Hearing Aid Algorithm Adjustment via Recorded Acoustic Situations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hearing aid adjustment methods are limited by their reliance on iterative visits to audiologists and inability to simulate real-world acoustic situations, leading to suboptimal settings that fail to account for individual user needs and spatial sound fields.
Innovation Solution
A method allowing hearing aid users to independently adjust settings based on recorded and recognized hearing situations using an external unit, enabling temporal separation of event and setting adjustments, with features like situation recognition, level measurement, and algorithmic evaluation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If hearing aid adjustment is performed through iterative visits to audiologists using artificial acoustic situations, then the adjustment process can be guided by professional expertise, but the settings fail to account for real-world spatial sound fields and individual user needs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates copies of real acoustic situations by recording actual sound environments (including spatial characteristics) and reproducing them in a controlled setting. Users can review recorded snippets of real-world acoustic scenarios and adjust hearing aid settings based on these authentic copies, thereby achieving both measurement precision and adaptability to real situations.
2Speed
If hearing aid settings are adjusted in real-time during acoustic events, then the settings can be optimized for current conditions, but brief events like slamming doors or phone rings cannot be captured or adjusted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary recording of acoustic events before adjustment is needed. Brief events are captured and stored, allowing users to review and adjust settings at their convenience later. This preliminary capture action enables optimization of settings for events that occur too quickly for real-time adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary recording and playback system between the acoustic event and the adjustment process. Recorded acoustic snippets serve as an intermediary that bridges the gap between brief events and the user's ability to adjust settings, allowing deferred adjustment based on captured evidence of the original acoustic situation.
3Ease of operation
If users adjust hearing aid settings independently without external assistance, then the adjustment process becomes more convenient and accessible, but users may lack the expertise to optimize settings properly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables self-service adjustment by providing users with recorded acoustic situations and the ability to independently modify settings based on their own evaluation of how they perceive the recorded sounds. This maintains ease of operation while improving precision through direct user feedback in realistic acoustic contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback loop where users adjust settings, hear the effect on recorded acoustic situations, and iteratively refine their preferences. This feedback mechanism empowers users to independently optimize settings based on their own auditory perception and needs, combining ease of operation with improved measurement precision.
4Adaptability or versatility
If all user settings changes are treated equally by learning algorithms, then the algorithm can capture diverse preferences, but it cannot distinguish between temporary and permanent user preferences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the learning algorithm dynamic by introducing time-based weighting and context awareness. Settings made during specific acoustic situations are weighted differently based on the situation type and duration. This dynamic approach allows the algorithm to distinguish between temporary adjustments for specific events and permanent preferences, preserving the meaning of user settings while maintaining adaptability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention discloses a hearing device for adjusting a hearing aid (1) and an associated method. The hearing device comprises at least one hearing aid (1) and at least one external unit (11) that can exchange data with the hearing aid (1). It further comprises a first storage unit (15) in the external unit (11), which stores the times and listening situations at which at least one predefinable signal processing algorithm is activated; an output unit (12) in the external unit (11), which outputs the stored times and listening situations; an input unit (14) in the external unit (11) for inputting an evaluation measure (EM) that expresses a hearing aid user's satisfaction with the activated algorithm; and a modification unit (7) in the hearing aid (1) for changing at least one parameter of the algorithm depending on the evaluation measure (EM).The invention offers the advantage that a hearing aid user can subsequently evaluate and change the settings of their hearing aid in relation to the listening situation.