Hearing Aid Microphone Sensitivity Control for Dynamic Range Extension
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing aid systems often face challenges in matching the dynamic range of sound pressure levels in various environments, leading to suboptimal sound quality and speech intelligibility, particularly with certain types of microphones and analog-digital converters that cannot adjust effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that includes a microphone sensitivity controller and a sensitivity calculator to adjust the microphone sensitivity and apply compensation gains, extending the dynamic range by up to 12 dB, using a filter bank to split signals into frequency bands and applying adaptive gains, and employing a level estimator to manage saturation and sound artefacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the dynamic range of the hearing aid system is extended through microphone sensitivity adjustment, then sound quality and speech intelligibility are improved, but device complexity increases due to additional control circuitry
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid system automatically monitors its own operating state through the level estimator and sensitivity calculator, detecting when saturation or artefacts occur and self-adjusting the microphone sensitivity through the sensitivity controller without user intervention, thereby improving sound quality while minimizing the need for complex external adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the level estimator continuously monitors the input signal level, compares it against saturation thresholds, and feeds this information back to the sensitivity calculator which adjusts the microphone sensitivity accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains optimal performance across varying sound environments
2Adaptability or versatility
If the microphone sensitivity is continuously adjusted to adapt to different sound environments, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid system transitions from a static microphone sensitivity setting to a dynamic adjustment mechanism where the sensitivity controller continuously modifies the microphone gain based on real-time sound environment detection, allowing the system to adapt to varying acoustic conditions while using relatively simple control circuitry
Solution Approach 2:
The system autonomously monitors its own performance through the level estimator and automatically adjusts its microphone sensitivity through the sensitivity controller without requiring user intervention or complex external programming, thereby achieving high adaptability with minimal added complexity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method (300) of operating a hearing aid system (100, 200), wherein the dynamic range of input signal levels is improved by reducing the sensitivity of an input transducer in response to a trigger event while at the same time applying a gain adapted to compensate the reduced sensitivity and a hearing aid system (100, 200) adapted to carry out the method.