University of California

Other

The Provost Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth, Near Dublin

Fan-Gang Zeng

Qing Tang

Jeffrey Alan Carroll

Mark Bachman

Guann-Pyng Li

Tao Xu

Hamid R Djalilian

King Chung

Harrison W Lin

Richard Reilly

Sheng Liu

Hongbin Chen

Myles McLaughlin

Kai-Bao Nie

Alejandro Lopez Valdes

Duo Zhang

Janice Erica Chang

Patrick Coffey

An electrical stimulation system that provides for transtympanic stimulation of the inner ear that can be used for safely and effectively treating tinnitus. The electrical stimulation system of the present invention may be fully implantable or partially implantable. The system features an electrode placed on the round window membrane. An external portion provides the power to the electrode, which can stimulate the inner ear via the round window as needed by the patient. The present invention also features methods of treating tinnitus using the electrical stimulation system described herein.

Methods and systems for treating tinnitus with transtympanic electrical stimulation

Apparatuses and methods for matching the tinnitus of a subject are provided. A plurality of sounds are applied to a subject. The plurality of sounds includes a plurality of first sounds and further includes a plurality of second sounds. A first likeness score associated with the plurality of the sounds is received. Each first likeness score is representative of the similarity of the sound associated therewith to the tinnitus of the subject. At least one third sound is generated based on at least one of the plurality of first sounds and based on at least one of the plurality of second sounds. The at least one third sound is generated based on the first likeness scores associated with the plurality of sounds. A fourth sound is determined based on the at least one third sound. The fourth sound matches the tinnitus of the subject.

Apparatus and methods for matching of tinnitus

Disclosed herein are embodiments of methods and systems for attenuating artifacts in single channel cochlear implants. Both high and low frequency artifacts can be attenuating using embodiments of the disclosed methods and systems. In some embodiments, low-pass filters, impedance balancing, and DC artifact estimation can be used, alone or in combination, to attenuate or completely remove artifacts in single channel cochlear implants.

Single channel cochlear implant artifact attenuation in late auditory evoked potentials

A system and method that enhance the performance of cochlear implant signal processing in an amplification device. The system utilizes a signal input device that picks up the sounds from the environment or other hearing or audio devices and feeds the incoming signal into a front-end signal processor. The front-end processor pre-processes the signals and feeds them into a cochlear implant signal processor. The system may also insert a front-end processor into multiple signal processing stages of a cochlear implant signal processor with the front-end processor 'sandwiched' between the multiple signal processing stages of the cochlear implant signal processors. The system may also insert a front-end processor into multiple signal processing stages of a cochlear implant signal processor with the front-end processor being either an integrated part of the cochlear implant signal processor or a functionally distinctive part for bilateral cochlear implants.

Enhancing cochlear implants with hearing aid signal processing technologies

Methods and devices for treating tinnitus in human or animal subjects wherein the subject is caused to perceive a tinnitus suppressing sound which fully or partially suppresses the subject's tinnitus. In some embodiments of this method, the subject selects a sound that he or she perceives to be the same as the tinnitus and that sound (or a similar sound that is complementary to the subject's perceived tinnitus) is then used as the tinnitus suppressing sound. In other embodiments, the tinnitus suppressing may be a sound that has previously been determined to suppress tinnitus in a substantial number of subjects.

Devices and methods for suppression of tinnitus

Cochlear implant performance is improved by extracting pitch information and encoding such pitch information into the processor of a cochlear implant. One embodiment of the invention is to explicitly extract the pitch and deliver it to the cochlear implant by co-varying the stimulated site and rate. Another embodiment of the invention is to implicitly encode the pitch information via a code book that serves as the carrier of stimulation in the cochlear implant.

Methods and apparatus for adapting speech coders to improve cochlear implant performance

Methods, devices and systems for improving hearing and for treating hearing disorders, such as auditory neuropathies. A hearing enhancement system of this invention generally comprises; an amplitude modulation processor, a frequency high-pass processor, a frequency upward-shifting processor and a formant upward-shifting processor.

Methods, devices and systems using signal processing algorithms to improve speech intelligibility and listening comfort

A directionally-sensitive device for detecting and processing vibration waves includes an array of polymeric optical waveguide resonators positioned between a light source, such as an LED array, and a light detector, such as a photodiode array. The resonators which are preferably oriented substantially perpendicularly with respect to incoming vibration waves, vibrate when a wave is detected, thus modulating light signals that are transmitted between the light source and the light detector. The light detector converts the modulated light into electrical signals which, in a preferred embodiment, are used to drive either the speaker of a hearing aid or the electrode array of a cochlear implant. The device is manufactured using a combination of traditional semiconductor processes and polymer microfabrication techniques.

Optical waveguide vibration sensor for use in hearing aid

A method of improving sound quality of audio signals that are digitally processed includes steps of extracting amplitude and frequency modulations from one or more narrow bands of the audio signal, and filtering and compressing those modulations to produce amplitude and frequency modulated audio signals that are digitally processed to provide an acoustic signal similar to the original audio signal. The methods may be used in auditory prostheses and telecommunication systems.

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Irvine, CA, United States of America

Fan-Gang Zeng