Method for adapting the transmission characteristic of a hearing aid to the hearing impairment of the wearer

• US 5,835,611 A
• Filed: 06/02/1997
• Issued: 11/10/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Geers Hã¶Rakustik AG & Company KG (Sonova Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Haubold, Jorg, Kaiser, Eduard, Weidner, Roland, Kachler, Manfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, PING
• Application Number:
  US08/867,522
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 381/312, 381/314, 381/315, 381/320, 381/321, 381/60, 381/58, 381/59, 73/585, 600/559
• US Class Current: 381/321
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/30 Monitoring or testing of hearing aids, e.g. functioning, settings, battery power
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/70 Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/008 Visual indication of individual signal levels visual indication of stereophonic sound image H04S7/40

Abstract

In a method for the adaptation of the transmission characteristic of a hearing aid to the hearing aid impairment of a hearing aid wearer using a personal computer having a pointer device such as a mouse, the acoustician selects segments of the graphic presentation of the hearing aid parameters with the mouse, modifies the graphics point-by-point or segment-by-segment by displacement of the mouse and thereby correspondingly co-modifies appertaining, displayable parameters. The hearing aid can be adapted to reach a target characteristic by means of one adaptation procedure, followed if necessary by further analogous fine adaptation procedures.

Claims

1. A method for adapting the transmission characteristic of a hearing aid to a hearing impairment of a wearer of the hearing aid, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a hearing aid having an adjustable, current transmission characteristic, said hearing aid having a plurality of variable operating parameters individually settable at respective values which determine said transmission characteristic;

(b) establishing a communication link between said hearing aid and a computer having a display screen and a freely movable pointer device manipulable to move a pointer on said display screen in arbitrary directions;

(c) presenting a graphics display on said display screen comprising a plurality of graphics segments respectively identifying said variable operating parameters;

(d) simultaneously presenting an additional graphics display on said display screen comprising said current transmission characteristic, to be adjusted, of said hearing aid;

(e) identifying a target transmission characteristic to which said current transmission characteristic is to be adjusted;

(f) manipulating said pointer device to position said pointer on said display screen on said current transmission characteristic and moving said pointer in a direction necessary to adjust at least a portion of said current transmission characteristic into conformity with said target transmission characteristic, the adjustment of said at least a portion of said current transmission characteristic requiring modification of one of said parameters displayed in one of said graphics segments;

(g) simultaneously with the manipulation of said pointer device, modifying said one of said parameters in said computer to a modified value as required by the adjustment of said current transmission characteristic, and altering the graphics segment for said one of said parameters to display said modified value for that parameter;

(h) repeating steps (f) and (g) until said current transmission characteristic conforms to said target transmission characteristic; and

(i) transmitting each modified value of the respective operating parameters to said hearing aid via said communication link to set said variable operating parameters in said hearing aid respectively at said modified values.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising the additional steps of:

presenting a third graphics display on said display screen comprising said target transmission characteristic; and

repeating steps (f) and (g) multiple times, and with each repetition of step (f), manipulating said pointer device to position said pointer increasingly closer to the displayed target transmission characteristic.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (a) is further defined by providing said hearing aid with mechanically manipulable exterior controls for respectively setting said operating parameters, and wherein said method comprises the additional step of:

in the display of the graphics segment for each operating parameter, displaying a pictorial representation of the mechanically manipulable control for setting that parameter together with displaying numerical representations of said modified values, and changing said pictorial representation of the mechanically manipulable control dependent on the modified value of the operating parameter associated therewith.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein at least one of said mechanically manipulable controls comprises a sliding switch, and wherein said pictorial representation comprises a pictorial representation of said sliding switch.

5. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein at least one of said mechanically manipulable controls comprises a thumbwheel and wherein said pictorial representation comprises a pictorial representation of said thumbwheel.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (a) is further defined by providing said hearing aid with a plurality of further, non-variable operating parameters, and comprising the additional step of displaying said non-variable operating parameters on said picture screen in addition to said variable operating parameters.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising the additional step of displaying said pointer in the form of pointer symbol which identifies a variable operating parameter, of said plurality of variable operating parameters, which is to be modified upon the adjustment of said at least a portion of said current transmission characteristic requiring modification of that operating parameter.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 comprising the additional step of providing said pointer symbol with an alphanumeric designation of the operating parameter to be modified.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising the additional steps of:

providing said pointer device with a trigger actuator; and

actuating said trigger actuator when said pointer has been manipulated to an intended position as a pre-condition for enabling implementation of step (g).