Hearing aids that provide protection against sudden loud noises

Abstract

The hearing aid includes a microphone and a processing unit. The microphone is configured to receive a sound incident on the hearing aid and send a corresponding microphone output to the processing unit. The processing unit is configured to process the microphone output to determine whether the incident sound includes a potentially harmful sound and generate a processor output including a processed version of the microphone output. A method of protecting a hearing aid wearer from sudden loud sounds includes receiving an incident sound using a microphone in the hearing aid and sending a corresponding microphone output to a processing unit in the hearing aid. The processing unit processes the microphone output to generate a first processor output determined by whether the incident sound includes a potentially harmful impulse sound and a second processor output including a processed version of the microphone output.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] [Cross - Reference to Related Applications] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 693,152, filed on March 11, 2022, "HEARING AIDS PROVIDING PROTECTION AGAINST SUDDEN LOUD SOUNDS", which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

Background Art

[0002] Loud sounds can have a very adverse effect on hearing. For example, people who are exposed to such sounds occasionally or routinely in their occupations can protect themselves by wearing earplugs or headphones that reduce or block the sound. However, this protection generally also blocks other low - volume sounds that the wearer ideally wants to hear, such as normal conversations and phone ringtones. In some situations, the loss of these "safe" sounds may be worth accepting to avoid the risk of serious, even irreversible damage caused by loud sounds. However, in many situations, especially when loud sounds rarely occur, people often choose to take the risk of damage by using protective devices only after the sound has reached an uncomfortably high level, rather than as a preventive measure. This is particularly problematic when the loud sound is impulsive, that is, a sound that usually has a short duration of less than 1 second, starts suddenly, rises rapidly, and in most cases, decays rapidly. Because such a sound rises suddenly, the person exposed to it may not have time to take appropriate measures before reaching dangerously high levels.

[0003] Throughout this disclosure, the term “impulsive” is defined as noise with a duration of less than one second that rises from a safe level to a potentially harmful level within 0.5 seconds. The terms “safe” and “harmful” should be understood to include combinations of volume and duration. For example, noise at a volume of “A” dBA for “X” seconds is considered safe, but noise at the same volume of “A” dBA for “3X” seconds is considered potentially harmful.

[0004] Here, let's consider specific situations that affect hearing-impaired individuals when they wear hearing aids to amplify received sound waves from an initial volume that is difficult for them to hear to a level they can hear. Incident sound at a volume acceptable to a person without hearing impairment may therefore be heard "naturally," but for a person with hearing impairment, it can be problematic because they hear an amplified version of that sound sent to the ear canal through the hearing aid. Fortunately, hearing aids have limitations on the volume of sound they amplify. However, sound may enter the ear directly through certain opening vents in the hearing aid earpiece, or it may be conducted through the body of the earpiece and enter the hearing canal.

[0005] Since the sound is ambient noise, it has no effect even if the wearer turns off the hearing aid or removes the part of the hearing aid that transmits sound (speaker or audio guide tube) from their ear.

[0006] Hearing aids currently available typically have signal processing circuits designed to adapt to the wearer's audio profile, and in reality, they can exhibit large "dips" in any audio frequency band that indicate impairment. Age-related hearing loss usually involves high frequencies related to speech recognition. By age 40, a typical person experiences a 20dB hearing loss at frequencies above 3kHz, and by age 70, this decline reaches 50dB. In this type of impairment, hearing aids attempt to address these high frequencies necessary for distinguishing consonants in spoken language. Hearing aids selectively amplify these frequencies, leaving other frequencies untouched or attenuating them in relation to other frequencies related to ambient noise, which are usually less significant. As mentioned earlier, the processing can be tailored to an individual's hearing impairment profile and can also adapt to different ambient sound environments (e.g., a crowded room, a concert hall, a busy street during rush hour). However, current techniques are insufficient to cope with situations where ambient noise is very loud. Because the volume threshold is exceeded, the hearing aid will not amplify the sound, but the wearer may suffer further hearing loss. It would be desirable to have a hearing aid that can provide some protection from loud noises, especially sudden and unexpected harmful sounds.

