Open Canal Hearing Aid Support for Comfort and Sound Localization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hearing aids often compromise between comfort, cosmetic appeal, and sound quality, particularly failing to provide effective sound localization cues due to issues like occlusion effect, feedback, and discomfort caused by coil placement near the eardrum.
Innovation Solution
A hearing aid system with an elongate support that minimizes contact with the ear, featuring a flexible design to accommodate user movement and a positioner to suspend the transducer, reducing friction and occlusion, while positioning the microphone near the ear canal opening to enhance sound localization cues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the transducer is placed deep in the ear canal near the eardrum, then sound quality and directionality are improved, but comfort deteriorates due to friction and occlusion
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into multiple sections: a rigid distal portion that positions the transducer near the eardrum, and a flexible proximal portion that minimizes contact with the ear canal walls. This segmentation allows the transducer to be positioned deep for optimal sound quality while the flexible support reduces friction and occlusion effects that would otherwise cause discomfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure incorporates a flexible portion made of elastomeric material that can deform to accommodate ear canal movements and jaw motion. This flexibility reduces the friction between the device and ear canal tissues, thereby improving comfort while maintaining the transducer's deep positioning for optimal acoustic performance.
2Reliability
If the microphone is placed near the eardrum, then sound localization cues are improved, but feedback increases due to proximity to the transducer
Solution Approach 1:
The microphone is extracted from the deep ear canal position and relocated to a position behind the ear. This spatial separation removes the microphone from the feedback loop created by the transducer near the eardrum, thereby eliminating the whistling feedback while preserving the ability to capture directional sound cues through alternative acoustic paths.
Solution Approach 2:
An acoustic waveguide or tube serves as an intermediary element that transmits sound from the ear canal to the microphone positioned behind the ear. This mediator allows the microphone to capture sound localization cues from the ear canal environment without being physically present near the transducer, thereby avoiding direct feedback while maintaining sound quality.
3Manufacturing precision
If the support structure is rigid to position the transducer accurately, then transducer positioning precision is improved, but comfort deteriorates due to contact with ear movements
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into a rigid distal portion and a flexible proximal portion. The rigid distal section maintains precise transducer positioning near the eardrum, while the flexible proximal section accommodates ear canal movements and jaw motion, thereby resolving the contradiction between positioning precision and comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure transitions from a static rigid design to a dynamic hybrid design where the flexible portion can deform in response to physiological movements. This dynamic adaptation allows the rigid transducer-positioning section to maintain accuracy while the flexible section absorbs mechanical stress from ear and jaw movements, improving comfort.
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 system provides improved comfort and sound quality by reducing occlusion and feedback, while maintaining cosmetic appeal and effectively transmitting sound localization cues.
Implementation Method 1
the elongate support is adapted to conduct heat from the energy delivery transducer
Implementation Method 2
the support comprises a flexible support that can bend and/or flex in response to user movement
Data Source
AI summary
A hearing aid device for placement in an ear of a user includes an elongate support and a transducer. The elongate support has a proximal portion and a distal end, and the transducer is attached to the elongate support near the distal end. The support is adapted to position the transducer near an eardrum while the proximal portion is placed at the location near an ear canal opening. The elongate support is sized to minimize contact with the ear between the proximal portion and distal end. The elongate support permits sound waves to travel along the ear canal. In some embodiments, a microphone is positioned in the ear canal along the support, for example inside the support, to provide directionally dependent sound localization cues, and the transducer on the distal end of the elongate support comprises a coil assembly coupled to a magnet positioned on the tympanic membrane.