CONTRALATERAL SOUND CAPTURE WITH RESPECT TO STIMULATION ENERGY SOURCE

• US 20150110322A1
• Filed: 10/23/2013
• Published: 04/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cochlear Limited
• Original Assignee: Cochlear Limited
• Inventors: ANDERSSON, Marcus
• Granted Patent: US 11,412,334 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/326
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/552 Binaural
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/606 acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/607 of earhooks

Abstract

A hearing prosthesis system, including a sound capture device configured to capture a sound and generate a signal based on the captured sound, and a vibratory portion configured to vibrate in response to the signal to evoke a hearing percept via bone conduction, wherein the system is configured to capture the sound on a first side of a recipient where the sound capture device is located and transfer the signal to a second side of the recipient where the vibratory portion is located.

Claims

1. A hearing prosthesis system, comprising:

a sound capture device configured to capture a sound and generate a signal based on the captured sound; and

a vibratory portion configured to vibrate in response to the signal to evoke a hearing percept via bone conduction, wherein

the system is configured to capture the sound on a first side of a recipient where the sound capture device is located and transfer the signal to a second side of the recipient where the vibratory portion is located.

2. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 1, wherein:

the first side is one of a right side or a left side of a recipient'"'"'s head; and

the second side is the other of a right side or a left side of a recipient'"'"'s head.

3. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 1, wherein:

the system includes a behind-the-ear device; and

the vibratory portion is part of the behind-the-ear device.

4. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 1, wherein:

the behind-the-ear device includes an adhesive configured to adhere to skin of a recipient.

5. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 1, wherein:

the system is a totally external hearing prosthesis system.

6. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 1, wherein:

the system includes a percutaneous bone conduction device; and

the vibratory portion is part of the percutaneous bone conduction device.

7. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 1, wherein:

the system includes a passive transcutaneous bone conduction device; and

the vibratory portion is part of the passive transcutaneous bone conduction device.

8. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 1, wherein:

the system includes an active transcutaneous bone conduction device; and

the vibratory portion is part of the active transcutaneous bone conduction device.

9. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 1, further comprising:

a speaker portion configured to evoke a hearing percept via an acoustic pressure wave based on the signal.

10. The hearing prosthesis system of claim 9, wherein:

a speaker portion is located in a non-in-the-ear component of the hearing prosthesis.

12. A method, comprising:

capturing sound at a first side of a recipient; and

evoking a hearing percept via bone conduction with energy originating on an opposite side of the recipient based on the captured sound.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

evoking a hearing percept via acoustic conduction on the opposite side of the recipient based on the captured sound.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

evoking a hearing percept via vibrations travelling through at least one of skin and cartilage to the tympanic membrane on the opposite side of the recipient based on the captured sound.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the evoked hearing percept via bone conduction is evoked utilizing a vibrator; and

the evoked hearing percept via acoustic conduction results from the vibrator.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the hearing percept evoked via bone conduction is a high-frequency hearing percept.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the hearing percept evoked via acoustic conduction is evoked without any prosthetic component in the outer ear canal of the opposite side of the recipient.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

evoking a hearing percept by vibrating the tympanic membrane of the recipient of the side of the recipient having the at least partially functioning cochlea.

26. A behind-the-ear device, comprising:

a vibratory portion configured to vibrate in response to an audio signal to evoke a hearing percept via bone conduction; and

a speaker portion configured to evoke a hearing percept via an acoustic pressure wave, wherein

the behind-the-ear device is a totally external device.

27. The behind-the-ear device of claim 26, wherein:

the speaker portion is located on a non-in-the-ear component of the device.

28. The behind-the-ear device of claim 26, wherein:

the speaker portion is located on a temple mount of the behind-the-ear device.