Spatial Audio Hearing Test System for Response Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hearing tests are prone to errors due to patients imagining sounds, especially in high-stress environments, and fail to accurately assess hearing abilities, particularly in individuals with hearing impairments or tinnitus.
Innovation Solution
A hearing test system that delivers audio stimuli with spatial directionality, processing directional response data from head movements to determine hearing ability by encoding information in the coupling of audio stimulus and response data, using real-time source location transformations to enhance accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional hearing tests use fixed battery of stimulus sounds without spatial directionality, then the test procedure is simple, but the reliability is poor due to patients imagining sounds and tinnitus interfering with accurate assessment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces spatial directionality as a new dimension to audio stimulus delivery. Instead of presenting sounds from a single fixed location, the system uses multiple speakers arranged in specific geometric patterns (e.g., octahedral configuration) to create three-dimensional sound field. This spatial dimension provides additional cues that distinguish actual auditory responses from imagined sensations or tinnitus, thereby improving assessment reliability without significantly complicating the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs processed audio stimuli with modified acoustic characteristics as intermediaries. The system transforms standard hearing test tones into spatially distributed audio patterns that interact with the patient's auditory system in a controlled manner. These processed stimuli serve as mediators between the testing system and the patient's hearing apparatus, enabling more reliable detection of actual hearing thresholds while filtering out confounding factors like tinnitus and imagination.
2Measurement precision
If hearing tests are conducted in high-stress environments without stress reduction techniques, then the testing process is straightforward, but measurement precision deteriorates due to patients imagining sounds and experiencing tinnitus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback mechanisms where the system monitors patient responses to audio stimuli and dynamically adjusts testing parameters. The system detects whether the patient is responding to actual sounds or to imagined sensations by analyzing the timing, consistency, and pattern of responses. This feedback loop allows the system to adapt stimulus presentation in real-time, maintaining measurement precision even in high-stress environments without requiring complex operational procedures from the tester.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically modifies audio stimulus parameters including frequency, intensity, and spatial location based on real-time patient responses and test progress. By continuously adjusting these parameters, the system optimizes the distinction between genuine auditory perceptions and imagined sensations. This adaptive parameter modification enhances measurement precision while maintaining operational simplicity, as the system automatically handles the complexity of parameter management.
3Loss of information
If traditional hearing tests use simple hand-raising responses, then the device complexity is low, but the loss of information increases due to inability to detect directional awareness and response accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the response detection process into multiple independent measurement components. Instead of relying on a single hand-raising action, the system separately measures: (1) temporal response characteristics, (2) spatial orientation changes, (3) head movement direction, and (4) response consistency across multiple trials. Each segment provides specific information about different aspects of auditory processing. This segmentation allows comprehensive information recovery while keeping individual measurement components simple and manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds spatial and temporal dimensions to response measurement. Rather than merely recording whether a patient raises their hand, the system captures the three-dimensional trajectory of head movements, the precise timing of responses relative to stimulus presentation, and the angular orientation of responses. These additional dimensions enrich the data without requiring complex processing algorithms, as the extra information is captured through straightforward sensor measurements that naturally provide the needed discrimination between accurate responses and false responses.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device for performing a hearing test on a test subject having a processing resource configured to: provide audio stimulus signals for an audio output device thereby to provide an audio stimulus to the test subject, wherein the audio stimulus signals are processed such that the provided audio stimulus has a simulated source location; obtain directional response data representative of a response of the test subject to the audio stimulus; process the obtained directional response data as part of determining the hearing ability of the test subject.