Hearing Aid Automatic Power-Off via Acoustic Path Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elderly individuals with hearing loss face difficulties in handling and powering off hearing aids due to their small size, leading to battery drain and reduced device lifespan as they often fail to turn off the aids when not in use.
Innovation Solution
A remote control sends low-power, short-range power-off commands to the hearing aid, allowing it to automatically power off when in close proximity and power up when moved away, eliminating the need for manual button pressing and reducing battery consumption by using a scheduler to manage wake-up intervals and power management cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the hearing aid is made small and battery-powered for portability, then it can be worn comfortably behind or in the ear, but it becomes difficult for elderly users to manually power off, leading to battery drain
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid automatically detects when it is removed from the user's ear using acoustic path analysis and self-powers off without requiring manual user intervention. The device monitors its own operational environment and autonomously transitions to standby mode when no longer needed, eliminating the need for elderly users to manually operate small buttons or switches.
2Speed
If the hearing aid remains continuously powered on for immediate availability, then it can be activated instantly when needed, but battery life is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid enters a low-power standby mode automatically when removed from the ear, preparing for future use while conserving battery energy. The device maintains the capability to be quickly reactivated when placed back in the ear, balancing immediate availability with energy conservation through pre-configured rapid wake-up functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing aid employs periodic monitoring of acoustic paths to detect when it should transition between active and standby states. By continuously monitoring environmental acoustic characteristics at low power intervals, the device can quickly respond to placement events while maintaining extended battery life through systematic power state management.
3Ease of operation
If manual buttons and controls are made larger for ease of use, then elderly users can more easily operate them, but the hearing aid size increases and becomes less comfortable to wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical button-pressing operations with automatic acoustic path detection and electronic state transitions. Sensors and signal processing algorithms detect ear presence/absence events, triggering power state changes without requiring any physical user interaction with buttons or controls, thereby eliminating the need for large mechanical interfaces.
4Extent of automation
If the hearing aid continuously monitors acoustic paths to detect ear presence, then automatic power-off can be achieved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid implements periodic acoustic path monitoring at strategically timed intervals rather than continuous monitoring. The device checks acoustic characteristics at low-power intervals and transitions to full monitoring mode only when changes are detected, significantly reducing average power consumption while maintaining reliable automatic detection of ear presence and absence events.
Data Source
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AI summary
A hearing aid system comprising a hearing aid (1) and an external device (2). The external device (2) continuously sends short range power-off commands (4) to the hearing aid (1). Under normal operation of a hearing aid, the range is too short to power-off the hearing. When the hearing aid (1) is placed in close proximity of the external device (2), the hearing aid is within range (3) and will consequently power-off. The method further provides a method of controlling a hearing aid.