Method to log data in a hearing device as well as a hearing device

• US 7,349,549 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2004
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonova AG (Sonova Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Phonak AG (Sonova Holding AG)
• Inventors: Allegro, Silvia, Meier, Hilmar, Boretzki, Michael, Roeck, Hans-Ueli, Hasler, Ivo, Widmer, Christoph, Menzl, Stefan Daniel, Bächler, Herbert, Launer, Stefan, Kühnel, Volker
• Primary Examiner(s): Ensey; Brian
• Application Number:
  US10/765,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20040190739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,519 Days
• Field of Search: 381/60, 381/314, 381/315, 381/23.1, 381/312, 702/57
• US Class Current: 381/314
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/39 Aspects relating to automatic logging of sound environment parameters and the performance of the hearing aid during use, e.g. histogram logging, or of user selected programs or settings in the hearing aid, e.g. usage logging
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/03 Aspects of the reduction of energy consumption in hearing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/305 Self-monitoring or self-testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/505 using digital signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/70 Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for recording information in a hearing device and/or in a recording unit at least temporally operationally connected to the hearing device. The method consists in that a point in time of the recording and/or a recording frequency as well as the information to be recorded, as data and/or parameters and/or adjustments of the hearing device are adjusted freely or are programmable, respectively. Furthermore, a hearing device is described that is suitable to use the method. By the present invention, a multitude of the parameters being adjustable in a hearing device can be checked or surveyed all together or selectively in real, i.e. actually existing acoustic environments in order to optimally adjust or adapt the hearing device afterwards, that means after the analysis by the fitter, for example.

Claims

1. A method to log data in a hearing device and/or in a recording unit that is at least temporarily operationally connected to the hearing device, the method comprising the steps of adjusting or programming a point in time of the data logging and/or a logging frequency and/or the data to be logged, the data being at least one of parameters and adjustments of the hearing device,

wherein at least one of a date and time unit is provided in the hearing device which data and/or time unit is being synchronized with an external synchronization unit, and

wherein at least one of an acoustic signal and speech synthesized information is being generated in the hearing device based on previously set time or date information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the point in time for starting the data logging is triggered or changed either manually or event-driven.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of

processing the data before the logging and

logging the processed data only.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is arranged in one or several of the following categories:

Hardware data, including sound variation data, system behavior data and hearing device user interaction data;

Customer-specific data;

Data related to the fitting history of a hearing device;

Operating data or current adjustments or time signals;

Statistical data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using identical or similar adjustments corrected once or several times in certain acoustic situations as new standard adjustments.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein one or several of the following adjustment possibilities are used based on the logged data:

in case of a new adjustment in the hearing device, the desired adjustment comes into full effect after a preset time, the hearing device user being able to have influence on adjustment procedure;

the available hearing programs or parameters or operating adjustments, respectively, are rearranged;

a used classifier undergoes a fine tuning, sensitivity and time delay being particularly adjusted;

selectable hearing programs or parameters or operating adjustments are selected or activated, respectively.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is logged in a memory unit which is located in the hearing device, a reduction of a supply voltage due to the logging process being compensated.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of eliminating noise signals generated by the logging process with the aid of a filter.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the logging of data is carried out in data packets, a repeat rate for the recording of the data packets not exceeding a predefined repeat rate.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the predefined repeat rate corresponds to a maximum value at which hearable artifacts just do not occur by the logging process.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is recorded in at least one of the two sectors in the memory unit.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the data is logged in at least one of the three sectors, data being logged in a first sector is neither deleted and nor appended, data being logged in a second sector is not deleted, new data being logged in the second sector being appended, and data having been logged in a third sector is deleted.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the data is logged in at least one of three sectors, data being logged in a first sector is neither deleted and nor appended, data being logged in a second sector is saved in a circular buffer in which new data is logged at a location of the oldest data stored in the circular buffer, and data having been logged in a third sector is deleted.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein one or a combination of the following equipment is being used as the external synchronization unit:

remote control;

computer;

mobile telephone;

PDA;

atomic clock.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of logging data in a memory unit which is located in the hearing device, a logging of data being only carried out if one or several of the following conditions are met:

a battery unit, supplying energy to the hearing device, has an output voltage that lies above a predefined value;

there exist no surround sound to be processed by the hearing device;

a mean level of surround noise is higher as a predefined level;

the amount of data to be logged is limited to a predefined value, for example to 128 bytes.

26. The hearing device of claim 1, wherein preset actions are generated based on one or several of the following factors:

preset time of day;

preset date;

working day or preset working day, respectively;

holiday.

16. A hearing device comprising

a signal processing unit,

a control unit,

a memory unit,

at least one microphone,

a loudspeaker unit,

the at least one microphone and the loudspeaker unit being operationally connected to the signal processing unit which on its part being operationally connected to the memory unit over the control unit, wherein a point in time for at least one of the logging, a logging frequency, and the data to be logged are freely adjustable or programmable, respectively,

wherein at least one of a date and time unit is provided in the hearing device which date and/or time unit is synchronizable with an external synchronization unit, and

wherein at least one of an acoustic signal and speech synthesized information is generated in the hearing device based on previously set time or date information.

17. The hearing device of claim 16, wherein the data are savable in the memory unit.

18. The hearing device of claim 16, wherein the point in time for starting the data logging is triggered or changed either manually or event-driven.

19. The hearing device of claim 17, wherein the point in time for starting the data logging is triggered or changed either manually or event-driven.

20. The hearing device of claim 16, wherein the data is transferred to an external memory unit which is connected to the hearing device preferably via the internet.

21. The hearing device of claim 16, wherein the memory unit is partitioned into at least two sectors.

22. The hearing device of claim 21, wherein the data is logged in at least one of three sectors, the data being recordable in a first sector is not changeable, data being recordable in a second sector is not deleted, new data being recordable in the second sector is appended, and data being recordable in a third sector is deleted.

23. The hearing device of claim 21, wherein the data is recordable in at least one of three sectors, data being recordable in a first sector is neither deleted and nor appended, data being recordable in a second sector is savable in a circular buffer in which new data is recordable at a location of the oldest data stored in the circular buffer, and data being recordable in a third sector is deleted.

24. The hearing device of claim 16, wherein the data is arranged in one or several of the following categories:

Hardware data, including sound variation data, system behavior data and hearing device user interaction data;

Customer-specific data;

Data related to the fitting history of a hearing device;

Operating data or current adjustments or time signals;

Statistical data.

25. The hearing device of claim 16, wherein one or a combination of the following equipment is used as the external synchronization unit:

remote control;

computer;

mobile telephone;

PDA;

atomic clock.

27. A binaural hearing device with at least two hearing device parts, at least one of the at least two hearing device parts are realized according to claim 16.

28. The hearing device of claim 27, wherein a quality of a connection between the at least two hearing device parts is monitored.