U.S. Philips Corporation

Rudi A Claes

Petrus A Van Vroenhoven

Petrus J Termeer

Joseph F Beumers

Henri Garcia

An in-the-ear hearing aid has a collar which can form a flexible seal in the bony part of the ear canal so as to reduce the occlusion effect. The collar comprises a tubular portion which is engageable against the wall of the ear canal, a fixing portion and a curved sealing portion. Owing to the use of this collar it is not necessary to make a mold of the bony part of the ear canal. This collar enables the hearing aid to be constructed in a manner such that it can be inserted so deep into the ear.

In-the-ear hearing aid with flexible seal

In a method of manufacturing an in-the-ear hearing aid an auxiliary element, whose cross-section is larger than that of an auditory canal, is introduced into the auditory canal. As a result, the auditory canal is expanded. Subsequently, a hollow vent tube is inserted into the auditory canal, after which the auditory canal is filled with a viscous material. After the viscous material has solidified the mold is removed from the auditory canal. The vent tube insures that air is admitted to a space behind the mold. The mold thus formed has a cross-section larger than the cross-section of the auditory canal. Subsequently, a housing for the hearing aid is made, the mold being used as a template. Consequently, the heating aid will fit tightly in the auditory canal, which improves the wearing convenience. The auxiliary element used in this method has a cylindrical wall formed with a plurality of apertures to allow the passage of the viscous material to spaces between the auxiliary element and the wall of the auditory canal. The auxiliary element further comprises a sleeve for guiding the vent hose.

Method of manufacturing an in-the-ear hearing aid

A pull-out string for connection to a hearing aid which is constructed for use in an ear canal near a tympanic membrane. The pull out string has two ends and a fixing element at each end for connection to the hearing aid. The pull-out string has a plurality of beads, the distance from each bead to an end of the pull-out string being unique. In a method of manufacturing a hearing aid provided with such a pull-out string, the pull-out string is secured to the hearing aid at one end and is severed at a desired distance from the hearing aid such that the pull-out string has a bead at the resulting free end. This results in a hearing aid having a pull-out string whose length can be chosen from many possible values and whose free end can be gripped satisfactorily.

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Eindhoven, Netherlands

Rudi A Claes