Automatic sensitivity control
First Claim
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1. A method for processing in an auditory prosthesis an audio signal to optimize the intelligibility of an output of said auditory prosthesis as perceived by a user of said auditory prosthesis, comprising the steps of:
- a) amplifying said audio signal by means of a gain adjustable amplifier to produce a gain adjusted audio signal;
b) determining an average noise floor of said audio signal wherein said average noise floor is indicative of the lowest noise level within a predetermined period;
c) adjusting the gain of said gain adjustable amplifier by means of a feedback control arrangement responsive to said gain adjusted audio signal and said average noise floor; and
d) conveying said gain adjusted audio signal to the remainder of said auditory prosthesis for further processing.
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Abstract
Again control arrangement for an auditory prosthesis, such as a hearing aid or cochlear prosthesis, is disclosed. The output of a controlled amplifier 11 is processed so as to derive an average noise floor level. This is compared to a predetermined level, and the gain adjusted slowly up or down in response to the comparison. Hardware and software implementations are disclosed.
100 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method for processing in an auditory prosthesis an audio signal to optimize the intelligibility of an output of said auditory prosthesis as perceived by a user of said auditory prosthesis, comprising the steps of:
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a) amplifying said audio signal by means of a gain adjustable amplifier to produce a gain adjusted audio signal; b) determining an average noise floor of said audio signal wherein said average noise floor is indicative of the lowest noise level within a predetermined period; c) adjusting the gain of said gain adjustable amplifier by means of a feedback control arrangement responsive to said gain adjusted audio signal and said average noise floor; and d) conveying said gain adjusted audio signal to the remainder of said auditory prosthesis for further processing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for processing a digital audio signal in an auditory prosthesis by means of a microprocessor and software in order to maximize the intelligibility of sounds delivered to a user, comprising the steps of:
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a) performing computations on said digital audio signal to apply gain to said digital audio signal thereby generating a gain adjusted digital audio signal wherein the degree of gain applied is subject to increment or decrement; b) performing computations on said gain adjusted digital audio signal to produce a digital envelope signal; c) performing computations on said digital envelope signal to generate a noise floor value characteristic of a minimum of said digital envelope signal during a preset period of time; d) comparing said minimum of said digital envelope signal with a breakpoint value set by a user; and e) increasing the gain applied to said digital audio signal if said noise floor value is less than said breakpoint value or decreasing the gain applied to said digital audio signal if said noise floor value is greater than said breakpoint value. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for processing in an auditory prosthesis an audio signal which includes a noise component to optimize the intelligibility of the output of said auditory prosthesis as perceived by a user of said auditory prostheses, comprising:
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a) a gain adjustable amplifier to operatively amplify said audio signal thereby producing a gain adjusted audio signal; b) a feedback control arrangement responsive to said gain adjusted audio signal to operatively adjust the gain of said gain adjustable amplifier, including; means for determining an average noise floor of said gain adjusted audio signal, said average noise floor corresponding to the lowest level of said noise component; and means for providing a control signal to said gain adjustable amplifier so as to vary the gain of said gain adjustable amplifier; and c) means for conveying said gain adjusted audio signal to the remainder of said auditory prosthesis for further processing. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28)
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24. An apparatus for processing a digital audio signal in an auditory prosthesis by means of a microprocessor and software in order to maximize the intelligibility of sounds delivered to a user, said software containing instructions comprising the steps of:
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a) performing computations on said digital audio signal to apply gain to said digital audio signal thereby generating a gain adjusted digital audio signal wherein the degree of gain applied is subject to increment or decrement; b) performing computations on said gain adjusted digital audio signal to produce a digital envelope signal; c) performing computations on said digital envelope signal to generate a noise floor value characteristic of a minimum of said digital envelope signal during a preset period of time; d) comparing said minimum of said digital envelope signal with a breakpoint value set by said user; and e) increasing the gain applied to said digital audio signal if said noise floor value is less than said breakpoint value or decreasing the gain applied to said digital audio signal if said noise floor value is greater than said breakpoint value. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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29. An apparatus for processing in an auditory prosthesis an audio signal having a noise component to optimize the intelligibility of the output of said auditory prosthesis as perceived by a user of said auditory prosthesis, comprising:
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an amplifier having a variable gain controlled by a gain control signal, said amplifier receiving said audio signal and producing in response a gain adjusted audio signal; a noise floor detector receiving said audio signal and being constructed to detect a noise floor of said noise component by determining the lowest level of said noise component over a predetermined time period; a gain control circuit coupled to said noise floor detector and generating said gain control signal responsive to said noise floor; and an output terminal transmitting said gain adjusted audio signal for perception by the user. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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Specification