Hearing Aid Audio Handover Using Shared Personal Audibility Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing aids with Bluetooth capabilities are expensive and inaccessible to most people with hearing loss, leading to communication barriers in online interactions, and existing technologies require manual handovers between devices and lack seamless audio adaptation across multiple communication devices.
Innovation Solution
A hearing aid system that outsources audio processing and personal audibility features to a communication device, using a Personal Audibility Feature (PAF) file shared across devices to provide tailored audio quality and seamless transitions, enabling lower-cost solutions like earbuds to enhance hearing support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If Bluetooth-capable hearing aids are equipped with all audio processing and AI mechanisms in the hearing aid itself, then audio processing quality and personal audibility adaptation are improved, but device cost increases significantly making them inaccessible to most people
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides audio processing functions into two segments: basic audio streaming is handled by the low-cost hearing aid device, while complex audio processing, AI mechanisms, and personal audibility adaptation are performed by the external communication device (smartphone or PC). This segmentation allows the hearing aid to remain affordable while still providing high-quality audio processing through the cloud or external device.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication device (smartphone or PC) acts as an intermediary between the audio source and the hearing aid. It receives audio streams, performs complex processing and adaptation, then transmits the processed audio to the hearing aid for playback. This intermediary approach enables sophisticated audio processing without requiring the hearing aid itself to be expensive.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual handover between communication devices is required for switching calls, then device compatibility is maintained, but user convenience and operation speed deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects when a user switches between communication devices (e.g., picking up a phone during a PC call) and autonomously performs the handover of audio streams and active calls. The hearing aid system monitors device presence and state, then automatically redirects audio streams without requiring user intervention, making the system self-serving and convenient.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors which communication device is currently in use and automatically adjusts audio stream routing based on this feedback. When device switching is detected, the system receives feedback about the new active device and automatically redirects calls and audio streams to the appropriate device, maintaining seamless operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple communication devices with different headsets and applications are used throughout the day, then communication versatility is improved, but audio quality consistency and adaptation across devices deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid system is designed to work universally across multiple types of communication devices (smartphones, PCs) and headset configurations. It maintains a consistent audio processing pipeline regardless of the specific device combination, ensuring that audio quality and personal audibility adaptation remain consistent whether the user is connected to a phone or computer, with different applications or headsets.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for operating a hearing aid system, the method including: providing an audio stream from a first communication device to a first terminal hearing device through a first wireless communication link, and wherein the audio stream is based on a personalized audibility feature of a predetermined user and an audio reproduction feature of the terminal hearing device; set up a second wireless communication link between the first terminal hearing device and a second communication device; providing the second audio stream through the second wireless communication link, and terminating at least the audio stream of the first communication link.