Haptic Hearing Aid Cues for Speech Intelligibility in Noise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing impaired individuals struggle to distinguish speech from background noise in noisy environments, making conversations challenging, and existing hearing aids do not effectively utilize bi-modal stimulation to enhance speech perception.
Innovation Solution
A hearing aid system that combines auditory output with haptic stimulation, using a haptic unit to provide tactile cues based on speech characteristics, enhancing speech perception by providing bi-modal stimulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional hearing aids are used to amplify audio signals, then the volume of speech is increased, but speech intelligibility in noisy environments remains poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a new dimension of tactile feedback by integrating a haptic actuator that converts speech audio signals into tactile vibrations. This adds a sensory dimension beyond auditory processing, allowing users to perceive speech through touch while filtering out background noise that cannot be converted into meaningful tactile patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the audio processing into two distinct pathways: an auditory pathway that processes full audio signals for listening, and a tactile pathway that extracts and processes only speech-related features for haptic feedback. This segmentation allows selective enhancement of speech while suppressing noise in the tactile channel.
2Measurement precision
If auditory-only stimulation is provided, then the hearing aid system is simple, but speech perception and cognitive response are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid system is enhanced with multi-functionality by integrating both auditory output and haptic feedback capabilities into a single device. The haptic actuator serves multiple purposes: providing tactile speech cues, indicating speech presence, and potentially signaling environmental sounds, thereby improving speech perception without requiring separate dedicated devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The haptic actuator serves as an intermediary component that translates audio signals into tactile sensations. This intermediary mechanism bridges the gap between auditory input and tactile perception, enabling users with hearing impairments to perceive speech through a different sensory modality while maintaining system integration.
3Measurement precision
If users focus on filtering speech from noise using only auditory cues, then auditory fatigue increases, but speech intelligibility improves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the purely auditory mechanical processing system with a combined tactile-feedback system. By converting speech signals into tactile vibrations through the haptic actuator, the system reduces the cognitive and physiological burden on auditory processing, allowing users to perceive speech through touch rather than straining to filter noise auditorily.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a hearing aid system. The hearing aid system can include a hearing aid and a haptic device. The haptic device can be a wrist- word haptic device which can provide stimulation indicative of a speech enhanced signal. Further disclosed are methods using the haptic device along with the hearing aid.