Hearing Prosthesis Feedback Adjustment for Perception Changes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hearing prosthesis recipients with residual hearing experience perception changes over time due to changes in their hearing abilities, which are not adequately addressed by conventional fitting processes, leading to negative learning outcomes and prolonged periods of incorrect sound perception.
Innovation Solution
An electro-acoustic hearing prosthesis with a perception monitoring module that uses objective measurements to detect sound perception changes and automatically adjusts operational settings in real-time to remediate these changes, without requiring regular clinical visits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional fitting processes are used for hearing prostheses, then initial sound perception is established, but perception changes over time are not detected or corrected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the hearing prosthesis continuously monitors the recipient's neural activity and compares it against expected patterns. When perception changes are detected through objective measurements of neural responses, the system automatically triggers adjustments to stimulation parameters, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains accurate sound perception over time without requiring clinical visits.
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing prosthesis performs self-adjustment by autonomously detecting perception changes through embedded sensors and neural activity monitoring. The device automatically modifies its own operational settings based on real-time analysis of neural responses, eliminating the need for external clinical intervention and enabling continuous optimization of sound perception accuracy.
2Reliability
If regular clinical visits are required for fitting adjustments, then perception changes can be corrected, but frequent visits increase time loss and inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing prosthesis performs self-adjustment by autonomously detecting perception changes through embedded sensors and neural activity monitoring. The device automatically modifies its own operational settings based on real-time analysis of neural responses, eliminating the need for external clinical intervention and enabling continuous optimization of sound perception accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual clinical fitting with an automated electronic system that uses objective neural measurements and algorithms to detect perception changes and adjust stimulation parameters. This substitution transforms the fitting process from a periodic manual procedure into a continuous automated process, significantly improving convenience while maintaining perception accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If objective measurements are used to detect perception changes, then accurate detection is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing layer that translates complex neural activity patterns into simplified perception change indicators. The system uses intermediate representations of neural responses that capture essential information about perception accuracy while filtering out redundant complexity, enabling accurate detection without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing prosthesis extracts only the critical features from complex neural activity measurements that are most indicative of perception changes. By focusing on specific neural response characteristics rather than processing entire neural activity patterns, the system achieves high measurement precision while minimizing the computational and hardware complexity required for monitoring.
Data Source
AI summary
Presented herein are substantially automated techniques that enable an electro-acoustic or other hearing prosthesis implanted in a recipient to use objective measurements to determine when the recipient is likely experiencing sound perception changes. Once one or more perception changes are detected, the hearing prosthesis may initiate one or more remedial actions to, for example, address the perception changes. As described further below, the one or more remedial actions may include adjustments to the recipient's operational map to reverse the one or more perception changes.