of a user of the hearing aid as a function of frequency. Using the audiogram, it is determined which frequency components of the noise signals are audible to the user and which are inaudible. The noise suppression is operated selectively by suppressing audible frequency components of the noise signals and leaving inaudible frequency components of the noise signals unsuppressed.

[0007] US 2018 / 0 063 618 A1 discloses an earpiece for a hearing instrument configured to conduct audiometric tests. The earpiece comprises a housing, an intelligent control system disposed within the housing, at least one transducer operatively connected to the intelligent control system, and at least one loudspeaker operatively connected to the intelligent control system. The earpiece is configured to conduct audiometric tests of a user by playing sounds to the at least one transducer and receiving user feedback on the sounds to provide audiometric test data.

[0008] WO 2020 / 127939 A1 discloses a method for a noise-compensated hearing test. The method for noise compensation of a hearing test conducted in an uncontrolled environment is performed by generating one or more test tones at a number of test tone frequencies. The test tones are supplied to a user, who then provides user input regarding the perception of the test tones, so that a test result can be provided that includes hearing intensity levels for the number of test tone frequencies, and a hearing profile is generated based on the test result. The method further comprises evaluating a noise level received from a microphone, determining a noise perception model based on the noise level, and compensating the test result for the test tones using the noise perception model.

[0009] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a method by which an audiogram of a wearer can be created using a hearing instrument in the simplest yet most reliable manner possible, and as situation-independently as possible. The invention is further based on the object of providing a hearing instrument that is designed to create an audiogram of a wearer as simply and reliably as possible.

[0010] The first-mentioned object is achieved according to the invention by a method according to claim 1 for creating an audiogram of a test person using a hearing instrument, wherein a first electroacoustic input transducer of the hearing instrument records a sound signal in an auditory canal of the test person that is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument, and a first input signal is generated therefrom, wherein a test sound is generated by an electroacoustic output transducer of the hearing instrument and output into the auditory canal of the test person that is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument, and wherein a hearing threshold of the test person at least one test frequency is determined based on a reaction of the test person to the test sound and by means of the first input signal. Advantageous and partly inventive embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims and the following description.

[0011] The second object is achieved according to the invention by a hearing system according to claim 6 with a hearing instrument, comprising a first electroacoustic input transducer which is designed to record a sound signal in an ear canal of the test person when the hearing instrument is worn as intended by a test person and to generate a first input signal therefrom, an electroacoustic output transducer which is designed to generate a test sound and to output it into the ear canal of the test person when the hearing instrument is worn as intended, and a control device which is designed to register a reaction of the test person to the test sound and to determine a hearing threshold of the test person at at least one test frequency based on said reaction of the test person to the test sound and by means of the first input signal.

[0012] The hearing system according to the invention shares the advantages of the method according to the invention. The advantages stated for the method and its further developments can be applied analogously to the hearing system.

[0013] The control device preferably comprises at least one signal processor and a working memory addressable by the signal processor, which are configured to perform the aforementioned signal processing steps. The hearing system can either be provided by the hearing instrument or by an auxiliary device that can be connected to the hearing instrument via data technology, e.g., a smartphone or a tablet PC. In the latter case, the control device can be provided by a control unit in the hearing instrument and / or a control unit on the auxiliary device.

[0014] An electroacoustic input transducer includes, in particular, any transducer configured to generate an electrical audio signal from ambient sound, such that air movements and air pressure fluctuations at the location of the transducer caused by the ambient sound are reproduced by corresponding oscillations of an electrical quantity, in particular a voltage, in the generated audio signal. In particular, the electroacoustic input transducer can be a microphone. Accordingly, an electroacoustic output transducer includes any transducer configured to generate an output sound from an electrical output signal, i.e., in particular, a loudspeaker (such as a balanced metal case receiver), but also, for example, a thermoacoustic transducer.

[0015] Recording a sound signal in the test subject's ear canal, which is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument, by the hearing instrument's first electroacoustic input transducer particularly includes the hearing instrument being worn by the test subject on one ear, particularly in a manner consistent with the intended use of the hearing instrument, and the ear canal of the respective ear being at least partially closed to the outside by at least a portion of the hearing instrument. In particular, a portion of the hearing instrument can rest firmly in the concha due to pressure and / or a portion can protrude into the ear canal and rest firmly there due to pressure.

