Starkey Laboratories, Inc.

Higgins, Sidney A.

Tourtelotte, David

David Tourtelotte

Sidney A Higgins

Beau Jay Polinske

Jeffrey Paul Solum

Michael Helgeson

Jay Rabel

Jorge F Sanguino

Kyle D Olson

Wei Li Lin

Michael Karl Sacha

Christopher Larry Howes

Craig A Benson

Joshua Elliot Braband

Mark Farley

Mohammed Alshehri

Various embodiments of a hearing device and a system including such device are disclosed. The hearing device can include an enclosure having a front housing and a rear housing, and an isolator disposed between the front housing and the rear housing. The isolator includes a body and a sleeve disposed on the body. The front housing and the rear housing are connected to the sleeve of the isolator. The device further includes a microphone disposed in the front housing, a receiver disposed in the rear housing, an acoustic port that extends through the isolator body between the receiver and an opening disposed in a first end of the front housing, and a microphone port that extends between the microphone and the opening disposed in the first end of the front housing.

Hearing device

A hearing device cable including a body portion is described herein. The body portion may extend between a first end region and a second end region along a tube centerline. The body portion may include a first radial portion proximate the first end region and second radial portion proximate the second end region. The first radial portion may define a radius of curvature that is greater than or equal to a radius of curvature defined by the second radial portion. The tube centerline may lie along an x-y plane between the first and second end regions. In one or more embodiments, the body portion may define a passageway extending between the first and second end regions. Further, the hearing device cable may include a superelastic wire within the passageway extending between the first and second end regions.

Hearing device cable

An embodiment of a hearing assistance device comprises a housing, a power source, a radio circuit, an antenna and a transmission line. The radio circuit is within the housing and electrically connected to the power source. The antenna has an aperture, and the radio circuit is at least substantially within the aperture. The transmission line electrically connects to the antenna to the radio circuit. Various antenna embodiments include a flex circuit antenna.

Antennas for standard fit hearing assistance devices

Disclosed herein, among other things, are apparatus and methods for a multipurpose microphone for hearing devices. A hearing assistance device includes a first housing configured to be worn above an ear of a wearer and a second housing configured to be worn in the ear of the wearer. The device also includes a cable configured to connect to the first housing at a first end and to the second housing at the second end, and a microphone at the second end of the cable, the microphone including an input port facing an acoustic channel. A switch is provided in the acoustic channel, the switch having a first position such that acoustic input to the microphone is received from an inner portion of the ear of the wearer, and a second position such that acoustic input to the microphone is received from an area outside the ear of the wearer.

Hearing assistance device with multipurpose microphone

Examples of this disclosure relate to an accessory device for a hearing instrument. The accessory device comprises a connector tip that comprises a first wire segment and a second wire segment. The first and second wire segments are electrically conductive and electrically insulated from each other. The connector tip also comprises a first set of bristles and a second set of bristles. The first and second sets of bristles are electrically conductive. The first set of bristles is electrically connected to the first wire segment and electrically insulated from the second wire segment. The second set of bristles is electrically connected to the second wire segment and electrically insulated from the first wire segment. The first set of bristles is spaced sufficiently far from the second set of bristles as to prevent a short circuit between the first and second sets of bristles.

Connector tip with bristles for hearing instruments

Disclosed herein, among other things, are apparatus and methods to provide improved connections for components of hearing assistance devices. Various embodiments include an apparatus including a receiver case configured to house a hearing assistance device receiver, the receiver case including a spherical receiver spout having an opening. The apparatus also includes a receptacle housing having a spherical socket adapted to mate with the spherical receiver spout to form a ball and socket connection. An insert within the spherical socket is configured to establish a retained interference fit with the opening of the receiver spout when the connection is formed so as to create an acoustic seal therebetween.

Ball and socket connection with an acoustic seal and mounting interface for a hearing assistance device

A recharging system includes a contact pad charger having a compressible contact pad conformable to a rechargeable device body for charging a power storage device in the rechargeable device body. The contact pad charger includes a power supply configured to provide a supply voltage. The compressible contact pad is electrically coupled to the power supply and defines a first variable resistance in response to a first conductor compression. The rechargeable device body includes a power manager electrically coupled to the power supply and is configured to receive a variable input voltage in response to a first variable voltage drop across the first conductor and to provide a regulated output voltage in response to the received variable input voltage. The regulated output voltage is less than the supply voltage. The power storage device is electrically coupled to the power manager and configured to receive the regulated output voltage for charging.

Charging system with compressible contacts

A computing system wirelessly receives data from an ear-wearable device and determines, based on the data received from the ear-wearable device, a current position of the ear-wearable device. Additionally, the computing system determines, based on the current position of the ear-wearable device and data regarding a golf course, golf advice data that provides a recommendation regarding play of the golf course. Furthermore, the computing system wirelessly sends audio data to the ear-wearable device. The audio data represents soundwaves of a vocalization of the golf advice data.

Ear-wearable device providing golf advice data

An ear-wearable device includes a shell shaped for wearing in a user's ear. The shell comprises a tunnel wall shaped to define a tunnel that passes through the ear-wearable device. The tunnel wall defines one or more contact pin apertures through which distal ends of two or more contact pins pass. One or more electrical components are encased within the shell. The contact pins are conductors from the one or more electrical components. The distal ends of the contact pins are positioned to make electrical contact with terminals of a cable plug that is removably inserted into the tunnel.

Ear-wearable device having tunnel with electrical contact pins

Systems and methods relate to a charger and a rechargeable device. The rechargeable device includes a power manager and a power storage device. The power manager may include one or more diodes and a controller configured to detect a charging current, provide a managed power output, and modulate the charging current to communicate through the current. The charger may include controller configured to store a device identifier in memory associated with a last charge state, determine whether a retrieved device identifier matches, and provide an indication of a current charge state in response to a match. The controller of the charger may be configured to send an electrical pulse to the rechargeable device and determine a polarity for charging the device.

Growing community of inventors

Eden Prairie, MN, United States of America

David Tourtelotte