[0007] Many hearing aids that seal the ear canal, such as in-the-ear or in-the-canal types, perform a type of passive noise cancellation by blocking the direct path of sound entering the ear canal. Some hearing aids have active venting technology that opens or closes vents on the hearing aid's earpiece depending on the hearing mode. For example, when the vent is open, low-frequency sounds enter the ear canal directly, but when the vent is closed, low-frequency sounds do not enter. When streaming music directly to the hearing aid, it is often preferable for the vent to be closed because the low-frequency sounds emitted from the hearing aid remain within the ear canal and are not mixed with external low frequencies, resulting in a more natural sound for the wearer. In some cases, this venting control operates automatically in response to detecting the type of sound environment in which the music is being played. However, to date, active venting technology has not been used in combination with impact noise detection, nor has its use been proposed.

[0008] The basic idea behind active noise cancellation is to add a sound with the opposite phase to the sound that needs to be canceled out, and this concept dates back at least to the 1930s. While its application to headphones began in the 1950s, development surged in the late 1980s, and the technology is now widely used in many readily available consumer products.

[0009] Active noise cancellation (ANC) technology is not incorporated into hearing aids. This is because it selectively amplifies and attenuates certain audio frequencies in relation to other frequencies in order to manage background noise. The objective of this invention is to cancel out sudden, very loud noises that could damage hearing, such as the sound of a door slamming shut, someone using a hammer in the house, or someone shouting nearby. However, if you go to a concert that is intentionally over-amplified, you will need earplugs or earmuffs.

[0010] As mentioned earlier, shock noise is dangerous for everyone, including hearing aid wearers. Furthermore, hearing aids do not adequately address protection from such noise that occurs in the environment. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0011] Therefore, as a prerequisite for limiting potential harm to hearing aid wearers, devices and methods are needed to detect impact sounds in the immediate vicinity of the hearing aid. Such devices and methods are preferably optimized to react automatically and very quickly, while interfering as little as possible with the “normal” operation of the hearing aid in the absence of impact noise, so as not to exceed the wearer’s outer ear with sounds whose waveforms (in terms of volume as a function of volume and time) are particularly dangerous. Ideally, user comfort and convenience can be optimized by adding or incorporating necessary elements into the hearing aid, while minimizing the changes required for the device’s physical housing and operating requirements. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The present invention includes methods and systems or devices for reducing the volume of potentially harmful impact noise that may enter the ear of a hearing aid wearer in an amplified form or through passive transmission.

[0013] In one embodiment, the hearing aid includes a microphone and a processing unit. The microphone is configured to receive sound incident on the hearing aid and send a corresponding microphone output to the processing unit, the processing unit is configured to process the microphone output to generate a first processor output which includes a determination of whether the incident sound includes potentially harmful impact sounds, and a second processor output which includes a processed version of the microphone output.

[0014] In another embodiment, a method for protecting a hearing aid wearer from a sudden loud noise includes the steps of: using a microphone in the hearing aid to receive an incident sound and sending a corresponding microphone output to a processing unit in the hearing aid; and using the processing unit to process the microphone output to generate a first processor output, which is determined by whether the incident sound contains a potentially harmful impact sound, and a second processor output, which includes a processed version of the microphone output.

[0015] Further understanding of the nature and advantages of the specific embodiments disclosed herein can be achieved by reference to the remainder of this specification and the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This figure shows a hearing aid according to several embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the operating principle of an ANC circuit (conventional technology). [Figure 3] This figure shows examples of various hearing aid configurations (conventional technology). [Figure 4] This figure shows a method according to several embodiments of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] This specification describes embodiments of devices and methods for detecting dangerously loud noise and protecting hearing-impaired hearing aid wearers from exposure to dangerously loud noise by using active noise cancellation (ANC) technology.

[0018] Figure 1 shows a hearing aid 100 according to several embodiments of the present invention. The hearing aid 100 includes an audio signal processing circuit in a processing unit 104, which receives an input signal from a microphone 102 and sends an output signal to a speaker 107 housed in an earpiece 106. For simplicity, only a single microphone (102) is shown, but depending on the type of hearing aid, there may be multiple microphones, which allow the hearing aid to determine the direction from which sound is being received. For example, it may determine that a person is speaking in front of the wearer and amplify that sound more appropriately than sound coming from the side of the wearer. The remainder of this disclosure describes a single microphone. However, the operating principle of the system and related considerations also apply to embodiments including multiple microphones.

