Apparatus, audio device and method

Abstract

It is proposed an apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to obtain data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency, obtain an audio signal to be played to the user for reducing at least one of a volume, a transient intensity and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency, and control an audio device to play the audio signal.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS, AUDIO DEVICE AND METHOD

[0002] Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to signal processing for audio devices. Examples relate to an apparatus, an audio device and a method.

[0004] Background

[0005] Hearing impairment and hearing loss are significant global health concerns that affect a significant share of individuals across various age groups. Early detection and intervention are critical in preventing or mitigating further hearing degradation and its associated adverse effects on an individual’s quality of life.

[0006] Conventional methods rely on periodic audiological evaluations performed by trained professionals in controlled clinical settings and medical advice. These measures suffer from limitations such as infrequency, inconvenience, and the inability to capture real-world auditory experiences and hazards. Furthermore, preventative measures suggested by medical professionals are often inconvenient to implement in everyday environments. Thus, there is a need for improved measures against hearing degradation.

[0007] Summary

[0008] This need is satisfied by the subject matter of the independent claims.

[0009] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus, comprising processing circuitry configured to obtain data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency, obtain an audio signal to be played to the user for reducing at least one of a volume, a transient intensity and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency, and control an audio device to play the audio signal.

[0010] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to a method, comprising obtaining data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency, obtaining an audio signal to be played to the user for reducing at least one of a volume, a transient intensity and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency, and controlling an audio device to play the audio signal.

[0011] Brief description of the Figures

[0012] Some examples of apparatuses and / or methods will be described in the following by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which

[0013] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of an apparatus;

[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates an example of an audio device; and

[0015] Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a method.

[0016] Detailed Description

[0017] Some examples are now described in more detail with reference to the enclosed figures. However, other possible examples are not limited to the features of these embodiments described in detail. Other examples may include modifications of the features as well as equivalents and alternatives to the features. Furthermore, the terminology used herein to describe certain examples should not be restrictive of further possible examples.

[0018] Throughout the description of the figures same or similar reference numerals refer to same or similar elements and / or features, which may be identical or implemented in a modified form while providing the same or a similar function. The thickness of lines, layers and / or areas in the figures may also be exaggerated for clarification.

[0019] When two elements A and B are combined using an “or”, this is to be understood as disclosing all possible combinations, i.e., only A, only B as well as A and B, unless expressly defined otherwise in the individual case. As an alternative wording for the same combinations, "at least one of A and B" or "A and / or B" may be used. This applies equivalently to combinations of more than two elements. If a singular form, such as “a”, “an” and “the” is used and the use of only a single element is not defined as mandatory either explicitly or implicitly, further examples may also use several elements to implement the same function. If a function is described below as implemented using multiple elements, further examples may implement the same function using a single element or a single processing entity. It is further understood that the terms "include", "including", "comprise" and / or "comprising", when used, describe the presence of the specified features, integers, steps, operations, processes, elements, components and / or a group thereof, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, processes, elements, components and / or a group thereof.

[0020] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of an apparatus 100. The apparatus 100 is to be considered in the context of an audio device 130. Generally, the apparatus 100 may be integrated into an audio device 130 such as explained below with reference to Fig. 2 or may be fully or at least partially external to the audio device 130. In the latter cases, the apparatus 100 may be communicatively coupled to the audio device 130 as shown in Fig. 1.

[0021] An audio device 130 refers to hardware or equipment designed to record, transmit, reproduce, or manipulate sound. The audio device 130 may capture, process, and / or play back audio signals, enabling communication, entertainment, various multimedia applications or alike. The audio device 130 operates by converting analog sound waves into digital data and / or vice versa. The audio device 130 may comprise a microphone, loudspeaker, mixer, synthesizer or alike. In some examples, the audio device 130 may be or comprise a hearing aid or a headphone. A hearing aid is an electronic device designed to assist individuals with hearing loss by amplifying sound and / or cancelling background sounds. It comprises a microphone that picks up sound from the environment, an amplifier that increases the volume of the sound and / or creating the active noise canceling signal to cancel out background sounds, and a speaker that delivers the amplified / noise cancelled sound into the ear of a user. A headphone is a pair of speakers worn over or in the ears to listen to audio, e.g., from external devices such as smartphones, computers, music players, and audio systems.

