Hearing Aid Profile Generation via Acoustic Environment Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing aids require frequent recalibration by professionals due to varying acoustic environments, leading to suboptimal user experience and increased device size from storing multiple profiles and enhanced processing requirements.
Innovation Solution
A system allowing user-adjustable hearing aids through a computing device with wireless communication, enabling simulation of acoustic environments to generate and test hearing aid profiles, allowing users to adjust settings in real-time using acoustic samples and profiles stored on the device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple hearing profiles are stored in the hearing aid to cover different acoustic environments, then the coverage of environmental systems is improved, but the memory size and processing requirements increase, leading to larger device size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses acoustic samples that are stored and processed to simulate different acoustic environments. Instead of storing complete hearing profiles for every possible environment, the system captures acoustic samples (representations of environments) and applies them to adjust hearing aid settings. This copying approach allows comprehensive environmental coverage with reduced memory requirements compared to storing full profiles for each scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts hearing aid settings based on real-time acoustic environment analysis. The hearing aid continuously monitors the acoustic environment and automatically adapts parameters such as gain, frequency response, and noise reduction levels. This dynamic adaptation eliminates the need for storing multiple static profiles, reducing memory requirements while maintaining versatility across different environments.
2Reliability
If hearing aids are frequently recalibrated by hearing health professionals to adapt to varying acoustic environments, then the hearing aid performance is improved, but the time and cost for adjustments increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automatic acoustic environment detection and adaptive profile adjustment that enables the hearing aid to self-calibrate without professional intervention. The device uses microphones to capture acoustic samples, processes these samples through signal processing algorithms, and automatically adjusts hearing aid parameters. This self-service capability maintains high performance reliability while eliminating the time and cost associated with frequent professional recalibrations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback loops where the hearing aid continuously monitors the acoustic environment, compares it with stored acoustic samples, and automatically adjusts settings based on the match. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures optimal performance across varying environments without requiring manual recalibration by professionals, significantly reducing adjustment time while maintaining reliability.
3Ease of operation
If users adjust hearing aid settings at home using PC connection, then the ease of adjustment is improved, but the ability to consider acoustic environmental changes deteriorates due to differences between home and intended use environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-stores multiple acoustic samples representing different acoustic environments (offices, restaurants, outdoor settings, etc.) in the hearing aid memory. Before the user needs adjustment, these environmental representations are already available in the device. When adjustment is needed, the system quickly matches the current environment with stored samples and applies appropriate settings, maintaining both ease of operation and accurate environmental adaptation without requiring PC connection or home environment limitations.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for updating a hearing aid by providing an update to a hearing aid to configure the hearing aid for an acoustic environment with a sound profile different than a physical environment a user is currently located in with an acoustic sample representative of the acoustic environment.