Hearing Aid Language-Dependent Signal Processing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Modern hearing devices are optimized for European languages, leading to suboptimal performance for tonal languages like Chinese, affecting language comprehensibility and noise suppression, particularly for East Asian and African users.
Innovation Solution
A hearing device with a storage facility for language-specific data and a processing facility that automatically recognizes the language of the input signal, allowing for language-dependent amplification and noise suppression adjustments, enabling the device to be used conveniently across different language areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the signal processing is optimized for European languages, then the language comprehensibility for European users is improved, but the performance for tonal languages like Chinese deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing device dynamically adapts its signal processing parameters based on the detected language type. The system switches between European language optimization and tonal language optimization modes, adjusting amplification patterns and noise suppression mechanisms in real-time according to the detected language characteristics
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes processing parameters such as amplification values for different frequency bands, noise threshold levels, and signal filtering characteristics based on the detected language type. This allows the same hardware to optimize performance for different language structures without requiring separate devices
2Ease of manufacture
If a single hearing device is manufactured for multiple markets, then the manufacturing cost and device complexity are reduced, but the language-specific performance optimization becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing device incorporates a universal language detection and adaptation system that enables a single device model to serve multiple language markets. The device automatically detects whether the user speaks a tonal or European language and adjusts its processing accordingly, eliminating the need for market-specific device variants
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing device performs self-configuration by automatically detecting the language type and adjusting its processing parameters without requiring manual setup or specialized programming for different markets. The system serves itself by adapting to the user's language preferences
Data Source
AI summary
A hearing device is to be developed for hearing device wearers who speak different national languages. For this purpose, pro-vision is made to equip a hearing device with a storage facility for storing first data which is characteristic of a first language and a processing facility for processing an input signal. At least second data, which is characteristic of a second language, can be stored in the storage facility. The input signal can thus alternatively be processed as a function of the first or the second data. By way of example, the interference noise suppression or the microphone configuration can hereby be adjusted in a language-dependent manner.