Hearing Aid Signal Processing Delay Optimization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing aids face challenges in balancing the positive effects of signal processing delay, which improves signal-to-noise ratio but can cause negative effects such as desynchronization of auditory and visual information, and interactions with proprioceptive input, leading to suboptimal user experience in noisy environments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a classifier that selects processing algorithms based on environment descriptors, including speech-to-noise ratio, direct-to-reverberant ratio, and GPS information, to dynamically adjust processing delay and customize signal processing according to user preferences, thereby optimizing the balance of delay effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If signal processing delay is increased to improve signal-to-noise ratio, then noise reduction capability is improved, but desynchronization of auditory and visual information occurs and user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the processing delay adjustable rather than fixed. The system dynamically changes the delay parameter based on environmental conditions (noisy vs. quiet environments) and user preferences, allowing optimization of noise reduction while minimizing negative effects on user experience in different contexts
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the processing delay parameter based on environmental analysis. The controller analyzes environment descriptors and adjusts the delay parameter accordingly, allowing the system to optimize between noise reduction and synchronization effects by varying this key parameter
2Object-affected harmful factors
If processing algorithm is changed to optimize for noisy environments, then signal quality is improved, but processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects and switches between different processing algorithms based on environmental conditions. In noisy environments, more intensive algorithms are applied to improve signal quality, while in quiet environments, lighter algorithms reduce processing time and power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes processing parameters including algorithm selection, delay values, and gain settings based on environmental analysis. This allows optimization of signal quality when needed while reducing computational load when environmental conditions permit
Data Source
AI summary
The signal processing functions of a hearing aid as described above necessarily cause some delay between the time the audio signal is received by the microphone or wireless receiver and the time that the audio is actually produced by the output transducer. In some situations, signal processing incorporating longer delays may be better able to improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or other functional parameters for a hearing aid wearer, but a balance should be struck between these positive effects of delay and other negative effects. The techniques described herein address the problem of balancing the positive and negative effects of delay.