Method for quantitatively measuring a hearing defect

• US 4,637,402 A
• Filed: 12/01/1983
• Issued: 01/20/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Roger A. Adelman
• Inventors: Adelman, Roger A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Howell, Kyle L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US06/556,894
• Time in Patent Office: 1,146 Days
• Field of Search: 128/746, 73/585, 179/107 FD
• US Class Current: 600/559
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 11/04 Methods or devices for enabling ear patients to achieve auditory perception through physiological senses other than hearing sense, e.g. through the touch sense electronic stimulation of auditory nerves A61N1/36036
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/03 Synergistic effects of band splitting and sub-band processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/353 Frequency, e.g. frequency shift or compression
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/925 Neural network

Abstract

A method is described for measuring the hearing deficit of a person preparatory to providing a hearing aid designed in accordance with analysis of the deficit, wherein frequency bands over which hearing level is unacceptable are determined, the bands are then shifted in harmonic sustaining manner to bands over which hearing level is acceptable, and thereafter over all frequency bands parameters necessary to shape, amplify, compress and adaptively filter background noise in continuously variable and adaptive fashion so as to produce an aurally optimized signal are adjusted and recorded.

Claims

1. A method of providing a quantitative measure of a hearing defect of a patient in relationship to generalized signal processing parameters, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining and recording frequency bands to which the patient'"'"'s auditory system responds at a predetermined level and frequency bands to which the patient'"'"'s auditory system is unable to respond at the predetermined level through the agency of a swept frequency tone generator operated at incremental intensity levels;

(b) providing a number of frequency band limited signal processing paths in accordance with said determining and recording step, the processing paths being operative to generate a signal responsive to those frequency bands to which the patient'"'"'s auditory system responds at the predetermined level;

(c) adjusting and recording the parameters necessary to shift in a harmonic sustaining manner the frequency bands in which the patient'"'"'s auditory system does not respond to frequency bands in which the patient'"'"'s auditory system does respond; and

(d) adjusting and recording within each frequency band processing path and in the aggregrate of all said frequency band processing paths at least such parameters as are necessary to shape, linearly or nonlinearly amplify, amplitude compress, and adaptively filter background noise from the signals generated by the processing paths in a continuously variable and adaptively fashion so as to produce an aurally recognizable signal to the patient.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of recording the patient'"'"'s responsive and non-responsive frequency bands includes the step of requiring the patient to displace an external transducer in response to said non-responsive frequency band.

3. A method as recited in claim 2 wherein the recording of the patient'"'"'s responsive and non-responsive frequency bands includes the step of operating a plotting device which is responsive to the generated signal'"'"'s intensity and to the displacement of the external transducer.