[0019] While the microphone 102, earpiece 106, and speaker 107 are not necessarily different from those found in currently widely used hearing aids, the processing unit 104 includes circuitry configured to address the problem of potentially harmful shock noise. To achieve this, it has sufficiently fine temporal resolution and sufficiently high dynamic range to determine whether such noise is present and to provide a corresponding positive or negative first output. Unit 104 also provides a second output, which includes a processed version of the microphone output signal (typically a frequency-dependent amplified version).

[0020] In this invention, adjustable (active) sound vents are used as one type of response to the determination that potentially harmful impact noise is present. In some embodiments, the hearing aid 100 has at least one active sound vent. For simplicity, in the embodiment of Figure 1, only one such vent 112 is shown. As described in the background art, a vent is an opening in the earpiece of a hearing aid that can transmit ambient sound directly to the ear without undergoing electronic signal processing. Thus, in some embodiments of the invention, if a first output from the processing unit 104 indicates the presence of potentially harmful impact noise, the hearing aid can respond by automatically closing the active sound vent that is present. By blocking the direct path of sound that passively enters and passes through, the intensity of that “passive” sound can be significantly attenuated before it reaches the ear canal.

[0021] In this invention, ANC technology is used as an alternative type of response to the determination that potentially harmful impact noise is present. Embodiments that enable this response include an ANC circuit within the processing unit of a hearing aid.

[0022] Consider the case where the hearing aid 100 shown in FIG. 1 receives a sound characterized by an exemplary waveform 108 in the form of an amplitude-versus-time envelope. The positive half of the upper part of the waveform and the negative half of the lower part of the waveform would touch in the absence of noise, but in this more realistic case, there is clearly low-amplitude background noise present. Waveform 108 includes two parts of a "true" signal that contains the sound the hearing aid wearer wants to hear, superimposed on the background noise, and one burst of impulse noise that occurs during the period between these two signal parts. The ANC circuit within the processing unit 104 operates to send a signal to the speaker 107, which then generates an output sound having a waveform 110 with an envelope that has substantially no central peak corresponding to the impulse noise. Throughout this disclosure, the term "substantially no" is used to mean that the volume of the corresponding sound is significantly reduced (by at least 50%). The ideal reduction rate is 100%, meaning the noise peak is completely canceled out, but in reality, a reduction rate of 50% or more results in a significant improvement with respect to potential harm to the hearing aid wearer, and the hearing aid wearer may hardly hear the sound. How this reduction rate can be achieved will be further explained below.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows how a conventional ANC circuit operates to "cancel out" unwanted sounds, either completely or, more realistically, substantially. To simplify, consider the hypothetical case where a microphone receives a pure single-frequency sound and generates a corresponding electrical waveform 201 that characterizes that sound. The ANC circuit that then receives that electrical waveform responds by generating a "reverse" or "antinoise" electrical waveform 203 with an inverted phase polarity. The combination of the two waveforms is sent to a speaker, which responds by generating a sound waveform that represents that combination. The sound waveform, in the ideal case, would be a flat line that does not change over time, as shown at 205, but more realistically, may be a low-amplitude waveform like 207 that includes components of the input frequency, since the noise cancellation may not be perfect.

[0024] In audio devices prior to the present invention, active noise cancellation is a function that is selected by the user performing an intentional action, such as pressing a button on headphones. In such devices, all ambient noise outside the headphones is suppressed to some extent.

[0025] Conventional implementations do not address certain problems of impact noise cancellation. In the present invention, the circuitry within the hearing aid processing unit (104 in FIG. 1) is specifically designed to automatically detect and respond to impact noises that are particularly dangerous to the hearing aid wearer. The circuitry operates in conjunction with other standard hearing aid components and cancels (or physically blocks) such noises at a speed sufficient to minimize the risk of hearing damage.

[0026] In many embodiments, the circuitry (including the ANC circuitry if present) must be able to handle very high noise levels that far exceed the typical threshold of 80 dBA, which is a common threshold used to distinguish between safe and dangerous volume levels. For example, impact sounds generated by fireworks or guns can reach peak volume values of 140 - 150 dBA. This places high dynamic range requirements on the electronics of the processing unit.

