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SPL dose data logger system

  • US 9,757,069 B2
  • Filed: 01/12/2009
  • Issued: 09/12/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2008
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of mitigating hearing damage and providing sound pressure level (SPL) information comprising the steps of:

  • attenuating ambient sound from reaching an ear canal of a user by way of an earpiece having at least one transducer including an ear canal receiver (ECR);

    periodically measuring first SPL information in a time period having a plurality of samples from the ambient sound received proximate the earpiece external to the ear canal;

    periodically measuring second SPL information in the time period, synchronous with the first SPL information, from a driving signal provided to the ECR;

    combining, for each time period, the first SPL information and the second SPL information to form combined SPL information;

    storing at least the combined SPL information or an SPL_Dose in a memory with corresponding time and location information over plural time periods;

    using an inflatable sealing section on the earpiece configured to seal an opening to the ear canal of the user to form an acoustic seal to reduce the ambient sound from an ambient environment in a cavity of the ear canal of the user;

    using an ear canal microphone (ECM) configured to measure the sound pressure level in the cavity of the ear canal, to confirm the acoustic seal and to test a hearing sensitivity of the user, wherein a recovery time constant tau used in a recovery function is updated in response to the hearing sensitivity test;

    measuring a total SPL_Dose including the recovery function for indicating an accumulated user sound exposure over an extended period of time that improves an accuracy of the total SPL_Dose measurement over the extended period of time; and

    generating an output by a digital signal processor that adaptively adjusts a sound pressure level of the at least one transducer that accounts for the accumulated user sound exposure over the extended period of time.

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