Hearing Prosthesis Actuator Feedback for Own-Voice Echo Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current hearing prostheses face challenges in effectively managing the perception of one's own voice, leading to issues like own-voice echo and amplification, which can be detrimental to the user's experience and hearing clarity.
Innovation Solution
A device and method that utilize an actuator configured to detect body tissue conducted vibrations from the user's own voice, comparing these vibrations with signals from an electro-mechanical component to control the operation of the hearing prosthesis, thereby reducing the effects of own-voice in evoking a hearing percept.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bone conduction devices are used to transmit vibrations through the skull to the cochlea, then hearing perception is improved for conductive hearing loss and single-sided deafness, but own-voice echo and amplification effects are generated which deteriorate hearing clarity
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the actuator as a microphone to detect body tissue conducted vibrations from the user's own voice, creates a feedback loop where the detected own-voice signal is compared with the evoked hearing percept signal, and adjusts the actuator operation based on this comparison to reduce own-voice echo and amplification effects
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the harmful own-voice component from the total sound signal by detecting it through the actuator and separating it from the desired hearing percept, allowing the system to process only the relevant acoustic information while eliminating the distracting own-voice echo
2Reliability
If the actuator is used to evoke a hearing percept, then hearing function is restored, but the actuator also picks up body tissue conducted vibrations from the user's own voice which interfere with normal operation
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuitry acts as an intermediary that receives both the actuator output signal and the body tissue conducted vibration signal, processes them separately, and combines them in a way that eliminates the harmful interference while preserving the useful hearing function
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the actuator's response and the body tissue vibrations, using this feedback to dynamically adjust the actuator's operation and cancel out the own-voice interference effects
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
This approach effectively minimizes own-voice echo and amplification, enhancing the user's hearing experience by distinguishing and adjusting for self-produced speech, ensuring clearer ambient sound perception.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator configured to evoke a hearing percept via actuation thereof
Implementation Method 2
receiving body tissue conducted vibrations originating from an own-voice speaking event
Data Source
AI summary
A device, including an actuator configured to evoke a hearing percept via actuation thereof, wherein the device is configured to make a detection of at least one phenomenon related to the actuator that is indicative of a recipient of the device speaking and control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control an operation of the device based on the detection.