[0027] In many embodiments, the electronic circuitry of the processing unit must be able to track a signal that rises from a normal safe volume level to a dangerously high level in a very short time, usually less than 0.5 seconds. This places stringent requirements on the time resolution as well. By meeting such requirements, the goal of automatically protecting the hearing aid wearer can be successfully addressed by electronically canceling or mechanically blocking the noise waveform, which is a characteristic of potentially harmful impact noise.

[0028] In some embodiments, the criterion used by the circuitry within the processing unit to determine whether received noise is potentially harmful (in some embodiments, multiple criteria may be used, so it should be understood that, in general, the determination of potential harm may be based in part or all on criteria such as those described herein) is whether the unit receives a microphone output corresponding to a microphone that has detected a dangerously high noise level. In other words, if the microphone detects incident sound that includes a portion characterized by a noise waveform exceeding a volume threshold considered dangerously high, the processing unit determines that it is necessary to take corrective action in response, such as activating the ANC circuit, closing the active vent, or both. The volume threshold is, for example, 120 dBA. In some cases, other thresholds may be appropriate depending on the environment in which the hearing aid is used.

[0029] In some embodiments, the criterion used by the circuitry within the processing unit to determine if received noise is potentially harmful is whether the unit receives a microphone output corresponding to the microphone detecting an impact sound that can reach a dangerously high level very rapidly, even if it rises very rapidly from a relatively safe level and may remain at that high level for a very short time. If the increase rate is, for example, 5 dBA / sec from an initial level of 80 dBA, this combination can activate the ANC circuit. Different combinations of initial level and increase rate values ​​may serve as more appropriate threshold triggers for ANC operation in different situations, for different users, or for different hearing aid settings.

[0030] In yet another embodiment, the criteria used may be a combination of volume level and volume increase rate, and it can be reliably determined that there is potential harm if either threshold is exceeded.

[0031] Figure 3 shows examples of various configurations of commonly used hearing aids. Some have the microphone, processing unit, and speaker housed in a single housing, most of which are located behind the auricle, with an audio guide tube hooked to the front and positioned within the ear canal. Others have the microphone, processing unit, and speaker components pushed into the folds of the auricle, again with an audio guide tube leading into the ear canal. Furthermore, some have the microphone and processing unit located in one place, for example, hooked behind the ear, while the speaker is located at the entrance to the ear canal or separately within the ear canal. Essentially, the present invention relies on incorporating an ANC circuit designed for the target impact noise cancellation application into the processing unit, which can be implemented in any of these various device configurations.

[0032] It should be noted that, depending on the hearing aid settings, only sounds of specific frequencies can be amplified. Other frequencies can be transmitted at nominal volume, either unamplified or attenuated. Depending on the device, some sounds may passively pass through the hearing aid and enter the ear canal. One object of the present invention is to attempt to cancel out potentially harmful noise that is electronically processed by passing through the hearing aid, while another object of the present invention is to attempt to cancel out potentially harmful noise that passively enters the ear canal.

[0033] Figure 4 shows Method 400 according to several embodiments of the present invention. In step 402, a microphone in the hearing aid receives ambient sound and sends its output to a processing unit in the hearing aid. In step 403, the processing unit processes the microphone output. In step 404, the processing unit determines, based on one or more predetermined criteria, whether the sound received by the microphone contained potentially harmful noise. If the result is negative, the processing unit sends a processed version of the microphone output, usually with frequency-dependent amplification, to a speaker in the earpiece of the hearing aid, so that in step 405, the speaker generates and outputs a sound free of harmful noise (because there was no noise in the ambient sound). On the other hand, if the determination in step 404 is positive, at least one of the two paths is followed. In certain embodiments, if the hearing aid is provided with one or more controllable vents, the method proceeds to step 406, where those vents are automatically closed so that potentially harmful noise passively present in the hearing aid can be partially or completely prevented from exiting the earpiece. Although the diagram shows step 407 occurring after step 406, for simplicity, it should be understood that step 407, in which the speaker outputs a processed version of the microphone output, can occur simultaneously with or before step 406.

