Hearing aid including a cochlear implant

• US 5,800,475 A
• Filed: 05/29/1996
• Issued: 09/01/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bertin & CIE
• Original Assignee: Bertin & CIE
• Inventors: Jules, Fardeau Michel Gustave
• Primary Examiner(s): Jastrzab, Jeffrey R.
• Application Number:
  US08/654,872
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 607/55-57, 600/25, 381/68-68.3, 381/69.2, 395/2.2, 395/2.8
• US Class Current: 607/57
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36038 Cochlear stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/505 using digital signal processing

Abstract

The hearing aid includes n electrodes for being implanted in the cochlea at n different points chosen to allow identification by the brain of multiple frequency bands of a sound spectrum. A microphone receives the sound spectrum and outputs a sound signal. The instantaneous energy in the frequency bands in the sound signal is measured. The electrodes are operated cyclically as a function of the energy measured in the frequency bands and in an order determined in accordance with a time distribution of the energy in the frequency bands.

Claims

1. A hearing aid comprising:

n electrodes for being implanted in a cochlea at n different points chosen to allow identification by a brain of a plurality of different frequency bands of a sound spectrum;

a microphone for receiving the sound spectrum and outputting a sound signal representing the sound spectrum;

energy measuring means for measuring an instantaneous energy of the sound signal in said frequency bands;

electrode operating means for cyclically operating said n electrodes as a function of the instantaneous energy measured in the respective frequency bands;

time distribution determining means for determining a time distribution within the sound signal of the instantaneous energy in each of said frequency bands; and

electrode exciting means for exciting said electrodes at each cycle in an order corresponding to said time distribution.

2. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein said time distribution determining means comprises means for applying a wavelet transform to said sound signal.

3. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 2, wherein said electrode exciting means comprises means for producing trains of successive pulses constituting a frame in which said pulses are defined as a function of said instantaneous energy and of said time distribution.

4. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 3, wherein said electrode exciting means further comprises means for defining said pulses by at least one of their duration, their frequency of recurrence and their relative phase.

5. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 4, wherein said time distribution is defined with respect to a time reference.

6. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 5, wherein said time reference is a start of a first pulse of each of the frames.

7. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 2, wherein said electrode exciting means comprises means for producing a succession of binary words comprising command cues for operating said electrodes, the command cues indicating at least one of an amplitude of pulses to be applied to the electrodes and an energy required to be contained in said pulses.

8. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electrode exciting means comprises means for producing trains of successive pulses constituting a frame in which said pulses are defined as a function of said instantaneous energy and of said time distribution.

9. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 8, wherein said electrode exciting means further comprises means for defining said pulses by at least one of their duration, their frequency of recurrence and their relative phase.

10. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 9, wherein said time distribution is defined with respect to a time reference.

11. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 10, wherein said time reference is a start of a first pulse of each of the frames.

12. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electrode exciting means comprises means for producing a succession of binary words comprising command cues for operating said electrodes, the command cues indicating at least one of an amplitude of pulses to be applied to the electrodes and an energy required to be contained in said pulses.

13. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 1, further comprising ear modeling means for controlling the electrode exciting means to excite the electrodes in accordance with at least one of a physiological behavior of an ear of a normal hearer and a behavior of the electrodes.

14. The hearing aid as claimed in claim 1, further comprising stationarity processing means for controlling the electrode exciting means to excite the electrodes in accordance with an ambient noise.