[0022] The apparatus 100 comprises processing circuitry 110 and, optionally, interface circuitry 120. In case interface circuitry 120 is present, the interface circuitry 120 may be communicatively coupled (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection) to the processing circuitry 110, e.g., for data exchange between the interface circuitry 120 and the processing circuitry 110. The interface circuitry 120 may be configured to receive data or signals from the audio device 130. In case the apparatus 100 is fully or at least partially integrated into the audio device 130, the apparatus 100 may dispense with the interface circuitry 120.

[0023] The processing circuitry 110 may be, e.g., a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor, or a plurality of individual processors, some of which or all of which may be shared, a digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a microcontroller or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The processing circuitry 110 may optionally be coupled to, e.g., read only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM) and / or non-volatile memory.

[0024] The interface circuitry 120 may be any device or means for communicating or exchanging data. For instance, the interface circuitry 120 may be a set of electronic components, circuits, and / or subsystems for interaction between different interfacing entities such as devices, systems, or components. It may comprise voltage level shifters, buffers, amplifiers, filters, converters, multiplexers, demultiplexers, and / or various other electronic elements. These components may be configured to adapt signals for communication, convert data formats, match impedance, ensure signal integrity or alike.

[0025] The processing circuitry 110 is configured to obtain data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency.

[0026] The hearing degradation refers to hearing loss or decrease in an individual’s ability to hear a sound. The present application addresses permanent or temporary hearing loss as well as permanent or temporary threshold shift (PTS, TTS) in the hearing ability of the user, i.e., permanent and irreversible or temporary and reversible hearing degradation. This condition occurs, e.g., after exposure to loud noise or music (so-called music-induced hearing loss), to sudden changes in air pressure or other factors (infections, medications, etc.) that can affect hearing and can result in permanent damage to the auditory system.

[0027] The data may indicate the hearing degradation by, e.g., specifying whether or not a hearing degradation is present for the audio frequency. It may specify the hearing degradation for all audio frequencies within the range of the audible frequencies or for specific audio frequencies or frequency ranges within the audible spectrum. It may optionally specify a respective hearing degradation for multiple different audio frequencies or audio frequency ranges within the audible spectrum.

[0028] The data may optionally quantify the hearing degradation. The hearing degradation may be quantified using the individual’s hearing thresholds at different frequencies (measured in Hertz, Hz) and loudness levels (measured in decibels, dB), e.g., in form of an audiogram. Alternatively, hearing threshold levels may be used which specify the quietest sounds a person can hear at the audio frequency. These levels may be recorded in decibels (dB). Assessments of the hearing degradation may also be expressed as a percentage, indicating the amount of hearing loss relative to normal hearing, i.e., relative to other users or other users with a similar age. For example, if an individual has a 50% hearing loss, it means their hearing is only half as sensitive as a person with normal hearing. As in speech audiometry, the hearing degradation may be provided as speech recognition scores (e.g., in percentage or as dimensionless value). This measures the user’s ability to correctly repeat or identify spoken words or sentences having exclusively or largely the audio frequency at various loudness levels. Other possible measures are the presence and strength of emissions from the inner ear in response to sound in the audio frequency (otoacoustic emission levels), waveform patterns that represent the electrical activity of the auditory nerve and brainstem (auditory brainstem response waveforms) or alike. Finally, the measure could be the percentile of the user in a group of peer users and describe how many peer users have a better or worse hearing than the user.

[0029] The processing circuitry 110 may obtain the data in the following way: For instance, the processing circuitry 110 may receive the data, e.g., via interface circuitry (another interface circuitry or the interface circuitry 120), from an external device. The external device may be a user input device in which another user or the user may input information about the hearing degradation, or it may be a device for performing a hearing test in which the hearing degradation is determined automatically or half-automatically (with medical assistance, for instance). A hearing test, also known as an audiological evaluation or hearing assessment, is a series of procedures conducted automatically or by audiologists and qualified healthcare professionals to assess an individual’s hearing abilities. The primary goal of a hearing test is to determine if a person exhibits a hearing degradation for the audio frequency, and if so, to quantify the type, degree, and / or configuration of the hearing degradation. Additionally or alternatively, the processing circuitry 110 may obtain the data by determining the hearing degradation. For example, the audio device 130 may provide an integrated hearing test which can be controlled by the apparatus 100. The results of the integrated hearing may be accessible by the apparatus 100 for further processing by the processing circuitry 110. This integrated hearing test may refer to an explicit and / or an implicit hearing test. An explicit hearing test is a type of hearing evaluation in which the individual being tested is aware of the purpose and content of the test. In explicit hearing tests, the test subject actively participates in the assessment and responds to specific auditory stimuli (sounds or speech) presented by the audiologist or tester. An implicit hearing test, on the other hand, is a less direct and often subconscious assessment of hearing abilities. In implicit tests, the individual may not be fully aware that their hearing is being evaluated, or the test may not involve direct interaction with the person being assessed. Implicit hearing tests can provide insights into hearing-related issues without the individual's active participation or awareness.