[0016] The hearing instrument is preferably designed such that the first electroacoustic input transducer is aligned with the relevant ear canal when the hearing instrument is worn on the ear as intended. The sound signal picked up by the first electroacoustic input transducer is determined in particular by the sound propagating between the eardrum and the hearing instrument and can contain a high proportion of structure-borne sound, which cannot escape into the environment due to the partial closure of the ear canal by the hearing instrument (so-called occlusion effect). The first input signal therefore contains, in particular, signal amounts of said structure-borne sound.

[0017] At the at least one test frequency, the test sound preferably has a defined first signal contribution, i.e., in particular, a defined sound level in the range of the first test frequency. In particular, this defined first signal contribution or defined sound level can be varied in the range of the first test frequency, i.e., for example, continuously increased from a sound level that is likely to be inaudible to any test subject, or continuously increased from a sound level that is likely to be audible to any test subject. The hearing instrument is preferably designed such that the electroacoustic output transducer is aligned with the relevant auditory canal when the hearing instrument is worn on the ear as intended.

[0018] The test person's reaction to the test sound can be recorded, in particular, as a speech signal by a second electroacoustic input transducer of the hearing instrument, which is directed into the free environment of the hearing instrument and is configured to generate a second input signal from the ambient sound of the hearing instrument. The second input signal can then be analyzed by a control device of the hearing instrument for voice commands that contain a reaction to the test sound. However, the reaction can also be recorded, in particular, by means of an auxiliary device that is controlled accordingly by the test person, e.g., by means of a corresponding app for recording the reaction via a screen input from the test person. However, the reaction can also be recorded as a movement of the test person by means of a correspondingly configured sensor of the hearing instrument, e.g.,as a nod or shake of the head to signal that the test sound is heard or not (or no longer) heard, e.g. by means of a motion and / or acceleration sensor and / or a gyroscope.

[0019] The hearing threshold at the at least one test frequency can be determined in particular by emitting the test sound at a variable, preferably continuously increasing or decreasing sound level in the range of the first test frequency into the auditory canal of the test person in the manner described above, and the test person indicates via the reaction when the test sound can be heard (increasing) or when the test sound can no longer be heard (decreasing).

[0020] Here, the first input signal can be used, on the one hand, to determine the hearing threshold by determining a type of "noise background" in the ear canal prior to emission of the test sound, and by taking this noise background into account when determining the sound level at at least one test frequency (the other significant signal contribution at the test frequency originates from the test sound, whose defined sound level must be offset against the noise background for the final sound level at the test frequency). On the other hand, the defined first signal contribution of the test frequency in the test sound is also adaptively adjusted based on the first input signal, particularly during the test sound output. For this purpose, the first input signal can be filtered with respect to the first signal contribution at at least one test frequency.Furthermore, according to the invention, active occlusion suppression is performed based on the first input signal. For this purpose, a correction signal for occlusion suppression is generated based on the first input signal, which is converted into a correction sound by the electroacoustic output transducer. The correction signal can be superimposed on the signal intended for generating the test sound for output.

[0021] The audiogram is determined for at least one test frequency based on, and preferably directly from, the hearing threshold thus determined. The audiogram can then be created entirely in the manner described by specifying a plurality of test frequencies, successively generating a corresponding test sound with a defined signal contribution at the respective test frequency and outputting it into the test subject's ear canal, and determining the hearing threshold for each of the test frequencies based on the test subject's respective response to the respective test sound and the first input signal. The test frequencies preferably cover the entire human hearing spectrum and also enable the most advantageous frequency resolution of the hearing spectrum (e.g., an essentially constant number of test frequencies for any arbitrarily selected octave).

[0022] However, the hearing threshold determined for at least one test frequency as described can also be used to replace the corresponding data in an existing or predefined audiogram, or as a supplement to such.

[0023] Particularly for a hearing instrument which, for its intended use, has to be worn on one ear in such a way that the relevant ear canal is closed off to a considerable extent, the measurement of a hearing threshold using the hearing instrument can be made more difficult or even distorted by the aforementioned closure of the ear canal as a result of occlusion effects. The proposed method solves this problem by actively attenuating noises in the ear canal which are not part of the test sound and in particular the first signal contribution of the test sound at the at least one test frequency, or by taking their contribution to the overall sound level in the ear canal in the range of the at least one test frequency into account. As a result, the hearing threshold can also be determined using the hearing instrument because the above-mentioned distortions are avoided. This can save the test subject the expense of having to create a new audiogram or even just having the device adjusted or readjusted.To correct the audiogram, you may need to visit an audiologist or a registered acoustician.

