Hearing Aid Voice Perception via Frequency-Selective Signal Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing aid devices often distort the perception of a wearer's own voice due to the suppression of solid-borne sound and occlusion effects, leading to an unfamiliar and alienated sound experience.
Innovation Solution
A hearing aid device equipped with an acousto-electrical transducer, signal processing unit, and recognition unit that quickly identifies the wearer's voice and adjusts signal processing parameters, such as gain and occlusion suppression, to improve sound perception by operating in parallel signal processing paths and mixing signals for enhanced sound adaptation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the hearing aid device amplifies airborne sound and closes the ear canal, then the wearer's ability to hear environmental sounds is improved, but the perception of the wearer's own voice becomes distorted and unfamiliar
Solution Approach 1:
The audio signal is divided into multiple frequency bands using filter banks. Different processing strategies are applied to different frequency ranges: low-frequency bands (where bone conduction dominates) receive different gain adjustments compared to high-frequency bands (where airborne sound dominates), allowing selective correction of voice perception distortion while preserving environmental sound enhancement
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts signal processing parameters including gain, compression ratio, and noise reduction intensity based on real-time detection of voice presence and frequency band characteristics. When voice is detected in low-frequency bands, the system reduces gain and disables aggressive noise reduction to prevent unnatural sounding artifacts
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the hearing aid device applies aggressive noise reduction and compression, then background interference is suppressed, but natural speech nuances and voice perception are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts noise reduction and compression parameters based on the detected signal type (voice vs. background noise) and frequency band. During voice segments, especially in low-frequency bands, noise reduction intensity is reduced and compression ratio is increased to preserve natural speech dynamics. During non-voice segments, aggressive noise reduction is applied to suppress background interference
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the audio signal to detect voice presence and characteristics, then feeds this information back to adjust processing parameters in real-time. This closed-loop control allows the system to distinguish between speech nuances that should be preserved and background noise that should be suppressed, preventing information loss while maintaining noise reduction effectiveness
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the hearing aid device uses solid-borne sound transmission, then the wearer's own voice perception is improved, but airborne sound from the environment is suppressed
Solution Approach 1:
The system processes audio signals in the frequency domain rather than treating all frequencies equally in the time domain. By transforming the problem into frequency-based processing, the system can selectively enhance low-frequency bone conduction transmission for voice perception while simultaneously preserving high-frequency airborne sound transmission for environmental awareness, effectively solving the contradiction through dimensional separation
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
The solution enables a more natural and improved perception of the wearer's own voice by adapting signal processing parameters in real-time, reducing occlusion effects and interference noise, resulting in a more pleasant and familiar sound experience.
Implementation Method 1
an acousto-electrical transducer, a signal processing unit connected to the acousto-electrical transducer
Implementation Method 2
an electro-acoustic transducer connected to the signal processing unit
Implementation Method 3
a recognition unit for quickly recognizing a hearing aid wearer's own voice
Data Source
AI summary
A hearing aid device and a method for operating the hearing aid device. The hearing aid device has an acousto-electrical transducer, a signal processing unit, an electro-acoustic transducer and a unit for recognizing a wearer's own voice. The hearing aid device detects and recognizes the wearer's own voice by way of the recognition unit and, when the wearer's own voice has been detected, operates the signal processing unit with a modified signal processing parameter that is modified such that the sound of the wearer's own voice is improved.