[0030] For example, an explicit hearing test may be a pure-tone audiometry: The audio device 130 may be controlled to output a series of pure-tone sounds at different frequencies with increasing loudness levels to the user. The user may respond by indicating at which loudness level they hear a sound for the first time, e.g., by pressing a button at the audio device 130 or by speech input. The hearing test may comprise a speech output at the audio device 130, e.g., “please indicate if you can hear a tone” or alike and instructions of how to indicate it.

[0031] An example of a partially explicit or implicit hearing test: The processing circuitry 100 may, in some examples, determine or detect at least one of a presence and an extent (quantity or measure) of the hearing degradation by controlling the audio device 130 to output a test signal (such as a pure-tone sound or other sound) to the user and determining at least one of a correctness and a reaction time of a reply of the user to the test signal. This may be realized in a gamification environment, for instance. The hearing test may be implemented into a game without informing the user that a listening test is done. For example, a first-person shooter game where information from which side the next zombie is coming is already indicated via sound in the audio device 130. By measuring the reaction time (and optionally recording it over some extended period of time), it is derivable whether the user is able to make use of this information and with which performance. Or the user has to navigate blindly through a maze by pressing left / right buttons or alike at the audio device 130 or a connected smartphone using information whether he / she should turn left / right in form of acoustic cues. An example of an implicit hearing test: The processing circuitry 110 may, in some examples, be configured to detect at least one of a presence and an extent of the hearing degradation by comparing a volume setting of the audio device 130 to a reference volume setting. For example, the volume level (setting) for, e.g., the same song / podcast could be compared among the user and all other users (or peer users) that use, e.g., same audio device 130 (e.g., headphone). The volume setting may indicate the volume, loudness, gain or intensity by which a sound is played by the audio device 130. A higher volume than average set by the user may indicate that the user suffers from hearing degradation. The difference between the volume set by the user and the average or reference volume setting may indicate the extent of the hearing degradation. The reference volume setting may be selected for users of the same of a similar age like the user.

[0032] An implicit hearing test may also be performed “historically”: The processing circuitry 110 may be configured to detect at least one of a presence and an extent of the hearing degradation by tracking an adjustment of a volume setting of the audio device 130. For example, the audio device 130 may record the volume adjustments of the user over a specified time and may derive thereof whether and in which extent the user’s hearing has degraded. For example, using the volume information (setting) together with the spectrogram of audio material played by the audio device 130, it may be determined by the apparatus 100 or learned on machinelearning basis which frequencies start to degrade. This is due to that the user may probably increase the volume for audio material (e.g., songs) which has a lot of spectral content in this frequency region.

[0033] The apparatus 100 may optionally comprise memory configured to store the data.

[0034] The information about the hearing degradation may be used to inform or warn the user or other persons (e.g., as part of parental control). In these cases, the processing circuitry 110 may be further configured to, in response to detecting the hearing degradation, control the audio device 130 to output a warning signal. Alternatively, information about the hearing degradation may be displayed on a display of a smartphone of the user or to the parents of the user. For example, it may be displayed in the form of text, like “you achieved . . . percent in the listening test”, “compared to other users of same age, you have scored . . . points”, or “compared to the last test, your hearing dropped by ... percent”. The user may be prompted by the apparatus 100 to do a hearing test to enable functions of an electronic device, such as the audio device 130, a loudspeaker or a smartphone. The apparatus 100 and the electronic device may therefore be communicatively connected to exchange information about the user’s hearing degradation and about whether a hearing test has been recently done. For example, a child may be prompted to do, e.g., regularly, a hearing (listening) test to enable YouTube or Spotify on a smartphone.

