Hearing Aid Profile Storage via Cloud and Mobile App
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hearing aids with limited profiles fail to adequately cover the range of acoustic environments and parameters needed to properly tune to an individual's unique hearing loss, restricting user customization and requiring professional intervention for adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A hearing aid system that includes a computing device for remote communication with hearing aids via a wireless channel, allowing users to configure, adjust, and generate hearing aid profiles, including sound-shaping algorithms, to customize their listening experience without professional assistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If hearing aids include multiple profiles (2-6 profiles), then the hearing aid can cover different acoustic environments, but the range of parameters and response characteristics needed to properly tune to various acoustic environments cannot be fully covered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from storing multiple discrete profiles within the hearing aid to storing profiles in the cloud, adding a spatial dimension to profile storage. This allows virtually unlimited profiles to be available without increasing the hearing aid's internal storage capacity or complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing aid system gains universal access to a vast library of profiles through cloud connectivity, allowing a single hearing aid device to effectively access and switch between numerous profiles that would otherwise require multiple physical devices or extensive local storage.
2Adaptability or versatility
If high-end hearing aids include multiple profiles, then more acoustic environments can be covered, but users still cannot adjust the hearing aid profile themselves and must rely on hearing specialists
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables users to independently access, select, and adjust their own hearing aid profiles through a mobile application connected to the cloud storage, eliminating the need for hearing specialists to make routine profile adjustments and empowering users to self-manage their hearing aid settings.
Solution Approach 2:
A mobile application serves as an intermediary between the user and the hearing aid system, providing a user-friendly interface for profile management and transmission to the hearing aid, thereby simplifying the adjustment process for users without technical expertise.
3Reliability
If hearing aids store profiles locally, then profiles are immediately available, but the number of profiles is limited by the hearing aid's storage capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the profile storage function from the hearing aid device itself and places it in the cloud, separating the storage capacity constraint from the hearing aid. This allows the hearing aid to maintain fast local access to currently active profiles while virtually unlimited profiles are stored remotely in the cloud.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a nested structure where the hearing aid contains a small local cache for immediate profile access, which in turn references and can download from the much larger cloud-based profile repository, creating a hierarchical storage system that combines speed and capacity advantages.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable electronic device includes a transceiver configurable to communicate with a hearing aid through a radio frequency (RF) communication channel and a memory configured to store a plurality of hearing aid profiles executable by a digital signal processor of the hearing aid to shape audio signals to compensate for a user's hearing deficiency. The portable electronic device further includes a circuit configured to receive a selection corresponding to a selected one of the plurality of hearing aid profiles and to provide the selected one to the hearing aid in response to receiving the selection.