[0024] The test sound preferably has a defined first signal contribution at the at least one test frequency, wherein a second signal contribution of the sound signal in the ear canal at the at least one test frequency is determined based on the first input signal, and wherein at least the second signal contribution is taken into account for determining the hearing threshold of the at least one test person. This can be achieved in particular in that the second signal contribution captures the entire sound in the ear canal at the at least one test frequency, which is composed of the defined first signal contribution of the test sound, and a sound contribution which is largely caused by structure-borne sound and possibly also contains ambient sound which passes through the hearing instrument into the ear canal due to the usually incomplete closure of the ear canal.A priori, only the first signal component in the test sound, generated by the hearing instrument itself, is known in the hearing instrument. This means that a reaction to the sum of the test sound and the other mentioned components may lead to an incorrect, particularly too low, hearing threshold. By taking the second signal component into account, this can be corrected by adjusting the first signal component accordingly.

[0025] However, the second signal contribution may - especially after filtering the first input signal with respect to the first signal contribution - also only contain the contributions caused by structure-borne and, if applicable, ambient sound, so that in this case the first and second signal contributions must be used to determine the sound level in the ear canal (and accordingly for the correct hearing threshold).

[0026] According to the invention, a correction signal for active occlusion suppression is generated based on the first input signal. The electroacoustic output transducer of the hearing instrument uses the correction signal to compensate for structure-borne noise in the sound signal from the ear canal to generate a correction sound, which is then output into the test subject's ear canal (which is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument). Active occlusion suppression detects noises in a largely closed ear canal that are based on structure-borne noise and then generates a compensation sound in the ear canal that compensates for the structure-borne noise as much as possible. In this case, the signal contributions in the ear canal that are based on structure-borne noise can be determined based on the first input signal, which for this purpose is preferably cleaned of the defined first signal contribution caused by the test sound by means of appropriate filtering.For the residual signal contributions thus determined, a corresponding, preferably antiphase correction signal is generated to compensate for this, which the electroacoustic output transducer of the hearing instrument converts into a correction sound that is emitted into the ear canal.

[0027] The described compensation of structure-borne sound due to occlusion effects, which preferably occurs over a broadband area, lowers the sound level in the ear canal, which, on the one hand, allows the test subject to better concentrate on the test sound, particularly its first signal contribution at the test frequency, and, on the other hand, prevents masking effects caused by sound events outside the test frequency, which become particularly relevant at low test sound levels (which almost inevitably occur when determining the hearing threshold). Any additional compensation for ambient noise can have a further positive effect on determining the hearing threshold.

[0028] Advantageously, the correction sound is generated and output as a broadband sound signal, with a residual noise signal not corrected by active occlusion suppression being determined as the second signal contribution based on the first input signal. This second signal contribution is taken into account, in particular, for the generation of the test sound by adjusting the first signal contribution of the test sound at the test frequency according to the second signal contribution in order to achieve the desired sound level in the ear canal in the range of the test frequency.

[0029] According to the invention, ambient sound from the hearing instrument is recorded by a second electroacoustic input transducer of the hearing instrument, and a second input signal is generated from this. Active noise cancellation (ANC) is performed based on the second input signal by the electroacoustic output transducer of the hearing instrument in addition to outputting the test sound. ANC detects noises in the ambient sound and then generates a compensation sound in the ear canal, which compensates for the noise entering the ear canal from the environment as much as possible. If the hearing instrument is a hearing aid, it already has at least one electroacoustic input transducer for recording ambient sound for normal operation. However, hearing instruments without specific correction of a hearing impairment often also have such an input transducer for recording ambient sound, for example, toTo receive the user's voice commands, or for telephony functions. The correction signal generated for ANC can be superimposed on the signal intended for generating the test sound. ANC reduces the test subject's exposure to ambient noise when determining the hearing threshold, thus further preventing distortion and masking effects.

[0030] It is advisable to concentrate the active noise cancellation on a frequency range around at least one test frequency. An ANC usually has a specific operating range in which noise is suppressed particularly effectively. In this case, a narrowband frequency range of, for example, 50 Hz, 100 Hz, or 250 Hz around the test frequency can be better optimized for complete noise cancellation, while a widerband ANC may achieve a greater overall reduction in the total noise energy. However, there may be a greater amount of residual noise remaining, particularly around the test frequency, which is not eliminated by the ANC. The bandwidth of the ANC is therefore reduced in order to achieve the most complete noise cancellation possible at the test frequency, and preferably in its immediate vicinity.ANC delivers the best results with highly predictable signals that have a high tonal content and thus a clear localization in the frequency spectrum. For determining the hearing threshold, this means that ANC is preferentially used when a strong tonal noise signal in the test subject's environment occurs in the range of the test frequency.

