Binaural Hearing Aid Frequency Band Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dichotic-listening binaural hearing aid processing interferes with spatial perception of sound, leading to unnatural sound perception and potential misdirection of sound sources, as it fails to maintain the ability to perceive sound spatiality effectively.
Innovation Solution
A hearing aid system comprising two devices that suppress specific frequency bands of acoustic signals, allowing different frequency components of speech to be perceived by each ear, while common non-voice band signals are outputted from both devices, enhancing speech clarity and spatial sound perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dichotic-listening binaural hearing aid processing is applied to improve speech clarity, then speech clarity is improved, but spatial perception of sound is interfered with
Solution Approach 1:
The acoustic signal is segmented into multiple frequency bands (first frequency band, second frequency band, and third frequency band). Different processing is applied to each band: the first and second bands undergo dichotic-listening processing to improve speech clarity, while the third band is commonly outputted from both hearing aids to preserve spatial perception of ambient sounds.
Solution Approach 2:
Different quality characteristics are applied to different frequency bands. The voice-containing frequency bands (first and second bands) receive enhanced processing with dichotic-listening to improve speech intelligibility, while the ambient sound frequency band (third band) maintains natural stereo output for spatial awareness. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between speech clarity and spatial perception.
2Measurement precision
If all frequency bands are processed with dichotic-listening to maximize speech clarity, then speech clarity is maximized, but natural sound perception and spatial awareness are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The frequency spectrum is divided into multiple segments with different processing strategies. Only the relevant voice bands (first and second bands) are subjected to dichotic-listening processing, while the ambient sound band (third band) is left in natural stereo. This selective segmentation avoids the unnatural perception that would result from processing all bands equally.
Solution Approach 2:
The output configuration parameter is changed based on frequency band. For voice bands, the dichotic-listening parameter is applied to enhance clarity. For ambient sound bands, the common stereo output parameter is maintained to preserve natural perception. This parameter differentiation resolves the contradiction between maximizing speech clarity and maintaining natural sound perception.
3Measurement precision
If frequency bands are divided into suppression-target bands to reduce masking effects, then speech intelligibility is improved, but the number of processing parameters increases
Solution Approach 1:
The frequency spectrum is segmented into a limited number of bands (first, second, and third bands) with distinct roles. This segmentation reduces the complexity compared to continuous frequency processing while still effectively addressing masking effects in the voice bands and preserving spatial information in the ambient band.
Solution Approach 2:
The third frequency band serves multiple functions: it preserves spatial perception of ambient sounds, provides natural stereo imaging, and complements the processed voice bands. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional complex processing parameters while maintaining speech intelligibility and spatial awareness simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a hearing aid system (1000) performing dichotic-listening binaural hearing aid processing which improves the clarity of speech and maintains the spatial perception ability. Each of first and second hearing aid devices (1100, 1200) includes a sound pickup unit (1110, 1210) and an output unit (1120, 1220) outputting a sound indicated by a suppressed acoustic signal. The hearing aid system (1000) includes: a first band suppression unit (1300) generating the suppressed acoustic signal indicating the sound outputted from the output unit (1120), by suppressing a signal in a first suppression-target band out of the acoustic signal outputted from the sound pickup unit (1110); and a second band suppression unit (1400) generating the suppressed acoustic signal indicating the sound outputted from the output unit (1220), by suppressing a signal in a second suppression-target band out of the acoustic signal outputted from the sound pickup unit (1210). The suppressed acoustic signals indicating the sounds outputted respectively from the output units (1120, 1220) include, in common, a signal in a non-voice band included in the acoustic signal.