Hearing aid
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for assisting hearing, the apparatus comprising:
- an in-ear component for insertion into an ear canal and comprising an electromagnet; and
a bone implant for mounting in bone bordering the ear canal, the bone implant comprising a housing and a magnetic mass suspended within the housing such that vibrations of the magnetic mass along a first axis are mechanically coupled into the housing;
wherein the in-ear component is configured to drive its electromagnet so as to, when the in-ear component is located in the ear canal with the electromagnet adjacent to the bone implant, cause the magnetic mass to vibrate along the first axis within the housing; and
wherein the bone implant is adapted for implantation such that the first axis is substantially orthogonal to the axis of the ear canal adjacent to the temporal bone, and the in-ear component is shaped such that, when the in-ear component is located in the ear canal with the electromagnet adjacent to the bone implant, the magnetic axis of the electromagnet in use is aligned with the first axis.
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Abstract
Apparatus for assisting hearing, the apparatus comprising: an in-ear component for insertion into the ear canal and comprising an electromagnet; and a bone implant for mounting in the temporal bone bordering the ear canal, the bone implant comprising a housing and a magnetic mass suspended within the housing such that vibrations of the magnetic mass are mechanically coupled into the housing; wherein the in-ear component is configured to drive its electromagnet so as to, when the in-ear component is located in an ear canal with the electromagnet adjacent to the bone implant, cause the magnetic mass to vibrate within the housing.
19 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for assisting hearing, the apparatus comprising:
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an in-ear component for insertion into an ear canal and comprising an electromagnet; and a bone implant for mounting in bone bordering the ear canal, the bone implant comprising a housing and a magnetic mass suspended within the housing such that vibrations of the magnetic mass along a first axis are mechanically coupled into the housing; wherein the in-ear component is configured to drive its electromagnet so as to, when the in-ear component is located in the ear canal with the electromagnet adjacent to the bone implant, cause the magnetic mass to vibrate along the first axis within the housing; and wherein the bone implant is adapted for implantation such that the first axis is substantially orthogonal to the axis of the ear canal adjacent to the temporal bone, and the in-ear component is shaped such that, when the in-ear component is located in the ear canal with the electromagnet adjacent to the bone implant, the magnetic axis of the electromagnet in use is aligned with the first axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification