IMPLANTED HEARING AIDS

• US 3,764,748 A
• Filed: 05/19/1972
• Issued: 10/09/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jack P. Branch, Noel O. Durham
• Original Assignee: Jack P. Branch, Noel O. Durham
• Inventors: Branch, Jack P., Durham, Noel O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Blakeslee, Ralph D.
• Application Number:
  US05/254,930
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• Field of Search: 179/17R,17E 128/1R 3/1
• US Class Current: 607/57
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/183 Ear parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/31 Aspects of the use of accumulators in hearing aids, e.g. rechargeable batteries or fuel cells
• 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

Abstract

Several hearing aid configurations for implantation within the middle ear cavity are disclosed. Each hearing aid is minute in size and is joined in operative relationship interiorly of the ear drum to the ossicle bone chain situated within the middle ear cavity. Each hearing aid is characterized by: (1) picking up or '"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"'reading'"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"' auditory signals off the ear drum, (2) subsequently amplifying and/or transmitting such signals directly to appropriate sound receiving mechanisms, natural or solid-state or both, located on the oval window, the round window, or the promontory leading into the inner ear, and (3) relying upon the automatic gain control (AGC) function performed by the tensors and flexors of the ossicle bone chain to prevent loud sounds from damaging the ear drum.

Claims

1. An implantable, sound powered hearing aid comprising:

a. transducer means positioned interiorly of the ear drum in proximity to the oval window within the middle ear cavity, b. said transducer means being pressure sensitive so as to generate a variable voltage output in response to the application of pressure thereto, c. stylus means secured to either the hammer, anvil or stirrup of the ossicle bone chain located in the middle ear cavity in operative relationship to said pressure sensitive transducer means, d. said stylus means being pressed against said transducer means by the ossicle bone chain with a variable force when sound strikes the ear drum to thereby produce a variable voltage, and e. conducting means to lead said variable voltage to the area of the oval window to electrically stimulate same.

2. a power source for energizing said microphone,

3. The hearing aid as defined in claim 1 further including a diode positioned in the area of the oval window, said conducting means leading said variable voltage to said diode which rectifies same into pulsating D.C. voltage and thus stimulates the auditory nerve.

4. conducting means to lead the variable voltage produced by said sensor and said amplifying means to the area of the oval window to electrically stimulate same.

5. The hearing aid as defined in claim 2 further including an auxiliary power supply, connected to said piezoelectric crystal, to impress its voltage thereupon.

6. The hearing aid as defined in claim 5 further including a tuning circuit connected between said pressure sensitive transducer means and said piezoelectric cryStal and in operative relationship to said power supply, said tuning circuit adjusting the frequency at which said crystal will vibrate.

7. The hearing aid as defined in claim 5 further including recharging means for said auxiliary power supply, said recharging means comprising a button under the skin of the wearer of the hearing aid, a stylus secured to said button, and a pressure sensitive transducer means situated in operative relationship to said transducer means, said transducer means connected to said auxiliary power supply to supply a variable voltage thereto, said button being manually depressed to press the stylus against the transducer means whenever said auxiliary power supply requires recharging.

8. The hearing aid as defined in claim 2 wherein said stylus means comprises a piezoelectric bar with a pin extending outwardly therefrom.

9. The hearing aid as defined in claim 8 wherein said piezoelectric bar produces a variable voltage as said bar is stressed when sound striking the ear drum is transmitted through the ossicle bone chain, and circuit means for amplifying the variable voltage before applying same to the oval window area.

10. The hearing aid as defined in claim 1 wherein the transducer means are held in a rectangular package, said package being positioned in the opening of the stapes of said ossicle bone chain with one corner of the package bearing against the footplate of the stapes.

11. The hearing aid as defined in claim 1 further including a resilient fluid filled sack interposed between the ossicle bone chain and the area of the oval window and a piezoelectric crystal disposed thereupon, said conducting means impressing said variable voltage produced by said pressure sensitive device upon said crystal which vibrates atop the sack and transmits said vibrations therethrough to the area of the oval window.

12. The hearing aid as defined in claim 11 further including a collar situated atop said transducer means, said collar engaging the free end of the anvil of the ossicle bone chain.

13. The hearing aid as defined in claim 1 wherein said transducer means and said stylus means are slipped between the joint formed by the anvil and stirrup of the ossicle bone chain.

14. An implanted hearing aid comprising:

a. a transmitting unit encased in a housing and positioned within the ear canal, said transmitting unit including;

15. The hearing aid as defined in claim 14 further including a piezoelectric crystal positioned in the area of the oval window, said conducting means impressing said variable voltage upon said crystal to cause same to vibrate and thus stimulate the auditory nerve.

16. The hearing aid as defined in claim 14 further including a diode positioned in the area of the oval window, said conducting means leading said variable voltage to said diode which rectifies same into pulsating D.C. voltage and thus stimulates the auditory nerve.

17. An improved hearing aid comprising:

a. transmitting means secured to the inner surface of the eardrum in the area of the junction defined by the hammer and the ear drum, said transmitting means radiating magnetic waves into the middle ear cavity, b. receiving means situated within the middle ear cavity on the promontory in the area of the oval window, said receiving means including;

18. The hearing aid of claim 17 wherein the transmitting means is a permanent magnet.

19. The hearing aid of claim 17 wherein the transmitting means is a fragment of phosphor.

20. The hearing aid as defined in claim 17 wherein the transmitting means is a radioactive isotope.

21. The hearing aid as defined in claim 17 wherein the magnetically responsive means is a field-effect transistor gate.

22. The hearing aid as defined in claim 17 wherein the magnetically responsive means is a Hall-effect element.

23. The hearing aid as defined in claim 17 further including a piezoelectric crystal positioned in the area of the oval window, said conducting means impressing said variable voltage upon said crystal to cause same to vibrate and thus stimulate the auditory nerve.

24. The hearing aid as defined in claim 17 further including a diode positioned in the area of the oval window, said conducting means leading said variable voltage to said diode which rectifies same into pulsating D.C. voltage and thus stimulates the auditory nerve.

25. An implanted hearing aid comprising:

a. a transmitting unit encased in a housing and positioned within the ear canal, said transmitting unit including;

26. An implanted hearing aid for the treatment of tinnitus comprising:

a. a transmitting unit encased in a housing and positioned within the ear canal, said transmitting unit including;