1803 results about "Hearing perception" patented technology

A computer-aided communication and navigation system that uses a computer or other processor in wireless communication with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to aid a blind person. A communication module worn by the user receives information from one or more RFID tags readers and provides audio and, optionally, stimulatory information to the blind person. In one embodiment, a tag reader is provided in a walking cane. In one embodiment, tag readers are provided in one or more ankle bracelets or shoes. In one embodiment, a wireless (or wired) earpiece is provided to provide audio information to one or both ears. In one embodiment, audio information is provided through one or more transducers that couple sound through bones. The use of bone coupling allows the blind person to hear the sound information from the communication module in concert with normal hearing. The tag readers provided to the ankles or shoes communicate with the communication module to allow the blind user to navigate by following a “trail” of RFID tags.

A number of ear-worn hearing system devices are provided that each include a pair of electrodes to transmit time varying electrical signals therebetween when in contact with skin of a user's body. The devices each include a housing, a sound sensor, and processing circuitry included within the housing. The electrodes are coupled to the circuitry and are spaced apart from one another a distance sufficient to provide capacitance between the electrodes below a desired threshold. The electrodes are disposed along the housing for placement on locations of the user's body where skin contact is not likely to be disrupted by nominal body movements.

Novel techniques for hearing enhancement based on a pair of glasses are disclosed. In one embodiment, the glasses include a first lens holder, a second lens holder, a bridge element, a first temple, a second temple, a first speaker, a second speaker, a microphone and at least one electrical component that performs a hearing enhanced function to enhance audio signals from the microphone to be sent to the speakers for the user to hear. At least one electrical component in the glasses is for generating other audio signals by the speakers, with the other audio signals originating from signals other than audio signals captured by the microphone. In another embodiment, some of the electrical components are in a portable device, wired or wirelessly, coupled to the glasses. In yet another embodiment, the glasses function as a headset, with other electrical components in the portable device. In such embodiment, since the glasses can provide a number of different hearing functions, a third party may not be able to tell whether the user is wearing the glasses to have his hearing enhanced, or for hearing other audio signals.

A hearing-aid device and a method for transmitting sound through bone conduction are disclosed. The hearing-aid device comprises a piezoelectric-type actuator, housing and connector. The piezoelectric actuator is preferably a circular flextensional-type actuator mounted along its peripheral edge in a specifically designed circular structure of the housing. During operation, the bone-conduction transducer is placed against the mastoid area behind the ear of the patient. When the device is energized with an alternating electrical voltage, it flexes back and forth like a circular membrane sustained along its periphery and thus, vibrates as a consequence of the inverse piezoelectric effect. Due to the specific and unique designs proposed, these vibrations are directly transferred trough the human skin to the bone structure (the skull) and provide a means for the sound to be transmitted for patients with hearing malfunctions. The housing acts as a holder for the actuators, as a pre-stress application platform, and as a mass which tailors the frequency spectrum of the device. The apparatus exhibits a performance with a very flat response in the frequency spectrum 200 Hz to 10 kHz, which is a greater spectrum range than any other prior art devices disclosed for bone-conduction transduction which are typically limited to less than 4 kHz.

A canal hearing device has a subminiature filament assembly which vibrates and directly drives the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and imparts audible mechanical vibrations thereto. The filament assembly is partially supported by the tympanic membrane via capillary adhesion thereto and is dynamically coupled to a stationary vibration force element position at a distance from the tympanic membrane within the ear canal. The elongated filament assembly is freely movable within an operable range and is essentially floating with respect to the vibration force element. In a preferred embodiment, the vibrational filament assembly comprises a magnetic section which is insertable into the air-core of an electromagnetic coil. The filament assembly is coupled to the tympanic membrane via an articulated tympanic contact coupler.

A hearing system (1) capable of assisting a user of the hearing system (1) to find a location where satisfactory hearing performance is achievable is described. The hearing system (1) comprises at least one hearing device (11, 12) with an input transducer (20), an output transducer (40), and a processing unit (30) operatively connected to the input transducer (20) as well as to the output transducer (40). The hearing system (1) further comprises a first means (50) for determining from a signal of the input transducer (20) at least one parameter (60) representative of a current acoustic environment at a current location, and a second means (40, 200, 201) for indicating to a user of the hearing system (1) a degree of suitability of the current location to achieve satisfactory hearing performance based on the at least one parameter (60).

