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Programmable digital hearing aid

  • US 5,608,803 A
  • Filed: 05/17/1995
  • Issued: 03/04/1997
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1993
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A binaural programmable digital hearing aid customized for a particular user comprising:

  • a) input means for sensing input analog audio signals, said input means including a first right microphone directed to the right side of the particular user and a second left microphone directed to the left side of the particular user;

    b) audio codec connected to said input means for converting said analog signals into digital words;

    c) at least one programmable digital signal processor connected to said audio codec for shaping the speech spectrum of said input analog signals by manipulating said digital words according to a customized filter algorithm programmed into said at least one digital signal processor to create a variable number of finite impulse response filters based upon responses initially elicited from the particular user, said algorithm enabling said at least one digital signal processor to divide a 9 KHz frequency band of said input analog signals into a variable number of discrete frequency bands based upon the hearing loss of the particular user and to set the gain of each of said variable number of discrete frequency bands also based upon the hearing loss of the particular user, as well as to vary the upper and lower cut-offs of each discrete frequency band also based upon the hearing loss of the particular user;

    d) at least one programmable read only memory connected to said at least one programmable digital signal processor for inputting said customized filter algorithm to said at least one programmable digital signal processor based upon responses initially elicited from the particular user;

    e) digital-to-analog converter provided in said audio codec for converting said manipulated digital words to output analog audio signals; and

    f) output means connected to said audio codec for transmitting said output analog signals to the particular user, said output means including a first channel directed to the right ear of the particular user and a second channel directed to the left ear of the particular user.

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