[0031] It proves advantageous if the active noise suppression is concentrated on a frequency range around the at least one test frequency, and the active occlusion suppression is performed broadband by the correction signal. Unlike in the case of ANC, the compensation signal of the active occlusion suppression is preferably generated in a feedback loop, which opens up other possibilities for noise compensation. Since occlusion effects often occur with a larger spectral width, it can be advantageous not to limit the compensation using the correction sound to specific frequency ranges. In particular, the correction signals of the ANC and the active occlusion suppression can be superimposed on the signal intended for generating the test sound for output.

[0032] In an advantageous embodiment, the hearing instrument is designed as a hearing aid and further comprises a second electroacoustic input transducer configured to receive ambient sound from the hearing aid and generate a second input signal therefrom. The control device is further configured to generate an output signal based on the second input signal and feed it to the electroacoustic output transducer for conversion into an output sound signal. Especially for hearing aids, the creation of an audiogram by a user without audiological supervision is advantageous.

[0033] The control device is expediently further configured to carry out active noise suppression on the basis of the second input signal by means of the electroacoustic output transducer in addition to outputting the test sound.

[0034] An embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. Herein: Fig. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a hearing instrument which closes an ear canal and by means of which a hearing threshold of a user can be determined.

[0035] In Figure 1is a schematic and not to scale sectional view of a hearing instrument 1, which in this case is designed as a hearing aid 2. The hearing aid 2 is inserted into an ear canal 4 and is held in place by pressure on the skin at the ear canal 4. As a result, the ear canal 4 is largely closed off from the environment 6, so that a small proportion of ambient sound 8 still reaches the ear canal 4 past the hearing aid 2 - via an incomplete closure of the ear canal 4 due to the hearing aid 2 not sitting precisely in the ear canal 4 - and through the thin skin at the entrance to the ear canal 4.

[0036] The hearing aid 2 has a first electroacoustic input transducer 10 and a second electroacoustic input transducer 12, which in this case are provided as a first and second microphone 14 and 16, respectively, as well as an electroacoustic output transducer 18, which is provided as a loudspeaker 20. When the hearing aid 2 is worn as intended, the first microphone 14 and the loudspeaker 20 are directed into the ear canal 4, and the second microphone 16 is directed toward the free environment 6 of the hearing aid 2.

[0037] The first microphone is configured to record a sound signal 22 in the ear canal 4 and to generate a first input signal 24 therefrom, which is fed to a control device 26. The second microphone 16 is configured to generate a second input signal 28 from the ambient sound 8, which is also fed to the control device 28. In particular, the hearing aid 2 can also have a further electroacoustic input transducer (not shown) directed toward the free environment 6, which is configured to generate a further input signal from the ambient sound 8.

[0038] During normal operation of the hearing aid 2, the second input signal (and possibly said further input signal) is processed and in particular amplified in a frequency band-specific manner in the control device 26, and an output signal 30 is generated therefrom, which is fed to the loudspeaker 20. For this purpose, the control device 26 can in particular have a signal processor (not shown) and a working memory addressable by the signal processor. The loudspeaker 20 generates an output sound signal (not shown) from the output signal 30. To generate the output signal 30, the control device 26 takes into account a hearing impairment of a user of the hearing aid 2 by, among other things, providing frequency-band-specific amplification in accordance with the user's audiological requirements to compensate for their hearing impairment. For this purpose, an audiogram is required in the hearing aid 2 as information about these audiological requirements.

[0039] Typically, such an audiogram, which indicates the user's hearing threshold for individual frequencies, is created by an audiologist or acoustician whom the user visits for this purpose.

[0040] However, the hearing aid 2 is configured with some special features described below so that an audiogram can also be created using the hearing aid 2, or for some frequencies an already existing audiogram (preferably stored in a non-volatile memory of the hearing aid 2, in particular for use during operation) can be updated.

