Automated Hearing Device Fitting via Remote Signal Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sound processing devices, such as hearing aids and assistive listening devices, require skilled audiologists for fitting, which is costly and limits access, especially in rural areas or for those with mild hearing impairments, due to the need for complex parameter adjustments and limited preconfigured customizations.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that use a computing device to play back acoustic signals, obtain user input, derive a hearing map, and update sound processing device settings, allowing users to customize their devices without an audiologist, using a user interface and processor to create a personalized hearing map for optimal device fitting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If complex digital signal processing is used to enable wide variety of adjustments and customisations, then device functionality and adaptability are improved, but device complexity increases and physical space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex fitting process from the physical device and relocates it to a remote computing device. The sound processing device itself is simplified to receive instructions and play back test signals, while the complex parameter manipulation, hearing map generation, and optimization algorithms run on the remote computer, effectively removing complexity from the portable device.
Solution Approach 2:
The remote computing device serves multiple functions: it acts as the fitting device, the test signal generator, the hearing map analyzer, and the parameter optimizer. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate devices into a single universal computing platform.
2Manufacturing precision
If skilled audiologists perform manual fitting with hundreds of parameters, then device optimisation precision is improved, but service cost increases and accessibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables users to perform their own device fitting without requiring skilled audiologists. The automated fitting process guides users through hearing tests and device optimization independently, allowing anyone with access to a computing device to obtain professional-grade fitting precision without the need for expensive clinical services.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of audiologist-driven parameter adjustment with an automated computer-based system. Algorithms automatically analyze hearing test results, generate hearing maps, and optimize device parameters, substituting human expert manual work with automated computational processes that maintain precision while improving accessibility.
3Device complexity
If limited preconfigured customisations are provided, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to individual user needs deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static preconfigured customizations to dynamic individualized fitting. Instead of providing a fixed set of preconfigured options, the system dynamically generates custom parameters based on each user's specific hearing characteristics measured during the fitting process, allowing the device to adapt precisely to individual needs while maintaining configuration simplicity through automation.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and method for pre-fitting a sound processing device for a user in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In many embodiments, systems and methods can be executed by a computing device and include obtaining a hearing map representing the user's hearing, establishing a virtual signal processing path in the computing device which reflects a signal processing function of the sound processing device, updating parameters of the virtual signal processing path based on said hearing map, and passing an audio signal through the virtual signal processing path and playing back the processed audio signal to the user.