A hearing compensation system comprises a plurality of bandpass filters having an input connected to an input transducer and each bandpass filter having an output connected to the input of one of a plurality of multiplicative automatic gain control (MAGC) circuits whose outputs are summed together and connected to the input of an output transducer. The MAGC circuits attenuate acoustic signals having a constant background level without the loss of speech intelligibility. The identification of the background noise portion of the acoustic signal is made by the constancy of the envelope of the input signal in each of the several frequency bands. The background noise that will be suppressed includes multi-talker speech babble, fan noise, feedback whistle, florescent light hum, and white noise. For use in the consumer electronics field background acoustic noise may be sensed and used to adjust gain in the various MAGC circuits so as to improve a user's listening experience, whether the user is hearing impaired or not.

A method for fitting a hearing compensation device comprises selecting a plurality of loudness levels for a plurality of frequencies and comparing each loudness level for each frequency for perceived sameness. The loudness levels may then be adjusted as needed to achieve perceived sameness across the frequency spectrum. A gain curve for each frequency is calculated from the selected plurality of loudness levels.

Methods and systems for modifying the parameters of at least one hearing device for a patient with residual hearing provide needed orchestration of acoustic and electric stimulation of patients wearing such devices.

A personal listening device in a handheld form factor includes an input port for receiving an audio signal, a processor for selecting equalizer settings responsive to a selected hearing profile, an equalizer for equalizing the audio signal according to the equalizer settings, and an output port for outputting the equalized audio signal to a speaker, headphone, or other audio output device. The personal listening device also includes a tone generator and user input device coupled to the processor, configured to administer a sequence of tones, generate audio instructions, and receive user input, thereby administering a hearing test and generating a user hearing profile. The device may be operated to administer multiple tests and store multiple hearing profiles, and to provide hearing profiles to other devices.

An implantable middle ear hearing device having a tubular vibration transducer to drive a round window is designed to input sound to a round window opposite an oval window in an inner ear. The tubular vibration transducer has a unique structure that does not attenuate the magnitude of a signal, particularly, in a high frequency band. Sound delivery effect is much higher than those of conventional schemes. It is also possible to minimize difficulties associated with and problems resulting from the operation, which the conventional methods would have. Further, the transducer can have a relatively less compact than ossicle contact type transducers, and thus be easily fabricated. The hearing device can be applied to a sensorineural hearing loss patient with the ossicle damaged. Moreover, since sound is directly transmitted without through the ear drum and the ossicle, high efficiency sound delivery is achievable and hearing loss compensation are easy.

Methods, apparatus and systems for treating sensrineural hearing loss include applying high frequency to ultrasonic frequency vibration stimulus to the head or neck of a patient for a suitable period of time. Hearing and sound discrimination are improved by stimulating the patient's cortices leading to stimulation of cortical neurons to increase sensitivity to high frequency sound. Stimulus signals may be applied by bone conduction via transducers attached to the head or neck, or by airborne conduction via headphones, or by a combination thereof. Stimulus signals may be recorded and may be remotely produced and transmitted via a telecommunications link to a receiver in a remote location. A compact auditory stimulation device includes electronics for storing a personalized stimulus signal, sound generators to produce the stimulus, a microprocessor, and a vibrator, such as headphones. Audiometer functions may be included in the auditory stimulation device to permit testing of the patient's hearing level thresholds.

An intra-cochlear implant is provided for aiding in the hearing of a patient. The implant includes a body portion implantable within an interior of a cochlea of a patient. The body portion has a proximal end, a distal end and a primary axis. A plurality of signal carrying electrodes extends along the body portion. The electrodes have proximal ends and distal ends, with the proximal ends being capable of receiving a signal from a signal generator, and the distal ends being capable of delivering the received signal to an anatomical receptor within a cochlea. At least several of the plurality of electrodes have a nanoelectrode-sized portion. The implant also may include a fluid delivery system of tubules, reservoirs, and pumps for the delivery of chemicals and cells to activate regeneration of neural elements lost during the hearing loss process.

The invention comprises a surgically implantable hearing aid for hearing impaired persons. The hearing aid includes a vibrational element which is vibrated by sound waves and attached to the skull of the person, and a connector which crosses the mastoid cavity and delivers the sound waves to the dura mater of the human being thereby vibrating the dura mater, the cerebrospinal fluids, and the brain to create a hearing percept. The invention can also be adapted to act as a tinnitus masker or used in conjunction with a cochlear implant. It can also be used in a modified form to connect directly through the skull of the human being.