Wireless Gateway for Hearing Aid Alert Interruption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing assistance devices often fail to alert users to important sounds like doorbells, fire alarms, or phone calls when they are streaming audio, as the audio from the microphone is attenuated, leading to potential safety issues and missed communications.
Innovation Solution
A wireless gateway device that receives and processes messages and alerts, interrupting the current audio stream to transmit audible alerts to the hearing assistance device user via wireless communication, using multiple inputs and processing to distinguish and prioritize critical sounds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If audio from the hearing assistance device microphone is attenuated during wireless streaming, then the listener's experience while streaming is enhanced, but the user cannot hear important alerts like doorbells, fire alarms, or emergency notifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway device as an intermediary between the hearing assistance device and the external environment. The gateway monitors for alerts and communications independently and can interrupt the audio stream to notify the user, thus mediating between the streaming function and alert detection without requiring the hearing device itself to perform both functions simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the functions of audio streaming and alert monitoring into separate components. The hearing assistance device focuses on wireless streaming while the gateway device handles alert monitoring and interruption, allowing each component to optimize its specific function without compromise
2Productivity
If the hearing assistance device prioritizes wireless audio streaming, then streaming quality is improved, but the device cannot simultaneously monitor for ambient alerts and communications
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as an audio stream receiver and an alert monitoring system. It can detect various types of alerts (doorbells, fire alarms, emergency notifications) and communications simultaneously, providing universal functionality that extends beyond the single-purpose hearing assistance device
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the audio stream is continuously played to the wearer, then streaming continuity is maintained, but critical alerts and messages may be missed or attenuated
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device implements periodic monitoring of the audio stream and ambient environment, continuously checking for alerts and communications. When an alert is detected, it periodically interrupts the stream to deliver the notification, then resums the stream, creating a rhythmic pattern of monitoring and interruption that maintains both continuity and alert detection
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
Ensures that hearing impaired users receive critical alerts and messages audibly, overriding attenuated volume settings and enhancing safety by providing timely notifications of important sounds and allowing for communication while streaming audio.
Implementation Method 1
A wireless transmitter is configured to transmit the output to the hearing assistance device
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein, among other things, are methods and apparatus for providing a gateway for a wireless hearing assistance device. One aspect of the present subject matter relates to a method for wirelessly communicating with a hearing assistance device. One or more message and alert inputs are received and the message and alert inputs are processed to obtain an output. The output is wirelessly transmitted to a hearing assistance device, and the output is configured to be played via audio to a wearer of the hearing assistance device and to interrupt a current audio stream being played to the wearer, in various embodiments.