Hearing aid having switchable first and second order directional responses

• US 7,590,253 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2006
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Etymotic Research Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Etymotic Research Incorporated
• Inventors: Killion, Mead C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Briney, III; Walter F
• Application Number:
  US11/586,480
• Publication Number:
  US 20070041602A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,056 Days
• Field of Search: 381/92, 381/94.5, 381/123, 381/313
• US Class Current: 381/313
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/407 Circuits for combining signals of a plurality of transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/43 Electronic input selection or mixing based on input signal analysis, e.g. mixing or selection between microphone and telecoil or between microphones with different directivity characteristics H04R25/407 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/005 Microphone arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/006 Microphone matching
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A hearing aid apparatus is disclosed that employs both an omnidirectional microphone and at least one directional microphone of at least the first order. The electrical signals output from the directional microphone are supplied to an equalization amplifier which at least partially equalizes the amplitude of the low frequency electrical signal components of the electrical signal with the amplitude of the mid and high frequency electrical signal components of the electrical signals of the directional microphone. A switching circuit accepts the signals output from both the omnidirectional microphone and the directional microphone. The switching circuit connects the signal from the omnidirectional microphone to an input of a hearing aid amplifier when the switching circuit is in a first switching state, and connects the output of the equalization circuit to the hearing aid amplifier input when the switching circuit is in a second switching state. The switching circuit may be automatically switched in response to sensed ambient noise levels.

Claims

1. A hearing aid apparatus comprising:

a faceplate having at least two sound openings;

at least two microphone housings;

at least two sound passages acoustically coupling sound energy from one or more of said at least two sound openings to one or more of said at least two microphone housings;

at least two diffraction scoops proximate said at least two sound openings;

at least one wind screen disposed over said at least two diffraction scoops; and

a housing having said faceplate mounted thereon, said housing containing said at least two microphone housings,

wherein the hearing aid switches between an output comprising an omnidirectional response and an output comprising an equalized directional response.

2. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least two microphone housings comprise at least one directional microphone and at least one omnidirectional microphone.

3. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 1 wherein the hearing aid is manually actuatable between the omnidirectional output and the directional output.

4. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 1 wherein the hearing aid is automatically actuatable between the omnidirectional output and the equalized directional output in response to a reference signal falling below a predetermined threshold.

5. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 4 wherein the reference signal is ambient noise level and the predetermined threshold is 65 dB.

6. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the hearing aid is accessible to the hearing aid wearer for switching between the omnidirectional output and the directional output.

7. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least two of said at least two sound passages are interconnected.

8. A hearing aid apparatus comprising:

an outer surface having at least two sound openings;

a first microphone housing;

a second microphone housing being independent of said first microphone housing;

a first sound passage acoustically coupling sound energy from one of said at least two sound openings to said first microphone housing;

a second sound passage acoustically coupling sound energy from another of said at least two sound openings to said second microphone housing;

at least two diffraction scoops proximate said at least two sound openings; and

at least one wind screen disposed over said at least two diffraction scoops,

wherein the hearing aid switches between a first output based on said first microphone housing for providing an omnidirectional response and a second output based on at least said second microphone housing for providing an equalized directional response.

9. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 8 wherein the hearing aid is manually actuatable between said first output and said second output.

10. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 8 wherein the hearing aid is automatically actuatable between said first output and said second output in response to a reference signal falling below a predetermined threshold.

11. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 10 wherein the reference signal is ambient noise level and the predetermined threshold is 65 dB.

12. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 8 wherein at least a portion of the hearing aid is accessible to the hearing aid wearer for switching between said first and second outputs.

13. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 12, comprising at least one directional microphone and at least one omnidirectional microphone.

14. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 8, wherein said first and second sound passages are interconnected.

15. A hearing aid apparatus comprising:

a faceplate having at least two sound openings;

at least two microphone housings;

at least two sound passages acoustically coupling sound energy from one or more of said at least two sound openings to one or more of said at least two microphone housings;

at least two diffraction scoops proximate said at least two sound openings;

at least one wind screen disposed over said at least two diffraction scoops; and

a housing having said faceplate mounted thereon, said housing containing said at least two microphone housings,

wherein the hearing aid provides a response that comprises an omnidirectional response, a directional response or a combination of the omnidirectional response and the directional response.

16. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 15, wherein said at least two microphone housings comprise at least one directional microphone and at least one omnidirectional microphone.

17. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 15 wherein the hearing aid is manually actuatable between the omnidirectional response, the directional response and the combination of the omnidirectional response and the directional response.

18. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 15 wherein the hearing aid is automatically actuatable in response to a reference signal falling below a predetermined threshold.

19. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 18 wherein the reference signal is ambient noise level and the predetermined threshold is 65 dB.

20. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 15 wherein at least a portion of the hearing aid is accessible to the hearing aid wearer for switching between the omnidirectional response, the directional response and the combination of the omnidirectional and the directional response.

21. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 15, wherein said at least two microphone housings comprise at least one directional microphone and at least one omnidirectional microphone.

22. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least two of said at least two sound passages are interconnected.

23. A hearing aid apparatus comprising:

a faceplate having at least two sound openings;

at least two microphone housings;

at least two sound passages acoustically coupling sound energy from one or more of said at least two sound openings to one or more of said at least two microphone housings;

at least two diffraction scoops proximate said at least two sound openings;

at least one wind screen disposed over said at least two diffraction scoops; and

a housing having said faceplate mounted thereon, said housing containing said at least two microphone housings,

wherein the hearing aid provides a response that fades between (i) one of an omnidirectional response and a directional response and (ii) the other of the omnidirectional response and the directional response.

24. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 23, wherein said at least two microphone housings comprise at least one directional microphone and at least one omnidirectional microphone.

25. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 23 wherein the hearing aid is automatically actuatable between the omnidirectional response and the directional response in response to a reference signal falling below a predetermined threshold.

26. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 25 wherein the reference signal is ambient noise level and the predetermined threshold is 65 dB.

27. The hearing aid apparatus of claim 23, wherein at least two of said at least two sound passages are interconnected.