[0034] If only the path from step 404 to step 406 / 407 is followed (which is the case when there is no ANC function), the speaker output at step 407 contains potentially harmful sounds. In other embodiments, where the ANC function is present, the method can favorably follow the paths to steps 408, 409, and 410 simultaneously with the path to 406 / 407. This “ANC” path is described below.

[0035] In step 408, the ANC circuit is activated and generates an anti-noise waveform, as described above with reference to Figure 2. Next, in step 409, the output of the processing unit to the hearing aid speaker is a set containing a processed version of the anti-noise waveform and a processed version of the noise waveform, the former of which is expected to cancel out or at least significantly reduce the amplitude of the latter. In step 410, the speaker provides an audible output that is substantially free of sound corresponding to the portion of the incident sound characterized by the noise waveform.

[0036] In embodiments where active venting is not present, of course, only the path from step 404 to steps 408-410 can be followed. In preferred embodiments, both active venting and ANC functionality are present, allowing for noise cancellation and vent closure to more comprehensively address potentially harmful noise issues.

[0037] Method 400 or its variations are shown in Figure 3 and should be understood to be applicable to many different types of hearing aids commonly used, as described above. Examples of predetermined criteria that can be applied in step 404 to determine whether the waveform profile is potentially harmful and therefore should trigger either noise cancellation or vent closure (or both) using the ANC circuit are also described above.

[0038] Embodiments of the present invention offer significant advantages over prior art in the art in addressing impact noise and in doing so reliably and conveniently without relying on the active involvement of the hearing aid wearer. It should be quite feasible to modify currently available hearing aids to implement the inventive concepts described herein.

[0039] While we have described specific embodiments in relation to this, these specific embodiments are merely illustrative and not limiting.

[0040] Any suitable programming language, including C, C++, Java, and assembly language, can be used to implement the routines of a particular embodiment. Different programming techniques, such as procedural or object-oriented programming, can be used. The routines can be executed on a single processing device or on multiple processors. Steps, operations, or calculations can be presented in a specific order, but this order can be changed in different specific embodiments. In some specific embodiments, multiple steps presented sequentially herein can be executed simultaneously.

[0041] Certain embodiments may be implemented on a computer-readable storage medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, system, or device. Certain embodiments may be implemented in the form of control logic in software, hardware, or a combination of both. The control logic, when executed by one or more processors, is operable to perform what is described in a particular embodiment.

[0042] Certain embodiments can be implemented by using a programmed general-purpose digital computer and / or by using application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays, optical, chemical, biological, quantum, or nanoengineering systems, components, and mechanisms. In general, the functionality of a particular embodiment can be achieved by any means known in the art. Distributed, networked systems, components, and / or circuits can be used. Communication or transfer of data can be by wired, wireless, or any other means.

[0043] Furthermore, it will be understood that one or more of the elements shown in the drawings / figures may be implemented in a more separated or integrated manner, or may be deleted or disabled in some cases, to be useful for a particular application. Implementing a program or code that can be stored in a machine-readable medium to cause a computer to perform any of the above methods is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0044] A “processor” includes any suitable hardware and / or software system, mechanism, or component for processing data, signals, or other information. A processor may include a general-purpose central processing unit, a set of processing units, dedicated circuits for implementing a function, or other systems. Processing does not need to be limited to a geographical location or subject to time constraints. For example, a processor can perform its functions in “real-time,” “offline,” “batch mode,” etc. Parts of the processing may be performed by different (or the same) processing systems at different times and in different locations. Examples of processing systems include servers, clients, end-user devices, routers, switches, and network storage. A computer may be any processor that communicates with memory. Memory may be any suitable processor-readable storage medium suitable for storing instructions to be executed by the processor, such as random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic or optical disks, or other non-temporary media.

[0045] As used in this specification and in the claims that follow, “a,” “an” (indefinite articles), and “the” (definite article) include multiple references unless otherwise explicitly specified by the context. Furthermore, as used in this specification and in the claims that follow, “in” includes both “in” and “on” unless otherwise explicitly specified by the context.

