Hearing aid and computing device for providing audio labels

• US 8,582,790 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2011
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 4, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Audiotoniq, Inc
• Inventors: Ibrahim, Samir, Eisenberg, Andrew Lawrence, Knox, John Michael Page, Landry, David Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Ni, Suhan
• Application Number:
  US13/023,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20110200214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,008 Days
• Field of Search: 381/60, 381/312, 381314-316, 381/320
• US Class Current: 381/314
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/065 Aids for the handicapped in understanding
• 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 2225/41 Detection or adaptation of hearing aid parameters or programs to listening situation, e.g. pub, forest
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/50 Customised settings for obtaining desired overall acoustical characteristics

Abstract

A hearing aid includes a microphone to convert audible sounds into sound-related electrical signals and a memory configured to store a plurality of hearing aid profiles. Each hearing aid profile has an associated audio label. The hearing aid further includes a processor coupled to the microphone and to the memory and configured to select one of the plurality of hearing aid profiles. The processor applies the one of the plurality of hearing aid profiles to the sound-related electrical signals to produce a shaped output signal to compensate for a hearing impairment of a user. The processor is configured to insert the associated audio label into the shaped output signal. The hearing aid also includes a speaker coupled to the processor and configured to convert the shaped output signal into an audible sound.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a memory configured to store a configuration utility, a plurality of hearing aid profiles, and a respective plurality of audio labels, wherein each audio label is associated with one of the plurality of hearing aid profiles as a title;

an input interface for receiving user selections;

a transceiver configurable to wirelessly communicate with a hearing aid through a communication channel; and

a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the configuration utility to cause the processor to;

identify one or more of the hearing aid profiles from the plurality of hearing aid profiles substantially related to an acoustic environment associated with a hearing aid by comparing data related to the acoustic environment to settings associated with the plurality of hearing aid profiles;

provide the audio labels associated with each of the identified one or more hearing aid profiles to the hearing aid;

receive a selection of one of the one or more hearing aid profiles at the input interface; and

provide the selected hearing aid profile to the hearing aid.

2. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising a speaker configured to receive the audio labels associated with each of the identified one or more hearing aid profiles and to reproduce the audio labels as an audible sound indicating a change of the current hearing aid profile of the hearing aid.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the audio labels associated with each of the identified one or more hearing aid profiles are communicated to the hearing aid through the communication channel for reproduction as an audible sound by the hearing aid.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the audio label comprises a recorded sound file.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the memory includes a text-to-speech converter that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to convert a text label into the audio label comprising a sound file and to associate the sound file with the selected one of the plurality of hearing aid profiles.