[0035] With increased age or with extensive listening to loud music / noise, the hearing ability is reduced, which conventionally goes unnoticed. Especially younger people are surprised of how much their hearing has degraded through being exposed to loud music, as they would not expect this in their young age. Conventional audio devices (e.g., hearing aids / headphones) do not monitor the hearing abilities of a user and changes go unnoticed. By contrast, the apparatus 100 may provide a continuous recording of the user’s hearing. This may have educational effects on the user, may be used to warn the user or to block functions of an electronic device (e.g., a loudspeaker) to prevent further hearing degradation.

[0036] Moreover, the apparatus 100 may enable integrated implicit hearing tests which may use volume information from other users or the user himself in the past to detect hearing problems and to optionally warn the user. In this manner, the user may be subjected to a hearing test without interrupting the user for an explicit hearing test. It is to be expected that the acceptability of hearing tests is increased and therefore they may be executed sufficiently often to be able to counteract hearing degradation and prevent permanent hearing issues.

[0037] Further, the apparatus 100 may provide measures to counteract hearing degradation, which is explained in the following: The processing circuitry 110 is further configured to obtain an audio signal to be played to the user for (e.g., selectively) reducing at least one of a volume, a transient intensity and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency and control the audio device 130 to play the audio signal.

[0038] For instance, the audio device 130 may comprise or be a speaker, such as those of a headphone or hearing aid, directed to the user. The processing circuitry 110 may trigger the speaker of the audio device 130 to play the audio signal, e.g., by transmitting audio data indicating the audio signal to the audio device 130. The audio signal may comprise music and / or speech, for instance. Obtaining such an audio signal with reduced volume or occurrence of the degraded audio frequency may preserve the hearing ability for frequencies that start to degrade. In order to protect the user’s ears from further degradation in the frequency or from a degradation extending to other frequencies when letting the user cranking up the volume, the apparatus 100 instead automatically takes countermeasures.

[0039] A first example of a countermeasure is an automatic recommendation or selection of material which has less spectral content in the affected frequency regions. Thus, the processing circuitry 110 may be configured to select the audio signal among a plurality of audio signals. The selected audio signal have at least one of a reduced occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency and a reduced volume in the at least one audio frequency relative to other audio signals of the plurality of audio signals. The plurality of audio signals may be a collection of available songs, podcasts, or alike. The occurrence of a signal component may be measured in number of occurrences and / or in temporal length of occurrences and / or intensity of transients, for instance.

[0040] The processing circuitry 110 may, for instance, control an automated recommendation system of an electronic device (e.g., a smartphone) of the user which generates, retrieves, or stores the audio signal such that the automated recommendation system more often suggests frequencypreserving content. The recommendation system may be a machine learning method that suggests relevant content to users based on their characteristics or historical behavior.

[0041] Alternatively, the processing circuitry 110 may be part of said recommendation system or perform an audio signal selection itself. For instance, the audio signature of the audio signals, e.g., the audio frequency and loudness course over time indicated by the corresponding audio data, may be scanned for occurrences of the degraded frequency and / or for the volume / loud- ness of the degraded frequency. The processing circuitry 110 may evaluate the occurrences or loudness of the degraded frequencies or a combination thereof. The results of that evaluation may be used to compare the audio signals with each other. Then, the comparison may be used to select more “gentle” audio signals to be played while less “gentle” audio signals will be avoided or seldomly played. That is, audio signals are selected which particularly and selectively preserve the concerned frequencies while other uncritical frequencies may be ignored in the evaluation. For example, a playlist of songs may be arranged such that only or more probably songs with less or no occurrences or with mostly or only low-volume occurrences of the affected frequencies are played.

[0042] A second example of a countermeasure is a reduction of the volume in the regions where the user starts to experience a degradation. The processing circuitry 110 may, in these cases, be configured to modify the audio signal by selectively reducing a volume of signal components in the at least one audio frequency. That is, other signal components with uncritical audio frequencies may stay unchanged while only the critical signal components are changed in volume. The processing circuitry 110 may modify the audio signal by overwriting the corresponding audio data or audio signature of the audio signal. Alternatively, the processing circuitry 110 may control an equalizer of the audio device 130. The equalizer may be a device to enhance or modify the tonal characteristics of an audio signal. The equalizer may allow a boost or cut of specific frequency ranges to shape the sound to a desired outcome. In this manner, the user still may listen to the preferred audio material and thus may feel in control over his / her playlist. However, the volume or gain adjustments are at least partially controlled by the apparatus 100 for recovering or at least preserving the user’s hearing.

