Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd.

Siemens Audiologische Technik Gmbh

Sivantos Pte. Ltd.

Ulrich Kornagel

Stefan Petrausch

Thomas Pilgrim

Eghart Fischer

Henning Puder

Tom Weidner

Wolfgang Sörgel

Tobias Wurzbacher

Volkmar Hamacher

Robert Bäuml

Sebastian Pape

Georg-Erwin Arndt

Sebastian Best

Gunter Sauer

Frank Beck

Rainer Martin

Frank Koch

Robert Kasanmascheff

Oliver Dreβler

Alexander Schasse

Stefanie Müller

Synthetically generated signals are reproduced via a binaural hearing system, which includes two hearing devices. After reproducing a first signal via the first hearing device a reproduction of a second signal via the second hearing device is also carried out delayed by a defined time interval. The additional time delay is to be quantified such that the impression of a sound amplification is produced with a hearing system wearer.

Method and facility for reproducing synthetically generated signals by means of a binaural hearing system

A method performs noise suppression in hearing aids. A step of the method involves a first audio signal being split into a plurality of essentially disjunct frequency bands. A further step of the method involves a reference band being selected from the plurality of frequency bands, which reference band has an establishable first component of a speech signal. Another step involves a correlation between the reference band and a first frequency band being ascertained. A further step involves a value that indicates a second component of a speech signal in the first frequency band being ascertained on the basis of the correlation. Another step of the method involves a noise suppression being set in the first frequency band on the basis of the ascertained value.

Method and apparatus for noise suppression based on inter-subband correlation

A method for frequency-dependent noise suppression in an input signal is particularly suited for a hearing device. The input signal is distributed to a main signal path and an ancillary signal path. The presence of a useful signal component and, if a useful signal component is present, a parameter for a frequency of the useful signal component are assessed in the ancillary signal path. Noise in the input signal is suppressed in the main signal path by at least one infinite impulse response filter whose frequency response is implemented with a maximum absolute value in the range of that frequency of the useful signal component that is assessed using the parameter by determining a complex pole of the transfer function. The complex pole of the transfer function is determined by using the assessed parameter for the frequency of the useful signal component.

Method for frequency-dependent noise suppression of an input signal

Artifacts occurring during frequency compression, in particular in the case of hearing aids, are avoided or reduced. The method compresses the frequency of an audio signal having a fundamental frequency and at least one harmonic. The audio signal is provided in a plurality of frequency channels. The harmonic of the audio signal is shifted or mapped from a first frequency channel of the plurality of frequency channels into a second frequency channel. In addition a frequency which is likewise harmonic with respect to the fundamental frequency is estimated in the second frequency channel, the harmonic being shifted or mapped onto the estimated frequency. As a result the harmonic pattern is preserved in the compressed signal and the artifacts are reduced.

Method and device for frequency compression with harmonic correction

A method and device for frequency compression of audio signals to reduce the occurrence of artifacts. A component of the audio signal having a plurality of frequency channels is shifted from a first frequency channel into a second frequency channel. A dominant instantaneous frequency is determined in the first frequency channel. During shifting or mapping, first the entire first frequency channel, including the dominant instantaneous frequency, is shifted or mapped into the second frequency channel, wherein the dominant instantaneous frequency obtains an intermediate frequency position. A final frequency position for the dominant instantaneous frequency is determined using a predefined compression characteristic in the second frequency channel, starting from the frequency position of the dominant instantaneous frequency in the first frequency channel. Finally, the dominant instantaneous frequency is shifted or mapped from the intermediate frequency position to the final frequency position.

Method and device for frequency compression with selective frequency shifting

Artifacts are reduced during a frequency compression of an audio signal in a hearing device, in particular in a hearing aid. An amplitude information of a source channel is obtained, for example a spectral envelope, from several frequency channels of the audio signal. An amplitude corresponding to the amplitude information is then applied on a signal in a target channel of the several frequency channels, on which the source channel is represented during frequency compression.

Method and device for frequency compression

A hearing aid device suitable for executing a frequency compression is optimized to achieve a better assignment between channels of a source frequency range and channels of a target frequency range. A frequency range that can be transmitted by the hearing aid device is split into a number of frequency bands, after which a number of adjacent frequency bands are combined into at least one group of frequency bands and then one frequency band is selected from each group of frequency bands. The selected frequency bands are moved respectively into a target frequency band permanently assigned to the respective group. This prevents that a number of frequency bands from the source frequency range are shifted to the same target frequency band.

Method and device for frequency compression in a hearing aid

With a hearing aid device suitable for executing a frequency compression, the aim is for different input signals entering the hearing aid device to be easily distinguishable even after frequency compression. To this end it is proposed that form factors should be determined from source frequency bands in which the signal components of the input signal present therein are not included in the output signal, these being included in the amplification of selected frequency bands, the signal components of which are included in the output signal.

Hearing aid device for frequency compression

A method for the operation of a hearing device with at least one receiver includes carrying out a fixed second frequency shift of an electrical receiver signal supplying the receiver or of a predefinable frequency range of the receiver signal and a variable first frequency shift of the receiver signal or of a predefinable frequency range of the receiver signal. The first frequency shift is changed depending on the occurring feedback. A frequency shift which effectively prevents feedback is advantageously carried out, while artifacts of the frequency shift are minimized.

Method for the operation of a hearing device and hearing device with variable frequency shift

A method for operating a hearing device and a hearing device are provided. Electrical acoustic signals are generated by the hearing device from a recorded ambient sound, the electrical signals being weighted according to their degree of matching with a predefinable acoustic signal class and being mixed together to form an output sound signal. The weight of the acoustic signal is greater or lesser, the greater the extent of the degree of matching.

Method for operating a hearing device and hearing device with selectively adjusted signal weighing values

A novel system prevents surrounding sound to enter through a hearing apparatus, for instance through a ventilation opening, and reach an eardrum of the wearer in the form of interference sound. Contrary to auditory accessories designed especially to protect against noise, it is not possible for many hearing apparatus to compensate for such an interference sound by means of active noise cancellation. The hearing apparatuses do not have the special components needed. No compensation sound signal can therefore form with a correct phase. In accordance with the invention, a compensation sound is only generated for a relatively narrow spectral band. This spectral band is determined as a function of a hearing ability of the wearer of the hearing apparatus and/or as a function of a spectral distribution of the energy of the interference sound or a sound producing the interference sound. The improvement is particularly suited to compensating for an interference sound in a hearing device.

Method for compensating for an interference sound in a hearing apparatus, hearing apparatus, and method for adjusting a hearing apparatus

Switching a hearing device from a first operating state into a second operating state is to be configured in an acoustically-friendly fashion. A first output signal power of a first audio data stream is determined for the first operating state and a second output signal power of a second audio data stream is determined for the second d operating state. Furthermore, a fading function, which represents the overall output power during a fading process, and the initial value of which corresponds to the first output signal power and the end value of which corresponds to the second output signal power, is defined. The fading process is finally implemented by mixing the audio data streams such that the overall output power corresponds to the fading function or a corresponding approximation function. Volume jumps can thus be avoided to a large degree during a switchover between operating states.

Method for switching a hearing device between two operating states and hearing device

A method operates a hearing apparatus. The hearing apparatus contains a frequency separating filter characterized by a threshold frequency, which splits an input signal into a low-frequency signal component and a high-frequency signal component. The hearing apparatus further has a first device, which can be used to set the threshold frequency of the frequency separating filter so that artifacts in an output signal of the hearing apparatus are reduced.

Method for operating a hearing apparatus and hearing apparatus with a frequency separating filter

The object is to improve the effect of a noise reduction algorithm for hearing apparatuses and in particular hearing aids. This is achieved by a method wherein the input signal is modeled by a wanted signal model and a noise signal model. In addition, a signal statistic of the input signal is recorded in a data logging unit. The wanted signal model and/or the noise signal model can now be changed as a function of said signal statistic. Finally the noise component of the input signal is reduced using the noise signal model and/or the wanted signal model. This means that the models used can be continuously adapted to the hearing apparatus user's current situation.

Method for reducing noise using trainable models

A hearing aid with wireless signal transmission is provided which includes a radio reception unit for wireless reception of modulated and/or coded audio signals, a device to estimate the reception quality of the received audio signal, a device to generate an acoustic limit signal whose level increases when the estimated reception quality of the received audio signal decreases, a device to heterodyne a demodulated and/or decoded audio signal with the limit signal, and a device to output the audio signal heterodyned with the limit signal to a hearing aid wearer. To generate a limit signal, the hearing aid includes a device to generate an impulse response and a device to perform the operation of convolving the demodulated and/or decoded audio signal with the impulse response. This convolution produces a desired signal which appears closer to the hearing aid wearer when the estimated reception quality is better.

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Erlangen, Germany

Ulrich Kornagel