Hearing Device Wireless Receiver Impulse Response Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing devices in reverberant environments, such as churches or lecture halls, struggle to provide a natural hearing experience due to the absence of directional cues and noise from the environment when using wireless sound reception, as they often mute microphones and lack spatial sound processing.
Innovation Solution
A hearing device with multiple microphones and a wireless receiver that processes sound signals using a time delay unit and signal processing circuitry to align and modify sound signals, estimating impulse response parameters to attenuate late reverberations and enhance direct sound, thereby improving sound quality and intelligibility while maintaining environmental awareness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If wireless sound reception is used to receive direct sound in reverberant environments, then speech intelligibility is improved, but directional cues are lost and the auditory experience becomes synthetic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines wireless sound reception (telecoil or Bluetooth) with microphone input, merging the advantages of both direct sound transmission and environmental sound capture. The processing unit mixes the wireless sound signal with the microphone signal, preserving directional cues from the microphone while enhancing speech intelligibility through the wireless channel.
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing device is designed to handle multiple input sources (wireless receiver and microphones) and automatically switch between or combine them based on the acoustic environment. The system can function as a conventional hearing aid, a wireless receiver, or a hybrid mode, providing universal adaptability to different listening situations.
2Reliability
If microphones are muted during wireless sound reception, then interference is reduced, but environmental awareness is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the mixing ratio between wireless sound signal and microphone signal based on the acoustic environment. The processing unit continuously adapts the contribution of each input source, allowing the device to maintain environmental awareness when needed while prioritizing speech intelligibility when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of microphone gain or mixing ratio to optimize performance. By adjusting the level of the microphone signal relative to the wireless signal, the system can reduce interference while preserving environmental awareness, rather than completely muting the microphones.
3Measurement precision
If late reverberations are attenuated to improve speech intelligibility, then direct sound clarity is enhanced, but natural room acoustics are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different processing to different parts of the sound signal. Late reverberations are selectively attenuated while early reflections and direct sound are preserved or enhanced. This local quality approach maintains speech intelligibility while preserving important room acoustic cues that provide spatial and environmental information.
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 enhances the hearing experience by improving sound quality and intelligibility in reverberant environments, allowing users to better understand speech while maintaining awareness of their surroundings, potentially outperforming normal hearing in such conditions.
Implementation Method 1
an input transducer, such as a microphone
Implementation Method 2
a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving sound information, e.g., a telecoil or a wireless data receiver
Implementation Method 3
an output transducer, such as a loudspeaker
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure regards a hearing device comprising a power source, electric circuitry, a loudspeaker, at least one microphone for sound from an acoustic environment, and at least one wireless receiver for wirelessly received sound signals. The microphone is configured to generate an environment sound signal. The wireless receiver is configured generate a source sound signal. The electric circuitry is configured to estimate at least one parameter of an impulse response from the location of the origin of the wirelessly received signal to the location of a user of the hearing device in dependence on the source sound signal and the environment sound signal. The electric circuitry is further configured to process the environment sound signal in dependence on the estimated at least one impulse-response parameter, thereby generating an output sound signal. The output sound signal is processed into sound by the loudspeaker.