[0043] The apparatus 100 may, e.g., only slightly and carefully make amendments in the volume settings of the audio signals. This may avoid a disturbance of the user when the modified audio signal sounds unnatural. For example, by modifying the volume gradually, the user still has the impression that the sound is natural and doesn’t get annoyed by additional equalizing. In the latter cases, the processing circuitry 110 is configured to iteratively reduce the volume of the signal components to a target volume over a predefined time. The processing circuitry 110 may thus reduce the volume to at least a first volume and later to a second volume (the target volume) lower than the first volume.

[0044] A third example of a countermeasure is to convert signal components in general or in particular speech in the audio signal to signal components or speech that has a reduced volume or occurrence of signal components in the affected audio frequency. For example, the apparatus 100 may control a text-to-speech (TTS) system for audiobooks or voice conversion (VC) for music with voices / vocals that have less spectral content in the regions where the hearing of the user starts to degrade. The processing circuitry 110 may, for example, be configured to modify the audio signal by converting signal components in the at least one audio frequency to another audio frequency. The other audio frequency may preferably be a less degraded or uncritical audio frequency. Frequency conversion may involve shifting the frequency content of the signal component to a different frequency range while preserving its essential characteristics (e.g., pitch, timbre, duration, phase coherence, dynamic range, prosody or alike). For this purpose, the processing circuitry 110 may use equalization, as explained above.

[0045] In case of speech, the processing circuitry 110 may be configured to convert at least one of a voice or speech in the audio signal to the other audio frequency. For example, the fundamental frequency of the voice or speech may be changed to the other audio frequency. For a more natural modification of voice, the processing circuitry 110 may use VC to adjust speech in the audio signal. VC is a technology used to modify or transform the characteristics of a person’s voice from one source voice (the speaker’s original voice) to a target voice (the desired voice). VC may involve machine learning techniques, including deep learning and neural networks. Here’s a simplified overview of how voice conversion works: A voice conversion model is built by using a large dataset of recordings from both the source and target speakers. These recordings are used to train a neural network to learn the relationships between the acoustic features of the source and target voices. Acoustic features of the source and target voices, such as spectral characteristics, pitch, and prosodic patterns, are extracted from the training data. A neural network model is trained to map the source voice’s acoustic features to the corresponding features of the target voice. During a conversion phase, the model takes acoustic features from the source voice and transforms them into the corresponding features of the target voice. This transformation modifies the source voice to sound like the target voice while maintaining the linguistic content.

[0046] The processing circuitry 110 may alternatively or additionally perform speech synthesis, e.g., using a TTS system, and thereby generate the audio signal. That is, the processing circuitry 110 may be configured to generate the audio signal by generating speech based on text using TTS synthesis and select a voice for the speech with a reduced occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency. The apparatus 100 may receive data indicating a text (written information, documents, or messages) to be converted. The processing circuitry 110 may then synthesize the text. TTS refers to a technology that converts written text into spoken audio using, e.g., text analysis, linguistic processing, text-to-phoneme conversion, prosody generation, audio rendering or alike. Speech synthesis may be performed based on the phonetic transcription and prosody information.

[0047] A fourth example of a countermeasure is transient filtering. Transients are sudden, high-inten- sity sound events and, e.g., appear for the percussive sounds in a song like the drums. To reduce the intensity of the transients, a compressor or a limiter on the signal in the specific frequency range may be applied. Alternatively, a source separation technique may be used to separate the audio signal into individual tracks and the compressor / limiter may be applied exclusively to one or multiple of these tracks. For example, using music source separation, music maa be separated into four tracks: bass, drums, vocals and rest where transient filtering may be applied to the drums track only such that the change is less perceived by the user.

[0048] In summary, the apparatus 100 may enable to propose or take counter-measures to hearing degradation of a user. The hearing of the user may thus recover, and permanent hearing degradation may be prevented.

[0049] Fig- 2 illustrates an example of an audio device 200. The audio device 200 may be or comprise a hearing aid or a headphone. The audio device 200 comprises an apparatus 210 as described herein, such as apparatus 100. In other examples than the one shown in Fig. 2, the apparatus 210 may be external to the audio device 200 and communicatively coupled to it or partially external to and partially integrated into the audio device 200. In the case of partial integration, the apparatus 210 comprises first processing circuitry external to the audio device 200 and second processing circuitry integrated into the audio device 200. The first and the second processing circuitry may jointly perform the method as described herein, e.g., in a distributed manner.

