Hearing Aid Beamforming and Noise Reduction from Motion Cues
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hearing aids struggle to provide individualized noise reduction and directionality based on the user's intention, often leading to misinterpretation and disturbance in challenging acoustic environments.
Innovation Solution
A hearing aid system that utilizes an accelerometer to detect user motion and orientation, combined with audio-based probability estimation, to adjust signal processing parameters and provide intention-based noise reduction and beamforming, ensuring extra help is only given in challenging acoustic environments during conversations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If noise reduction and directionality are enhanced based on user intention, then listening experience is improved, but artefacts and disturbance occur when intention is misinterpreted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an accelerometer as an intermediary device to detect user motion and orientation, serving as a mediator between the user's intention and the hearing aid's signal processing. The accelerometer data acts as an intermediary signal that helps disambiguate user intention, reducing misinterpretation while enabling enhanced noise reduction and directionality when appropriate.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring accelerometer data and adjusting signal processing parameters accordingly. The hearing aid uses real-time motion detection feedback to adapt noise reduction and beamforming settings, ensuring that enhancement is applied only when the user's motion patterns indicate intentional focus on a specific direction or sound source.
2Measurement precision
If extra help is provided in all situations, then noise reduction is maximized, but disturbance occurs in non-challenging environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the noise reduction and directionality settings adaptive rather than static. The hearing aid dynamically adjusts the level of signal processing enhancement based on real-time accelerometer data and acoustic environment assessment, providing maximum help only when challenging conditions are detected and reducing or eliminating processing in favorable conditions to avoid disturbance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes processing parameters (noise reduction strength, beamforming width) based on detected user motion and acoustic conditions. When the accelerometer indicates the user is stationary or making deliberate orienting movements in a challenging acoustic environment, aggressive noise reduction is applied. When motion patterns suggest natural conversation or movement in favorable conditions, processing parameters are reduced or disabled.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a hearing aid including a dosing mechanism. The dosing mechanism can estimate a dose of a gain reserve based on sensor data, such as accelerometer data, and input signals into the hearing aid. The hearing aid can utilize the estimated dose for setting one or more signal parameters.