Hearing Prosthesis Loudness Normalization via Fitting Map
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hearing aids and prostheses often fail to accurately replicate the natural loudness perception of normal hearing individuals, leading to suboptimal sound perception for those with hearing loss, particularly in sensorineural cases where electrical stimulation methods may not effectively mimic natural auditory experiences.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that involve obtaining data on perceived loudness levels for various sound stimuli, creating a personalized map for the hearing prosthesis to adjust current levels based on statistical and recipient-specific data, allowing the prosthesis to evoke hearing percepts with normalized loudness levels closer to those of normal hearing individuals, using a fitting system that includes subsystems for data collection and automatic configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional hearing aids and prostheses use standard amplification and electrical stimulation methods, then device simplicity is maintained, but accurate replication of natural loudness perception is achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurements during a fitting procedure to establish a loudness map that correlates electrical stimulation levels with perceived loudness. This pre-established mapping enables subsequent automatic adjustments without requiring complex real-time measurements, thus improving loudness perception accuracy while managing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from measured loudness perception data to automatically adjust stimulation parameters. The fitting procedure collects subjective loudness ratings and uses this feedback to refine the stimulation-mapping relationship, enabling accurate loudness replication through iterative optimization rather than complex hardware
2Reliability
If electrical stimulation levels are increased to improve hearing perception, then sound detectability is improved, but natural loudness perception is distorted
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes multiple parameters simultaneously - not only stimulation intensity but also duration, pulse rate, and spectral composition - to achieve natural loudness perception. By adjusting these parameters in combination based on the established loudness map, the system maintains reliable hearing perception while avoiding distorted loudness sensation that would result from intensity increases alone
Data Source
AI summary
A method, including obtaining data indicative of respective perceived loudness levels for a plurality of hearing percepts respectively evoked at different current levels, and creating a map for the hearing prosthesis based on the obtained data by adjusting at least one of the respective current levels based on data of a respective perceived loudness for another current level.