Hearing aids, computing devices, and methods for hearing aid profile update

• US 8,792,661 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2011
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 4, LLC
• Original Assignee: Audiotoniq, Inc
• Inventors: Apfel, Russell J., Landry, David Mathew, Coplin, Donald, Ibrahim, Samir
• Primary Examiner(s): Ensey, Brian
• Application Number:
  US13/007,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20110176697A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,289 Days
• Field of Search: 381/314, 381/315, 381/312
• US Class Current: 381/315
• 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 25/305 Self-monitoring or self-testing

Abstract

A method includes receiving a data at a hearing aid during operation of the hearing aid and selectively updating a hearing aid profile in response to receiving the data to produce a modified hearing aid profile. The method further includes applying the modified hearing aid profile using a processor of the hearing aid to shape an audio output.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, at a hearing aid, a change in an acoustic environment by comparing characteristics of a new acoustic environment to a baseline, the baseline including a plurality of frequency and amplitude values over a frequency range and representative of a previous acoustic environment;

in response to detecting the change in the acoustic environment, sending an alert to a computing device through a wireless communication channel;

receiving data at the hearing aid, the data including configuration data and a second baseline including a plurality of frequency and amplitude values over the frequency range representative of the new acoustic environment;

selectively updating a hearing aid profile in response to receiving the configuration data to produce a modified hearing aid profile;

applying the modified hearing aid profile using a processor of the hearing aid to shape an audio output; and

replacing the baseline with the characteristics of the new acoustic environment.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the hearing aid sends the characteristics of the new acoustic environment to the computing device with the alert.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the hearing aid generates a audio alert at a microphone to indicate that the computing device is available for adjusting a hearing aid profile to suit the new acoustic environment.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device produces a graphical user interface ready notification at least in part in response to receiving the alert.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration data includes the modified hearing aid profile.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the computing device selects the modified hearing aid profile by comparing the characteristics of the new acoustic environment to a plurality of waveforms, each of the plurality of waveforms associated with a hearing aid profile and representative of an acoustic environment.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the baseline includes at least one of a frequency difference threshold and a background noise threshold.

2. A computing device comprising:

a transceiver configured to communicate with a hearing aid through a wireless communication channel;

a memory to store a plurality of hearing aid profiles and a hearing aid configuration utility, each of the plurality of hearing aid profiles being associated with one or more waveforms represented by a plurality of amplitude thresholds at a plurality of frequencies, each of the one or more waveforms representative of sound environments suitable for use with the associated hearing aid profile;

a display interface to display a graphical user interface (GUI) as part of the hearing aid configuration utility; and

a processor having access to the memory, the processor configured to execute the hearing aid configuration utility to;

select one or more hearing aid profiles from the plurality of hearing aid profiles based on the waveforms and a sound sample captured from a current acoustic environment;

present the GUI on the display interface, the GUI to provide the one or more hearing aid profiles as user selectable options; and

output a GUI ready notification to indicate to the user that the GUI is available.

3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein the computing device comprises at least one of a cell phone, a portable music player, a PDA, and a tablet computer.

4. The computing device of claim 2, wherein the processor executes the hearing aid configuration utility to detect a change in an acoustic environment by comparing characteristics of the acoustic environment to the one or more waveforms and to selectively update the hearing aid profile in response to detecting the change.

5. The computing device of claim 2, wherein the processor receives a trigger and executes the hearing aid configuration utility in response to receiving the trigger.

6. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the trigger is received from the hearing aid through the communication channel via the transceiver.

7. The computing device of claim 5, further comprising:

an input interface for receiving a user input; and

wherein the trigger comprises the user input.

8. The computing device of claim 2, wherein:

identify a new hearing aid profile from a plurality of hearing aid profiles for the hearing aid based on a difference between characteristic values of the acoustic environment and a plurality of waveforms; and

transmit the new hearing aid profile to the hearing aid in response to identifying the new hearing aid profile.

9. The computing device of claim 2, further comprising:

an input interface for receiving a user input; and

wherein the GUI includes text and one or more user-selectable elements accessible by a user through the input interface.

10. A hearing aid comprising:

a transceiver configured to communicate with a computing device through a communication channel;

one or more processors configured to shape sounds according to a first hearing aid profile suitable for a first acoustic environment; and

a memory storing instructions which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

detect a change to a second acoustic environment by comparing acoustic parameters of the second acoustic environment to a baseline including a plurality of frequency and amplitude values representative of the first acoustic environment;

transmit a signal to the computing device through the communication channel in response to detecting the change to the second acoustic environment;

receive from, the computing device, a second hearing aid profile suitable for the second acoustic environment; and

replace the baseline with the acoustic parameters of the second acoustic environment.

11. The hearing aid of claim 10, wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to detect the change when the acoustic parameters differ from the baseline by more than a threshold amount at two or more frequencies.

18. The hearing aid of claim 10, wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to shape sounds captured by a microphone according to the second hearing aid profile in response to receiving the second hearing aid profile from the computing device.

19. The hearing aid of claim 10, wherein the baselines includes at least one threshold frequency and at least one threshold amplitude.

20. The hearing aid of claim 10, wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to monitor sounds captured by a microphone for the change.