Hearing Threshold-Adapted Acoustic Stimulation for Tinnitus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing treatments for tinnitus using coordinated reset (CR) stimulation fail to account for individual hearing thresholds, leading to suboptimal or ineffective results due to fixed frequency ratios and intervals that do not consider the patient's auditory filter width changes with hearing impairment.
Innovation Solution
Adapt the intervals and number of CR tones to the patient's hearing threshold, using personalized frequency ratios and intervals based on equivalent rectangular bandwidth (ERB) analysis to optimize neural desynchronization and reorganization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed frequency ratios and intervals are used for CR stimulation, then the treatment protocol is simple and standardized, but the therapeutic efficacy is suboptimal or ineffective for patients with hearing impairment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the frequency parameters of CR stimulation from fixed ratios to hearing threshold-adapted ratios. Specifically, the frequency ratios are adjusted based on the patient's hearing threshold at the tinnitus frequency, allowing the stimulation frequencies to be optimized for each patient's auditory filter width, thereby improving therapeutic efficacy while maintaining a systematic approach
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by tailoring the stimulation frequencies to the specific hearing characteristics of each patient. Instead of using uniform frequencies for all patients, the system adapts the frequency parameters locally to match individual hearing thresholds, ensuring that the stimulation is optimally matched to each patient's auditory system
2Reliability
If CR stimulation frequencies are not adapted to hearing threshold, then the treatment can be applied universally, but the acoustic stimulation leads to suboptimal or completely ineffective results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements parameter changes by adjusting the CR stimulation frequencies based on the patient's hearing threshold. The frequency ratios are modified according to the measured hearing threshold at the tinnitus frequency, ensuring that the stimulation parameters are optimized for each patient's auditory system rather than using fixed universal parameters
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dynamics by making the stimulation frequencies adaptive rather than static. The system dynamically adjusts the frequency parameters based on individual patient measurements, allowing the treatment to be customized to each patient's specific hearing characteristics while maintaining a systematic methodology
3Reliability
If the frequency intervals between CR tones are too large, then the stimulation covers a broader frequency range, but the neural desynchronization effect is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the frequency interval parameter by setting it to 0.1 times the hearing threshold at the tinnitus frequency. This parameter adjustment ensures that the frequency intervals are neither too large nor too small, but are specifically tuned to achieve optimal neural desynchronization while maintaining appropriate frequency coverage based on individual patient characteristics
Data Source
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AI summary
A device for stimulation of a patient with acoustic stimulation signals includes a stimulation unit for generating acoustic stimulation signals and a control unit for controlling the stimulation unit. The control unit is configured so that it determines a bandwidth of an auditory filter with a frequency of a predetermined tone as a center frequency, wherein this bandwidth is a reference bandwidth. The control unit determines a frequency of a first acoustic therapy signal such that a measure of coverage between the reference bandwidth around the frequency of the predetermined tone and a first bandwidth of an auditory filter with the frequency of the first acoustic therapy signal as a center frequency assumes a predetermined first value, and controls the stimulation unit such that the stimulation unit generates the first acoustic therapy signal.