Method for in-situ measuring and correcting or adjusting the output signal of a hearing aid with a model processor and hearing aid employing such a method
First Claim
1. A method to measure and correct or adjust a sound signal presented to an eardrum by means of a hearing aid in its operational position, said hearing aid including at least one microphone, at least one digital signal processing system comprising at least one digital signal processor for transforming an incoming sound into a transformed signal in conformity with a desired transformation function, said hearing aid having at least one receiver, at least one sensing means for sensing the signal appearing in front of the eardrum, and at least one comparison means (5), said method comprising the steps of:
- A. establishing a model of an electroacounstic system comprising the ear and the hearing aid, said model simulating the actual sound signal in the ear canal in front of the eardrum, and storing said model in the hearing aid,B. sensing the actual sound signal appearing in front of the eardrum, converting said sound signal into a digital representation and feeding it back to an input of the digital signal processing system,C. comparing said digital representation of said sensed signal with said model in said comparison means and, in case there is a material difference between the sensed signal and the model, generating an error signal for adjusting said model to the actual sound environment in front of the ear-drum, and by further using said error signal to adaptively modify the process in said digital signal processor by minimizing said error signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The application relates to an in-situ method to measure and correct or adjust sound signal presented to the eardrum by means of a hearing aid and a hearing aid employing such a method. The hearing aid comprises at least one microphone (1), at least one digital signal processor (2) for transforming the microphone signal into a transformed signal according to a desired transformation function, a receiver (3), a sensing means (4) for sensing the sound signal appearing in front of the eardrum and at least one comparison mans (5). A model of the electroacoustic system of the ear and the hearing aid is established and stored in the hearing aid, which model simulates the sound signal in the ear canal in front of the eardrum. The model is adapted in response of an error signal generated in case the difference between the representation of the sensed signal and the simulated sound signal and the simulated sound signal is above a predetermined threshold.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method to measure and correct or adjust a sound signal presented to an eardrum by means of a hearing aid in its operational position, said hearing aid including at least one microphone, at least one digital signal processing system comprising at least one digital signal processor for transforming an incoming sound into a transformed signal in conformity with a desired transformation function, said hearing aid having at least one receiver, at least one sensing means for sensing the signal appearing in front of the eardrum, and at least one comparison means (5), said method comprising the steps of:
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A. establishing a model of an electroacounstic system comprising the ear and the hearing aid, said model simulating the actual sound signal in the ear canal in front of the eardrum, and storing said model in the hearing aid, B. sensing the actual sound signal appearing in front of the eardrum, converting said sound signal into a digital representation and feeding it back to an input of the digital signal processing system, C. comparing said digital representation of said sensed signal with said model in said comparison means and, in case there is a material difference between the sensed signal and the model, generating an error signal for adjusting said model to the actual sound environment in front of the ear-drum, and by further using said error signal to adaptively modify the process in said digital signal processor by minimizing said error signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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- 11. A hearing aid including means to measure and correct or adjust the sound signal presented to the eardrum in the operational position of said hearing aid, said hearing aid including at least one microphone, at least one digital signal processing system comprising at least one digital signal processor for transforming an incoming sound into a transformed signal in conformity with a desired transformation function, said hearing aid further having at least one receiver, at least one sensing means for sensing the sound signal appearing in front of the eardrum, and at least one comparison means, wherein said signal processing system includes processing and storing means adapted to hold a model function of an electroacoustic system comprising the ear and the hearing aid, thus simulating the actual sound signal in front of the eardrum, the said comparison means comparing the signal sensed in front of the ear drum with the said model function to generate at least one error signal for adjusting said model to the actual sound environment in front of the eardrum, and wherein the digital signal processing system also contains modification means for effecting, in response to said at least one error signal, a modification of the output signal of the digital signal processor into a corrected transformed signal, when there is a material difference between said sensed signal and said simulated model.
Specification