Energy delivery and microphone placement methods for improved comfort in an open canal hearing aid
First Claim
1. A hearing aid device for placement in an ear of a user, the ear having an ear canal opening, an eardrum, a skin of a canal and an ossicle, the device comprising:
- an elongate support having a proximal portion for placement at a location near the ear canal opening and a distal end for placement near the eardrum;
an energy delivery transducer attached to the elongate support near the distal end, wherein the energy delivery transducer is adapted to transmit electromagnetic energy across a distance to a vibratory transducer connected to one or more of the eardrum or the ossicle; and
a positioner attached to the elongate support near the transducer, the positioner adapted to contact the skin of the canal near the transducer in order to support the transducer;
wherein the support is adapted to position the energy delivery transducer near the eardrum and separated from the vibratory transducer to transmit the electromagnetic energy across the distance while the proximal portion is placed at the location near the ear canal opening and wherein an intermediate portion of the elongate support has a cross-sectional size less than a cross-sectional size of the positioned.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A hearing aid device for placement in an ear of a user includes an elongate support and a transducer. The elongate support has a proximal portion and a distal end, and the transducer is attached to the elongate support near the distal end. The support is adapted to position the transducer near an eardrum while the proximal portion is placed at the location near an ear canal opening. The elongate support is sized to minimize contact with the ear between the proximal portion and distal end. The elongate support permits sound waves to travel along the ear canal. In some embodiments, a microphone is positioned in the ear canal along the support, for example inside the support, to provide directionally dependent sound localization cues, and the transducer on the distal end of the elongate support comprises a coil assembly coupled to a magnet positioned on the tympanic membrane.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A hearing aid device for placement in an ear of a user, the ear having an ear canal opening, an eardrum, a skin of a canal and an ossicle, the device comprising:
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an elongate support having a proximal portion for placement at a location near the ear canal opening and a distal end for placement near the eardrum; an energy delivery transducer attached to the elongate support near the distal end, wherein the energy delivery transducer is adapted to transmit electromagnetic energy across a distance to a vibratory transducer connected to one or more of the eardrum or the ossicle; and a positioner attached to the elongate support near the transducer, the positioner adapted to contact the skin of the canal near the transducer in order to support the transducer; wherein the support is adapted to position the energy delivery transducer near the eardrum and separated from the vibratory transducer to transmit the electromagnetic energy across the distance while the proximal portion is placed at the location near the ear canal opening and wherein an intermediate portion of the elongate support has a cross-sectional size less than a cross-sectional size of the positioned. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification