The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 23, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 23, 1994
Applicant:
Inventors:
Arnold S. Lippa, Tucson, AZ (US);
James A. Nunley, Scottsdale, AZ (US);
Assignee:
Hearing Innovations Incorporated, Tucson, AZ (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A61F 1/106 ; A61N 1/00 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
A61F 1/106 ; A61N 1/00 ;
Abstract
A method and apparatus for treating tinnitus involves generating a noise signal to mask the ringing or buzzing in the ears caused by tinnitus and transposing the noise signal into the ultrasonic frequency range. As such, the masking signal effectively masks the tinnitus noise without interfering with the subject's perception of normal sounds such as human speech. In an alternative embodiment, human speech is transduced into electrical signals, transposed to the ultrasonic frequency range, and physically applied to the patient while tinnitus masking signals in the auditory range are applied to the patient.