[0041] In order to be able to determine a user's hearing threshold by means of the hearing aid 2 (and thus to use this for an audiogram), the hearing aid 2 is advantageously designed to suppress background noises which could complicate a measurement of a hearing threshold ("inconclusive result") or even falsify it (incorrect result), and which usually do not occur to any significant extent in the environment specifically set up for such measurements by an audiologist or acoustician.

[0042] The electroacoustic output transducer 18 outputs a test sound 32, which is generated by corresponding contributions in the output signal 30 converted by the electroacoustic output transducer 18. The test sound 32 has a defined first signal contribution 34 in the range of a test frequency for which the hearing threshold is to be determined. The test sound 32 with the first signal contribution 34 propagates through the ear canal 4 to the eardrum 36 of the user and is perceived by the user depending on the sound level of the first signal contribution 34. To measure the hearing threshold at the test frequency, the first signal contribution 34 is varied (e.g., continuously increased from an imperceptible starting value, or continuously decreased from a clearly perceptible starting value) so that the user can communicate a change in their perception (test sound becomes audible or becomes inaudible).

[0043] This can be done, for example, by means of a corresponding voice input via the second electroacoustic input transducer 12, wherein the second input signal 28 is analyzed for such a voice input during the output of the test sound 32. It is also possible to perform a user input using a smartphone, a tablet PC (neither shown) or the like, which is preferably wirelessly connected to the hearing aid 2. In particular, a suitably configured app can be used for the input and also for the selection of test frequencies or the like.

[0044] To ensure that the hearing threshold measurement is not complicated or distorted by external noise 36 in the ambient sound 8, which propagates via the schematically illustrated sound path 38 into the ear canal 4 (and thus further to the user's eardrum 35), the external noise 36 is compensated via an ANC by generating a compensation signal (not shown) in the control device 26 based on the second input signal 28 generated by the second electroacoustic input transducer 12 (which detects the ambient sound 8 and thus the external noise 36), which is incorporated into the output signal 30. The phase and amplitude of the compensation signal are generated in such a way that the corresponding signal contributions in the output sound signal generated by the loudspeaker 20 compensate as completely as possible for the components of the external noise 36 that have propagated via the sound path 38 into the ear canal 4.

[0045] Furthermore, a second signal contribution 40 in the sound signal 22 in the ear canal 4 is determined by means of the first electroacoustic input transducer 10 at the test frequency of the test sound 32. This is done with the objective of suppressing structure-borne sound 42 penetrating the ear canal 4 through active occlusion suppression. The proportion of structure-borne sound 4 in the sound signal 22 can be detected by the first input signal 24 generated by the first electroacoustic input transducer 10, so that a correction signal (not shown) can be generated depending on the detected structure-borne sound 42, which is incorporated into the output signal 30. The output sound signal generated accordingly by the electroacoustic output transducer 18 then contains a correction sound that compensates for the structure-borne sound 42 as completely as possible. In this case, the detection of the structure-borne sound 42 can preferably take place at a different time than the output of the test sound 32, so that, for example,Shortly before such an output, the structure-borne sound 42 to be compensated is determined, and corresponding compensation is performed using the correction sound during the output of the test sound. The output sound signal generated by the electroacoustic output transducer 18 can thus capture the test sound 32 as well as contributions from the active occlusion suppression to compensate for the structure-borne sound 42 in the sound signal 22 in the ear canal 4 and contributions from an ANC to compensate for the external noise 36 in the ambient sound 8.

[0046] Alternatively, the structure-borne sound 42 can also be emitted during the test sound 32 (not shown). In this case, the second signal contribution 40 of the sound signal 22 in the ear canal 4 also includes the first signal contribution 34 of the test sound 32 at the test frequency. The second signal contribution 40 can then be used to adjust the first signal contribution 34 in the test sound 32 such that, in the range of the test frequency, a desired sound level impinges on the eardrum 35 as the sum signal of the structure-borne sound 42 and the first signal contribution 32. The second signal contribution 34 thus serves to directly correct the first signal contribution 32 in the test sound 32.

