Hearing Aid Self-Fitting via Auditory Evoked Potentials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hearing aid fitting processes require clinically measured hearing thresholds, which are not practical for continuous monitoring and adaptation, especially in daily life settings.
Innovation Solution
A hearing aid equipped with electrodes that sends inaudible auditory test signals and uses auditory models to estimate hearing thresholds through continuous monitoring of auditory evoked potentials, allowing for automated and self-fitting adjustments based on real-time brain signal processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If clinically measured hearing thresholds are used for hearing aid fitting, then accurate hearing threshold data is obtained, but continuous monitoring and adaptation in daily life settings is not practical
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid system performs self-measurement of hearing thresholds using automated ABR testing. The device independently generates test signals, records brainstem responses through electrodes, and processes the data to determine hearing thresholds without requiring external clinical equipment or professional operators, enabling continuous monitoring in daily life settings
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/clinical testing system with an electrical/neural-based system. Instead of using traditional audiometric methods requiring patient response and clinical equipment, the system uses electrical stimulation and records electrical brainstem responses (ABR) to objectively measure hearing thresholds, enabling automated and continuous assessment
2Productivity
If auditory test signals are presented to estimate hearing thresholds continuously, then real-time hearing aid adaptation is enabled, but the test signals may disturb or be audible to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts parameters of the test signals including intensity, frequency, and duration to optimize the balance between obtaining measurable ABR responses and maintaining inaudibility. The signal parameters are adapted based on the user's current hearing aid settings and environmental conditions, allowing continuous testing without user awareness or disturbance
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing aid device itself serves as an intermediary that masks the test signals. By presenting test signals through the hearing aid's audio output, the signals are blended with other audio content or masked by the hearing aid's own processing, making them inaudible to the user while still being effective for eliciting ABR responses
3Measurement precision
If clinically measured hearing thresholds are required for hearing aid fitting, then accurate initial settings are achieved, but automated self-fitting capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid system performs complete self-fitting by automatically conducting ABR-based hearing threshold measurements and using these measurements to configure its own signal processing parameters. The device independently executes the entire fitting process without requiring external clinical intervention, achieving both measurement precision and full automation
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a closed-loop feedback mechanism where ABR measurements continuously inform hearing aid parameter adjustments. The measured hearing thresholds feed back into the signal processing algorithm, which automatically adapts gain, compression, and other parameters to optimize performance for the user's specific hearing characteristics
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables continuous, automated estimation and adaptation of hearing aid settings without the need for clinically measured thresholds, providing accurate and reliable hearing threshold estimates for improved hearing assistance over time.
Implementation Method 1
AEPs (and ERPs) are very small electrical voltage potentials originating from the brain recorded from the scalp in response to an auditory stimulus
Data Source
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AI summary
The application relates to a hearing aid comprising at least one electrode located at a surface of a housing of the hearing aid to allow said electrodes to contact the skin of a user during use of the hearing aid, at least one electrode being adapted to pick up a low voltage signal from the user's brain, the hearing aid further comprising an amplifier unit operationally connected to said electrode(s) and adapted for amplifying said low voltage signal(s) to provide amplified brain signal(s), and a signal processing unit adapted to process said amplified brain signal(s) to provide a processed brain signal as well as to apply a time and frequency dependent gain to an input audio signal and to provide a processed audio output signal. The application further relates to a method of operating a hearing aid and to its use and to a hearing aid system. The object of the present application is to provide a hearing aid capable of monitoring a user's hearing ability over time. The problem is solved in that the hearing aid further comprises a signal generator for generating an electric test signal specifically adapted to be used in an auditory evoked potential (AEP) measurement, the signal generator being operationally connected to said output transducer allowing said electric test signal to be converted to an auditory test stimulus for being presented to a user together with said processed acoustic signal during use of the hearing aid. This has the advantage of providing a hearing aid wherein at least a part of the fitting process of a hearing aid to a particular user can be automated and/or continuously updated. The invention may e.g. be used for the hearing aids or hearing aid systems where a continuous evaluation of a user's hearing thresholds is needed.