[0046] Therefore, although specific embodiments have been described herein, freedom of modification, alteration, and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and it will be understood that in some cases, certain features of a particular embodiment may be used without corresponding use of other features, without departing from the scope and spirit described herein. Thus, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation or content to the substantial scope and spirit. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 100 hearing aids 102 Microphone 104 Processing Units 106 earpieces 107 speakers 108 waveform 110 waveform 112 Sound Vent 201 Electrical Waveforms 203 Electrical Waveforms

Claims

1. It is a hearing aid, Microphone and, Processing unit and Includes, The microphone is configured to receive incident sound entering the hearing aid and to send the corresponding microphone output to the processing unit. The processing unit is configured to process the microphone output to determine whether the incident sound contains potentially harmful impulsive sound, and to generate a processor output that includes a processed version of the microphone output. The determination is based in part on whether the incident sound received by the microphone includes a portion characterized by a noise waveform that meets a predetermined criterion corresponding to a potentially harmful impact sound, which is an impact sound that can reach a high level in a short period of time. The system further includes one or more controllable vents configured to close automatically in response to a determination from the processing unit that the incident sound received by the microphone includes a portion characterized by a noise waveform that satisfies the predetermined criteria. A hearing aid characterized by the following features.

2. The hearing aid according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined standard includes exceeding a first threshold volume level.

3. The hearing aid according to claim 2, characterized in that the first threshold volume level is 120 dBA.

4. The hearing aid according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined standard includes exceeding a first threshold rise rate starting from a volume level equal to a second threshold volume level.

5. The hearing aid according to claim 4, characterized in that the first threshold rise rate is 5 dBA / second and the second threshold volume level is 80 dBA.

6. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit includes an active noise cancellation (ANC) circuit, the ANC circuit is activated automatically in response to a determination that the incident sound received by the microphone includes a portion characterized by a noise waveform that satisfies a predetermined criterion, and is operable to generate an anti-noise waveform included in the processor output.

7. It further includes earpieces containing speakers, The housing, including the microphone and the processing unit, is configured to be attached behind the auricle of the user's ear or to be pressed into the folds of the auricle. The aforementioned earpiece is configured to be positioned inside the external auditory canal of the ear or at the entrance of the external auditory canal. The audible output generated by the speaker is sent directly from the earpiece to the user's ear canal. The hearing aid according to claim 1, characterized in that

8. A method for protecting a hearing aid wearer from a sudden loud noise, wherein the method is: The steps include receiving incident sound using a microphone in the hearing aid and sending the corresponding microphone output to a processing unit in the hearing aid, The steps include: processing the microphone output using the processing unit to generate a first processor output which is determined by whether the incident sound contains potentially harmful impact sounds; and generating a second processor output which includes a processed version of the microphone output; Includes, The determination is based in part on whether the incident sound received by the microphone includes a portion characterized by a noise waveform that meets a predetermined criterion corresponding to a potentially harmful impact sound, which is an impact sound that can reach a high level in a short period of time. The further step includes automatically closing one or more controllable vents in response to a determination that the incident sound received by the microphone includes a portion characterized by a noise waveform that satisfies the predetermined criteria. A method characterized by the following:

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the predetermined standard includes exceeding a first threshold volume level.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the first threshold volume level is 120 dBA.

11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the predetermined standard includes exceeding a first threshold rise rate starting from a volume level equal to a second threshold volume level.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the first threshold rise rate is 5 dBA / second and the second threshold volume level is 80 dBA.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the processing includes automatically activating an active noise cancellation (ANC) circuit in the processing unit in response to a determination that the incident sound received by the microphone includes a portion characterized by a noise waveform that satisfies a predetermined criterion, the ANC circuit operating to generate a corresponding anti-noise waveform.

14. The process further includes the step of generating an audible output corresponding to the second processor output using the speaker in the earpiece of the hearing aid, The second processor output includes a combination of a signal corresponding to the noise waveform and a signal corresponding to the anti-noise waveform, is generated by the speaker, and the audible output potentially heard by the hearing aid wearer substantially does not include the sound corresponding to the portion of the incident sound characterized by the noise waveform. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that

15. The housing, including the microphone and the processing unit, is fitted behind the auricle of the user's ear, or pressed into the folds of the auricle. The aforementioned earpiece is placed inside the ear canal or at the entrance of the ear canal. The audible output generated by the speaker is sent directly from the earpiece to the user's ear canal. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that

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