[0047] Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail by the preferred embodiment, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples and other variations may be derived therefrom by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. List of reference symbols

[0048] 1 Hearing instrument 2 Hearing aid 4 Ear canal 6 Free environment 8 Ambient sound 10 First electroacoustic input transducer 12 Second electroacoustic input transducer 14 First microphone 16 Second microphone 18 Electroacoustic output transducer 20 Loudspeaker 22 Sound signal 24 First input signal 26 Control device 28 Second input signal 30 Output signal 32 Test sound 34 First signal contribution 35 Eardrum 36 External noise 38 Sound path 40 Second signal contribution 42 Structure-borne sound

Claims

1. A method for creating an audiogram of a subject by means of a hearing instrument (1), wherein a sound signal (22) is recorded by a first electroacoustic input transducer (10) of the hearing instrument (1) in an auditory canal (4) of the subject, which is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument (1), and a first input signal (24) is generated therefrom, wherein a test sound (32) is generated by an electroacoustic output transducer (18) of the hearing instrument (1) and is output into the auditory canal (4) of the subject, which is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument (1), and wherein a hearing threshold of the subject at at least one test frequency is determined on the basis of a reaction of the subject to the test sound (32) and by means of the first input signal (24), characterized in that - a correction signal for active occlusion suppression is generated on the basis of the first input signal (24), and a correction sound is generated by the electroacoustic output transducer (18) of the hearing instrument (1) on the basis of the correction signal to compensate for a structure-borne sound (42) in the sound signal (22) of the auditory canal (4) and is output into the auditory canal (4) of the subject, which is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument (1), and / or - ambient sound (8) of the hearing instrument (1) is recorded by a second electroacoustic input transducer (12) of the hearing instrument (1), and a second input signal (28) is generated therefrom, and active noise suppression is carried out on the basis of the second input signal (28) by the electroacoustic output transducer (18) of the hearing instrument (1) in addition to the output of the test sound (32).

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the test sound (32) has a defined first signal contribution (34) at the at least one test frequency, wherein, on the basis of the first input signal (24), a second signal contribution (40) of the sound signal (22) in the auditory canal (4) at the at least one test frequency is determined, and wherein at least the second signal contribution (40) is taken into consideration for a determination of the hearing threshold in the at least one subject.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the correction sound is generated and output as a broadband sound signal, and wherein a residual noise signal not purged by the active occlusion suppression is determined as the second signal contribution (40) on the basis of the first input signal (24).

4. The method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, provided that active noise suppression is carried out, wherein the active noise suppression is concentrated on a frequency range around the at least one test frequency.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the active noise suppression is concentrated on a frequency range around the at least one test frequency, and wherein the active occlusion suppression by the correction signal is carried out in a broadband manner.

6. A hearing system having a hearing instrument (1), wherein the hearing instrument (1) comprises: - a first electroacoustic input transducer (10), which is configured, when the hearing instrument (1) is worn as intended by subject, to record a sound signal (22) in an auditory canal (4) of the subject, and to generate a first input signal (24) therefrom, - an electroacoustic output transducer (18), which is configured to generate a test sound (32), and, when the hearing instrument (1) is worn as intended, to output it into the auditory canal (4) of the subject, wherein the hearing system (1) comprises a control device (26), which is configured to register a reaction of the subject to the test sound (32) and to determine a hearing threshold of the subject at at least one test frequency on the basis of said reaction of the subject to the test sound (32) and by means of the first input signal (24), characterized in that the hearing instrument (1) is configured - to generate a correction signal for active occlusion suppression on the basis of the first input signal (24), and to generate a correction sound by the electroacoustic output transducer (18) of the hearing instrument (1) on the basis of the correction signal to compensate for a structure-borne sound (42) in the sound signal (22) of the auditory canal (4) and to output it into the auditory canal (4) of the subject, which is at least partially closed by the hearing instrument (1), and / or wherein the hearing instrument additionally comprises a second electroacoustic input transducer (12) and the hearing instrument is configured - to record ambient sound (8) of the hearing instrument (1) by way of the second electroacoustic input transducer (12) of the hearing instrument (1), and to generate a second input signal (28) therefrom, and to carry out active noise suppression on the basis of the second input signal (28) by the electroacoustic output transducer (18) of the hearing instrument (1) in addition to the output of the test sound (32).

7. The hearing system as claimed in claim 6, provided that the hearing instrument comprises a second electroacoustic input transducer (12) and is configured to record ambient sound (8) of the hearing aid (2) and to generate a second input signal (28) therefrom, wherein the hearing instrument (1) is designed as a hearing aid (2), wherein the control unit (26) is furthermore configured to generate an output signal on the basis of the second input signal (28) and to supply it to the electroacoustic output transducer (18) for conversion into an output sound signal.

8. The hearing system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the control device (26) is furthermore configured to carry out active noise suppression on the basis of the second input signal (28) by means of the electroacoustic output transducer (18) in addition to the output of the test sound (32).