[0050] The audio device 200 further comprises an audio output device 220 configured to play the audio signal. For instance, the audio output device 220 may be a speaker which emits a sound wave towards the user of the audio device 200.

[0051] More details and aspects of the audio device 200 are explained in connection with the proposed technique or one or more examples described above, e.g., with reference to Fig. 1. The audio device 200 may comprise one or more additional optional features corresponding to one or more aspects of the proposed technique, or one or more examples described above. Fig- 3 illustrates an example of a method 300. The method 300 may be performed by an apparatus as described herein, such as apparatus 100. The method 300 comprises obtaining 310 data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency, obtaining 320 an audio signal to be played to the user for reducing at least one of a volume, a transient intensity and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency, and controlling 330 an audio device to play the audio signal.

[0052] More details and aspects of the method 300 are explained in connection with the proposed technique or one or more examples described above, e.g., with reference to Fig. 1. The method 300 may comprise one or more additional optional features corresponding to one or more aspects of the proposed technique, or one or more examples described above.

[0053] In the following, some examples of the proposed technique are presented:

[0054] An example (e.g., example 1) relates to an apparatus, comprising processing circuitry configured to obtain data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency, obtain an audio signal to be played to the user for reducing at least one of a volume and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency, and control an audio device to play the audio signal.

[0055] Another example (e.g., example 2) relates to a previous example (e.g., example 1) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is configured to select the audio signal among a plurality of audio signals, the selected audio signal having at least one of a reduced occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency and a reduced volume in the at least one audio frequency relative to other audio signals of the plurality of audio signals.

[0056] Another example (e.g., example 3) relates to a previous example (e.g., one of the examples 1 or 2) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is configured to modify the audio signal by selectively reducing a volume of signal components in the at least one audio frequency. Another example (e.g., example 4) relates to a previous example (e.g., example 3) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is configured to iteratively reduce the volume of the signal components to a target volume over a predefined time.

[0057] Another example (e.g., example 5) relates to a previous example (e.g., one of the examples 1 to 4) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is configured to modify the audio signal by converting signal components in the at least one audio frequency to another audio frequency.

[0058] Another example (e.g., example 6) relates to a previous example (e.g., example 5) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is configured to convert at least one of a voice or speech in the audio signal to the other audio frequency.

[0059] Another example (e.g., example 7) relates to a previous example (e.g., one of the examples 1 to 6) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is configured to generate the audio signal by generating speech based on text using text-to-speech synthesis and select a voice for the speech with a reduced occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency.

[0060] Another example (e.g., example 8) relates to a previous example (e.g., one of the examples 1 to 7) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is further configured to detect at least one of a presence and an extent of the hearing degradation by controlling the audio device to output a test signal to the user and determining at least one of a correctness and a reaction time of a reply of the user to the test signal.

[0061] Another example (e.g., example 9) relates to a previous example (e.g., one of the examples 1 to 8) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is further configured to detect at least one of a presence and an extent of the hearing degradation by comparing a volume setting of the audio device to a reference volume setting.

[0062] Another example (e.g., example 10) relates to a previous example (e.g., one of the examples 1 to 9) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is further configured to detect at least one of a presence and an extent of the hearing degradation by tracking an adjustment of a volume setting of the audio device. Another example (e.g., example 11) relates to a previous example (e.g., one of the examples 1 to 10) or to any other example, further comprising that the processing circuitry is further configured to, in response to detecting the hearing degradation, control the audio device to output a warning signal.

[0063] An example (e.g., example 12) relates to an audio device, comprising an apparatus according to any one of the previous examples, and an audio output device configured to play the audio signal.

[0064] Another example (e.g., example 13) relates to a previous example (e.g., example 12) or to any other example, further comprising that the audio device comprises a headphone or a hearing aid.

[0065] An example (e.g., example 14) relates to a method, comprising obtaining data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency, obtaining an audio signal to be played to the user for reducing at least one of a volume and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency, and controlling an audio device to play the audio signal.

