HEARING AID WITH SPATIAL SIGNAL ENHANCEMENT

• US 20140348331A1
• Filed: 05/24/2013
• Published: 11/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GN Hearing A/S (GN Store Nord A/S)
• Original Assignee: GN Resound A/S (GN Store Nord A/S)
• Inventors: GRAN, Karl-Fredrik Johan, PEDERSEN, Brian Dam
• Granted Patent: US 10,425,747 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/23.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/00 Deaf-aid sets , i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception electrical stimulation of auditory nerves to promote the auditory function A61N1/36038; optical stimulation of auditory nerves to promote the auditory function A61N5/0622
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/552 Binaural
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/01 Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD]

Abstract

A new binaural hearing aid system is provided with a hearing aid in which signals that are received from external devices, such as a spouse microphone, a media player, a hearing loop system, a teleconference system, a radio, a TV, a telephone, a device with an alarm, etc., are filtered with binaural filters in such a way that a user perceives the signals to be emitted by respective sound sources positioned in different spatial positions in the sound environment of the user, whereby improved spatial separation of the different sound sources is facilitated.

Claims

1. A binaural hearing aid system comprising:

a first input for provision of a first audio input signal representing sound output by a first sound source and received at the first input;

a second input for provision of a second audio input signal representing sound output by a second sound source and received at the second input;

a first binaural filter for filtering the first audio input signal and configured to output a first right ear signal for a right ear of a user of the binaural hearing aid system and a first left ear signal for a left ear of the user, wherein the first right ear signal and the first left ear signal are (1) phase shifted with a first phase shift with relation to each other, (2) equal to the first audio input signal multiplied with a first right gain and a first left gain, respectively, the first left gain being different from the first right gain, or (3) equal to the first audio input signal multiplied with the first right gain and the first left gain, respectively, and phase shifted with the first phase shift with relation to each other;

a first ear receiver; and

a second ear receiver;

wherein one of the first ear receiver and the second ear receiver is configured to provide an acoustic signal for transmission towards an eardrum of the first ear of a user of the binaural hearing aid system based on the first right ear signal, and the other one of the first ear receiver and the second receiver is configured to provide an acoustic signal for transmission towards an eardrum of the second ear of the user of the binaural hearing aid system based on the first left ear signal.

2. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 1, wherein the first ear receiver and the second ear receiver are configured to provide the acoustic signals so that the first sound source and the second sound source will be perceived by the user as being spatially separated from each other.

3. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 1, wherein the first phase shift has a value that is anywhere from 150°

to 210°

.

4. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 1, wherein the first phase shift corresponds to an azimuth directional change that is anywhere from −

90°

to 90°

.

5. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 1, wherein one of the first right ear signal and the first left ear signal is phase shifted with relation to the first audio input signal, and the other one of the first right ear signal and the first left ear signal is the first audio input signal.

6. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 1, further comprising

a second binaural filter for filtering the second audio input signal and configured to output a second right ear signal for the right ear and a second left ear signal for the left ear, wherein the second right ear signal and the second left ear signal are (1) phase shifted with a second phase shift different from the first phase shift with relation to each other, (2) equal to the second audio input signal multiplied with a second right gain and a second left gain, respectively, the second left gain being different from the second right gain, or (3) equal to the second audio input signal multiplied with the second right gain and the second left gain, respectively, and phase shifted with the second phase shift with relation to each other;

wherein one of the first ear receiver and the second ear receiver is configured to receive the second right ear signal, and the other one of the first ear receiver and the second ear receiver is configured to receive the second left ear signal.

7. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 1, comprising:

a first hearing aid comprising

the first input,

the first binaural filter, and

the first ear receiver; and

a second hearing aid comprising

the second ear receiver.

8. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 6, comprising:

a first hearing aid comprising

the first input,

the first binaural filter,

the second input,

the second binaural filter, and

the first ear receiver; and

a second hearing aid comprising

the second ear receiver.

9. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 6, comprising:

a first hearing aid comprising

the first input,

the first binaural filter, and

the first ear receiver; and

a second hearing aid comprising

the second input,

the second binaural filter, and

the second ear receiver.

10. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 1, wherein the first binaural filter is a HRTF filter.

11. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 6, wherein the second binaural filter is a HRTF filter.

12. The binaural hearing aid system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first audio input signal and the second audio input signal is a monaural audio signal.

13. A method of binaural signal enhancement in a binaural hearing aid system, comprising:

binaurally filtering a first audio input signal representing sound from a first sound source into a first right ear signal for a right ear of a user of the binaural hearing aid system and a first left ear signal for a left ear of the user, wherein the first right ear signal and the first left ear signal are (1) phase shifted with a first phase shift with relation to each other, (2) are equal to the first audio input signal multiplied with a first right gain and a first left gain, respectively, the first left gain being different from the first right gain, or (3) equal to the first audio input signal multiplied with the first right gain and the first left gain, respectively, and phase shifted with the first phase shift with relation to each other;

providing the first right ear signal and the first left ear signal to the right and left ears, respectively, of the user, and

providing a second audio input signal representing sound output by a second source to both the right and left ears of the user.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the acts of providing are performed so that the first sound source and the second sound source will be perceived by the user as being spatially separated from each other.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

binaurally filtering the second audio input signal into a second right ear signal for the right ear and a second left ear signal for the left ear, wherein the second right ear signal and the second left ear signal are (1) phase shifted with a second phase shift different from the first phase shift with relation to each other, (2) equal to the second audio input signal multiplied with a second right gain and a second left gain, respectively, the second left gain being different from the second right gain, or (3) equal to the second audio input signal multiplied with the second right gain and the second left gain, respectively, and phase shifted with the second phase shift different from the first phase shift with relation to each other;

wherein the act of providing the second audio input signal to both the right and left ears comprises providing the second right ear signal and the second left ear signal to the right and left ears, respectively, of the user.