Ear-Worn Hearing Aid Spatial Locator for ALD Service Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals with hearing impairments often miss out on assistive listening device (ALD) services in public spaces due to the lack of awareness about their availability, especially in crowded environments, leading to suboptimal utilization of these services.
Innovation Solution
A hearing assistance system that includes an ear-worn device with a spatial locator circuit capable of detecting the user's location and comparing it against a database of ALD service locations, sending notifications and prompts to enter ALD mode, and allowing users to contribute to updating the database on service availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hearing aids and cochlear implants are used in public spaces, then hearing assistance is provided, but the effectiveness is insufficient due to distance, background noise, and reverberation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an assistive listening device system as an intermediary between the sound source and the user's ear. This system includes a transmitter that receives audio signals and a receiver that delivers them directly to the user, bypassing the problematic acoustic environment. The intermediary system effectively bridges the gap by providing a direct audio transmission path that eliminates the harmful effects of distance, background noise, and reverberation that plague conventional hearing aids in public spaces.
2Reliability
If ALD services are offered in venues, then hearing assistance is improved, but users are unaware of availability in crowded environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the hearing assistance device actively monitors the acoustic environment and provides real-time information to the user about ALD service availability. The device detects acoustic signatures characteristic of ALD systems (such as telecoil loops or FM transmitters) and communicates this information back to the user through visual or haptic feedback, ensuring they are aware of available services even in crowded environments where they might otherwise be overlooked.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection and identification of ALD services in the environment before the user actively seeks them. By continuously monitoring the acoustic environment and pre-identifying the presence of ALD infrastructure, the system prepares information about service availability in advance, allowing users to immediately utilize these services when they become relevant without having to manually search for or know about their existence.
3Loss of information
If hearing assistance systems provide continuous monitoring and notifications, then ALD service awareness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into a single unified hearing assistance device. The same device that provides amplification and noise reduction also incorporates spatial location detection, ALD service identification, and notification capabilities. By making the device universal and multi-functional, the system avoids the need for separate dedicated devices for each function, thereby managing complexity while delivering comprehensive services including continuous environmental monitoring and ALD availability notifications.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments herein relate to hearing assistance systems and methods for use with assistive listening device systems. In a first aspect, a hearing assistance system is included having an ear-worn device can include a control circuit, a sensor package in signal communication with the control circuit, a power supply circuit in electrical communication with the control circuit, and a spatial locator circuit in communication with the ear-worn device. The spatial locator circuit can detect a current spatial location. The system can compare the current spatial location against entries in a database of spatial locations that offer assistive listening device services. The system can send a notification to the ear-worn device and/or ear-worn device wearer if the current spatial location is found in the database of spatial locations that offer assistive listening device services. Other embodiments are also included herein.