[0066] Another example (e.g., example 15) relates to a non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon a program having a program code for performing the method of example 14, when the program is executed on a processor or a programmable hardware.

[0067] Another example (e.g., example 16) relates to a program having a program code for performing the method of example 14, when the program is executed on a processor or a programmable hardware.

[0068] The aspects and features described in relation to a particular one of the previous examples may also be combined with one or more of the further examples to replace an identical or similar feature of that further example or to additionally introduce the features into the further example.

[0069] Examples may further be or relate to a (computer) program including a program code to execute one or more of the above methods when the program is executed on a computer, processor, or other programmable hardware component. Thus, steps, operations, or processes of different ones of the methods described above may also be executed by programmed computers, processors or other programmable hardware components. Examples may also cover program storage devices, such as digital data storage media, which are machine-, processor- or computer-readable and encode and / or contain machine-executable, processor-executable or computer-executable programs and instructions. Program storage devices may include or be digital storage devices, magnetic storage media such as magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard disk drives, or optically readable digital data storage media, for example. Other examples may also include computers, processors, control units, (field) programmable logic arrays ((F)PLAs), (field) programmable gate arrays ((F)PGAs), graphics processor units (GPU), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), integrated circuits (ICs) or system-on-a-chip (SoCs) systems programmed to execute the steps of the methods described above.

[0070] It is further understood that the disclosure of several steps, processes, operations, or functions disclosed in the description or claims shall not be construed to imply that these operations are necessarily dependent on the order described, unless explicitly stated in the individual case or necessary for technical reasons. Therefore, the previous description does not limit the execution of several steps or functions to a certain order. Furthermore, in further examples, a single step, function, process, or operation may include and / or be broken up into several sub-steps, - functions, -processes or -operations.

[0071] If some aspects have been described in relation to a device or system, these aspects should also be understood as a description of the corresponding method. For example, a block, device or functional aspect of the device or system may correspond to a feature, such as a method step, of the corresponding method. Accordingly, aspects described in relation to a method shall also be understood as a description of a corresponding block, a corresponding element, a property or a functional feature of a corresponding device or a corresponding system.

[0072] The following claims are hereby incorporated in the detailed description, wherein each claim may stand on its own as a separate example. It should also be noted that although in the claims a dependent claim refers to a particular combination with one or more other claims, other examples may also include a combination of the dependent claim with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent claim. Such combinations are hereby explicitly proposed, unless it is stated in the individual case that a particular combination is not intended. Furthermore, features of a claim should also be included for any other independent claim, even if that claim is not directly defined as dependent on that other independent claim.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising processing circuitry configured to: obtain data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency; obtain an audio signal to be played to the user for reducing at least one of a volume, a transient intensity and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency; and control an audio device to play the audio signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to select the audio signal among a plurality of audio signals, the selected audio signal having at least one of a reduced occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency and a reduced volume in the at least one audio frequency relative to other audio signals of the plurality of audio signals.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to modify the audio signal by selectively reducing a volume of signal components in the at least one audio frequency.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to iteratively reduce the volume of the signal components to a target volume over a predefined time.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to modify the audio signal by converting signal components in the at least one audio frequency to another audio frequency.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to convert at least one of a voice or speech in the audio signal to the other audio frequency.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the audio signal by generating speech based on text using text-to-speech synthesis and select a voice for the speech with a reduced occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to modify the audio signal by selectively reducing the transient intensity of signal components in the at least one audio frequency.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to detect at least one of a presence and an extent of the hearing degradation by controlling the audio device to output a test signal to the user and determining at least one of a correctness and a reaction time of a reply of the user to the test signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to detect at least one of a presence and an extent of the hearing degradation by comparing a volume setting of the audio device to a reference volume setting.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to detect at least one of a presence and an extent of the hearing degradation by tracking an adjustment of a volume setting of the audio device.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, in response to detecting the hearing degradation, control the audio device to output a warning signal.

13. An audio device, comprising: an apparatus according to claim 1; and an audio output device configured to play the audio signal.

14. The audio device of claim 13, wherein the audio device comprises a headphone or a hearing aid.

15. A method, comprising: obtaining data indicating a hearing degradation of a user for at least one audio frequency; obtaining an audio signal to be played to the user for reducing at least one of a volume, a transient intensity and an occurrence of signal components in the at least one audio frequency; and controlling an audio device to play the audio signal.

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