Intricon Corporation

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Resistance Technology, Inc.

Gn Resound North America Corporation

Gn Resound Corporation

Resound Corporation

Robert J Fretz

Jean Elvira Daavettila

Vincent Joseph Mako

Christopher Drake Conger

Paul H Stypulkowski

David E Barnard

Cliff Miller

Richard T Woods

A body-worn hearing assist device such as a hearing aid allows at least two audio inputs, such as through a wireless chipset and from an onboard microphone. The hearing aid has a directional sensor, preferably a combination magnetic sensor/accelerometer, which allows the hearing aid to determine which direction the user is facing. A directional reference associated with a 'remote' sound source, i.e., the direction the user would naturally face to best hear the wirelessly transmitted audio, is stored in memory. When the user faces in the direction of the 'remote' sound source, such as watching a screen of an audio-visual program having a wireless audio streamer or looking at someone using a wireless microphone, the wirelessly received audio is coupled as the primary input of the hearing aid. When the user turns and faces a different direction, the hearing aid automatically switches the primary input source to the onboard microphone.

Head direction hearing assist switching

A digital signal processor processes acoustic sound in a body-worn hearing assist device including separating the microphone signal into frequency bands. Two of the frequency bands, which are preferably adjacent, are considered as a pair. In one of the frequency bands in the pair, the band signal is replicated/split into two subsignals. One of the subsignals is frequency shifted into the other frequency band of the pair. The input signal from the paired frequency band is either significantly attenuated or altogether discarded. The unshifted subsignal is attenuated relative to the frequency-shifted subsignal, which is preferably amplified, before both subsignals are combined as part of the acoustic output. Considering both frequency bands as a pair, the likelihood of feedback is significantly reduced or eliminated.

Feedback reduction for high frequencies

A hearing aid includes a relatively rigid shell which holds hearing aid electronics and one or more flexible, shape-retaining filaments attached to the hearing aid shell. The filament(s) extend(s) out a proximal side of the hearing aid shell having a shape which interacts with the user's ear anatomy such as the conchae bowl. The shape determines an insertion depth of the hearing aid shell into the user's ear canal, and a spring action biases the hearing aid toward the desired insertion depth. The hearing aid supported by the filament(s) provides an open, unoccluding position in the ear canal.

Hearing aid positioning system and structure

A hearing aid switch utilizes pressure/sound clues from a filtered input signal to enable actuation initiated by a user by a signature hand movement relative to a wearer's ear. The preferred signature hand movement involves patting on the ear meatus at least one time to generate a compression wave commonly thought of as a soft 'clap' or 'pop'. A digital signal processor analyzes the signal looking for a negative pulse, a positive pulse, and dissipation of the hand generated signal.

Ear contact pressure wave hearing aid switch

A method of changing at least two parameter settings of a device includes detecting an abnormal change in an external feedback path and an input signal generated by an abnormal pressure wave, and activating a pressure wave detection switch and an abnormal feedback path detection switch for changing the at least one parameter setting in the device. A device includes a digital signal processor configured to implement a detection algorithm to detect an abnormal change in an external feedback path, an adaptive internal feedback cancellation system for continually monitoring and responsively adapting to changes occurring in an external feedback path, a pattern recognition algorithm for detecting input signals generated when an abnormal pressure wave is generated, at least two parameter settings for adjusting the characteristics of the device, and an abnormal feedback path detection switch for switching the device to a next available parameter setting.

Switch for a hearing aid

A feedback transition threshold algorithm assesses and responds to feedback transition events in a hearing aid. The feedback transition threshold algorithm considers short duration trouble indicators, with the preferred primary short duration trouble indicators being the correlation witnessed between the incoming signal in a given frequency band and the same signal delayed by the estimated feedback loop time. If the short duration trouble indicators indicate that feedback squeal is likely and that the external feedback path is changing too quickly for accurate correction by the internal adaptive feedback reduction filter, when the signal level crosses the feedback transition threshold gain is reduced in that frequency band.

Hearing aid circuit with feedback transition adjustment

Hearing aid body

A hearing aid circuit includes a correlation detector that detects correlation at a feedforward path input and that provides a correlation output to a phase shifter. The phase shifter introduces a phase shift along a feedforward path. A phase measurement circuit measures a phase shift at a feedforward path input, and provides a phase measurement output to an internal feedback processor. The internal feedback processor adjusts internal feedback as a function of the phase measurement to suppress coupling of external audio feedback along the feedforward path.

Hearing aid circuit reducing feedback

The hearing aid system includes a hearing aid case which is designed to be positioned behind the ear of a user, a tube for conducting sound from the case to the ear canal of the user, and a eartip for anchoring the end of the tube within the ear canal of the user. The tube is formed in a preformed shape of a material with sufficient rigidity to support the hearing aid in a proper position on the user's ear. The eartip may be one of several different designs which secures an end of the tube in place in the ear canal in a comfortable manner without the need for an expensive custom made ear mold and without complete occlusion of the ear canal. A combination of the light weight and small size of the case, the rigidity of the preformed tube, and one of the eartips for anchoring the tube in the ear canal allow the system to be held in place securely without the need for either an inflexible and aesthetically unpleasing ear hook or an expensive custom made ear mold.

Behind the ear hearing aid system

An open ear canal hearing aid system comprises an ear canal tube sized for positioning in an ear canal of a user so that the ear canal is at least partially open for directly receiving ambient sounds. The open ear canal hearing aid system further comprises a sound processor for amplifying received ambient sounds included within a predetermined frequency to produce processed sounds and for supplying said processed sounds to said ear canal tube.

Open ear canal hearing aid system

An improvement to an implantable amplitude modulated frequency receiver wherein a resistor in the demodulator portion of a prior art receiver, which provides a discharge path for a capacitor, is replaced with an active circuit portion that includes a semiconductor device that provides the discharge path wherein the conductivity level of the semiconductor device is inversely related to the level of conduction of a rectifier to which the received amplitude modulated signal is applied. The active circuit portion improves the efficiency of the receiver in that less power is lost than in the case of the resistor the active circuit portion replaces.

Growing community of inventors

Maplewood, MN, United States of America

Robert J Fretz