Hearing Aid Software Vent for Sound Transparency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional hearing aids with physical vents face limitations in providing an open sound experience due to sound leakage and delayed sound processing, which affect sound quality and perception, especially for users with sloping hearing losses.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a software vent as a parallel processing pathway with low latency, which supplements or replaces traditional physical vents, allowing for improved sound transparency and reduced comb filter effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a large physical vent is used to provide an open sound, then sound transparency is improved, but sound leakage and loss of bass performance occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical physical vent with a software-based digital vent that uses signal processing to create an open sound effect. The software vent processes audio signals through a vent emulation filter, allowing the hearing aid to achieve sound transparency without the physical sound leakage problems of large vents. This substitution of mechanical structure with software processing resolves the contradiction between achieving open sound and preventing sound leakage.
2Loss of energy
If a small physical vent is used to prevent sound leakage, then sound leakage is reduced, but sound transparency and open sound perception are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a software vent as an intermediary processing layer between the microphone input and the output transducer. This software vent uses digital signal processing to emulate the acoustic effect of a physical vent while avoiding its limitations. The software vent filter processes the audio signal to create the perception of an open sound without requiring a large physical opening, thus maintaining sound leakage control while achieving sound transparency.
3Reliability
If traditional domain shifted signal processing is used for noise reduction and directionality, then noise reduction and directionality are improved, but sound latency increases causing comb filter effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio processing into two separate pathways: a first pathway for processed sound that includes full noise reduction and directionality processing, and a second pathway for direct sound that maintains low latency. By dividing the processing paths, the system can apply complex noise reduction algorithms to one path while keeping the other path simple and fast, thereby reducing overall latency and minimizing comb filter effects between the two paths.
4Illumination intensity
If a large physical vent is used, then open sound perception is improved, but hearing loss compensation at low and mid frequencies is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters of the vent by implementing a software-based vent emulation filter rather than relying on a fixed physical vent structure. This allows dynamic adjustment of the vent characteristics through digital signal processing, enabling the system to provide both open sound perception and appropriate hearing loss compensation at low and mid frequencies by adjusting the filter parameters software-controlled.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a hearing aid having a first processing path and a second processing path. The different processing paths can have different latencies, allowing for different processing actions to take place. Further, the hearing aid includes a physical vent for providing fluid communication between sides of the in-ear component of the hearing aid.