Digital Bone Conduction Hearing Aid Feedback Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional direct bone conduction hearing aids with analog amplification are inadequate for patients with severe sensorineural hearing loss, as they experience acoustic feedback and limited dynamic range, making it difficult to understand speech in noisy environments due to insufficient adaptation to individual hearing loss and varying sound environments.
Innovation Solution
A digital sound processor with digital filtering and compression is integrated into a direct bone conduction hearing aid, utilizing an electronic analogue-to-digital converter and adaptive feedback reduction circuitry to enhance sound processing and minimize feedback, along with directional microphones for improved sound directionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If powerful direct bone conduction is used to rehabilitate patients with severe sensorineural hearing loss, then the output capability is improved, but acoustic feedback problems occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback reduction circuitry that detects acoustic feedback signals and automatically reduces gain at frequencies where feedback occurs. This allows the system to maintain high output capability while actively suppressing the harmful feedback effect, resolving the contradiction between power and feedback problems.
2Device complexity
If analog amplification is used in direct bone conduction hearing aids, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to adapt to individual hearing loss and sound environments is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces analog amplification with digital signal processing. The digital sound processor can store multiple hearing loss compensation programs and automatically adapt to different sound environments, providing superior adaptability while managing complexity through software rather than hardware.
3Device complexity
If traditional omnidirectional microphones are used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to understand speech in noisy environments is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses multiple microphones instead of a single omnidirectional microphone. By segmenting the sound capture function across multiple sensors, the system can perform directional processing and noise reduction, improving speech recognition reliability in noisy environments while managing complexity through coordinated processing.
4Reliability
If high output direct bone conduction is used for severe sensorineural hearing loss, then the rehabilitation effectiveness is improved, but the dynamic range is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic compression processing in the digital sound processor. The compression ratio and threshold can be adjusted to expand the effective dynamic range, allowing the system to handle both soft and loud sounds effectively while maintaining high output capability for rehabilitation effectiveness.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables more efficient rehabilitation of patients with severe sensorineural hearing loss by providing high output, reduced feedback, and better sound processing, allowing for improved speech recognition in noisy environments.
Implementation Method 1
The signal from the amplifier goes into a vibrator that generates vibrations
Implementation Method 2
direct bone conductors are essential for the rehabilitation of patients suffering from some specific type of hearing losses
Data Source
AI summary
The hearing aid system has a sound-to-vibration conversion circuitry including a microphone system, an electronic amplifier and a vibrator. A housing accommodates the vibrator. The vibrator is connected to an abutment that goes through the skin. The abutment is connected to a fixture that is anchored in the skull bone. The sound-to-vibration conversion circuitry has an A/D converter that converts an analogue microphone signal into a digital signal.