Portable system for programming hearing aids

• US 20050196002A1
• Filed: 01/14/2005
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Starkey Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Micro Ear Technology Incorporated (Starkey Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Preves, David A., Hagen, Lawrence T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,451,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/314
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/502 using analog signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/558 Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/70 Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting

Abstract

A hearing aid programming system with a host computer for providing at least one hearing aid program and having at least one personal computer memory card international association (PCMCIA) defined port in combination with a PCMCIA card inserted in the port and arranged for interacting with the host computer for controlling programming of a hearing aid. The host computer provides power and ground to the PCMCIA card and provides for downloading the hearing aid programming software to the PCMCIA card upon initialization. A microprocessor on the PCMCIA card executes the programming software. A portable programming arrangement utilizes a portable multiprogram unit to store one or more hearing aid programs which may be downloaded from the host computer. The portable multiprogram unit includes a wireless interconnection for transmitting selected ones of the programs to hearing aids to be programmed.

Claims

1-27. -27. (canceled)

28. A hearing aid programmer comprising:

a connector having lines to receive power and data signals from a host computer;

memory to store hearing aid programming software from the host computer;

a processor coupled to the memory; and

an interface to couple the processor to a hearing aid, wherein the processor in conjunction with the hearing aid programming software is configured to interact with the hearing aid to determine signals to apply to the hearing aid.

29. The hearing aid programmer of claim 28, wherein the memory is configured to store the hearing aid program software received from the host computer during at least an initialization of phase of a hearing aid programming operation.

30. The hearing aid programmer of claim 28, wherein the memory is configured as nonvolatile memory to store the hearing aid programming software to program the hearing aid.

31. The hearing aid programmer of claim 28, wherein the connector having lines is treated as a serial data port.

32. The hearing aid programmer of claim 28, wherein the memory and the processor are configured to read information from the hearing aid.

33. The hearing aid programmer of claim 32, wherein the memory and the processor are configured to determine, from the information, a level at which to apply analog voltage signals to the hearing aid.

34. The hearing aid programmer of claim 33, wherein the memory and the processor are configured to apply the analog voltage signals selectively to a left hearing or a right hearing aid.

35. The hearing aid programmer of claim 28, wherein the interface is configured to couple to a left hearing and a right hearing aid.

36. An system for programming hearing aids, the apparatus comprising:

a connection having lines to receive power and data signals from a host computer;

a processor to interact with the host computer;

an interface; and

a portable unit that communicates with the processor through the interface, the portable unit having memory to store a program to program a hearing aid.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the portable unit includes circuits to apply power to erase programs in the memory to initialize the memory to receive programs to program a hearing aid.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the portable unit is configured to couple to the interface with a removable jack.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the portable unit is configured to receive hearing aid program signals from the interface by a cable coupling the interface to the portable unit.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein the apparatus includes a second memory coupled to the processor to provide initialization instructions upon coupling to the host computer.

41. The system of claim 36, wherein the portable unit includes circuitry to provide wireless communications with the hearing aid.

42. The system of claim 36, wherein the interface is configured to provide digital hearing aid programs to the portable unit.