Personalized Audio Processing for Diverse Hearing Profiles

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current audio systems fail to provide optimal sound quality for diverse hearing profiles, leading to suboptimal sound perception for both healthy and hearing-impaired users, as they do not account for individual hearing abilities, resulting in inadequate speech intelligibility and enjoyment of audio content.

Innovation Solution

The technology employs a method for audio signal processing that personalizes sound based on user-specific hearing profiles, using demographic information and hearing test results to determine audio processing parameters, such as those for multiband compression algorithms, to enhance sound clarity and quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If generic audio settings are used, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but sound quality and speech intelligibility deteriorate for users with diverse hearing profiles

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of operationVSAvoidsound quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically adjusts audio processing parameters (equalization curves, compression thresholds, spatial rendering settings) based on the user's hearing profile parameters derived from demographic information, transforming the fixed generic settings into adaptive personalized settings without requiring manual user configuration

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs self-configuration by automatically deriving hearing profiles from demographic data and applying appropriate audio processing parameters without requiring users to manually adjust settings or undergo complex calibration procedures, thus maintaining ease of operation while improving sound quality

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Manufacturing precision

If personalized audio processing is implemented, then sound quality and speech intelligibility are improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesound qualityVSAvoiddevice complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary derivation of hearing profiles from demographic information before actual audio playback, pre-configuring the appropriate audio processing parameters so that personalized audio processing can be applied directly without requiring complex real-time analysis or calibration during operation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses universal demographic information (age, sex, nationality) that can be obtained through simple user input to derive hearing profiles applicable to multiple users, allowing the same processing framework to serve diverse hearing profiles without requiring user-specific measurements or complex individualized calibration procedures

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Adaptability or versatility

If demographic information is used to derive hearing profiles, then adaptability is improved and sound personalization is enabled, but loss of information occurs due to generalization

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveadaptabilityVSAvoidloss of information
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system transforms demographic parameters (age, sex, nationality) into hearing profile parameters by applying adjustments that reflect typical hearing characteristics associated with each demographic group, enabling adaptability to different users while managing information loss through statistically-based generalizations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3614380B1Systems and methods for sound enhancement in audio systems
Publication Date: 2022.04.13 MIMI HEARING TECHNOLOGIES GMBH
  • EP3614380B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3614380B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3614380B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present document discloses an audio processing method, comprising: receiving information from one or more users suitable to derive an indication of hearing ability of the one or more users; determining a representative indication of hearing ability for the one or more users; determining a set of audio processing parameters for the representative indication of hearing ability; configuring a sound personalisation signal processing algorithm based on the set of audio processing parameters; receiving an audio signal on an entertainment system; processing the audio signal using the sound personalisation signal processing algorithm; and outputting the processed audio signal from the entertainment system.