Trenched sealing retainer for canal hearing device

• US 9,807,524 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2015
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: K/S HIMPP
• Original Assignee: iHEAR Medical, Inc. (Innerscope Hearing Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shennib, Adnan, Valenzuela, Victor
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins, Davetta W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dabney, Phylesha
• Application Number:
  US14/832,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20160066110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 381322, 381324, 381325, 381328
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/11 Aspects relating to vents, e.g. shape, orientation, acoustic properties in ear tips of hearing devices to prevent occlusion
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/15 Determination of the acoustic seal of ear moulds or ear tips of hearing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/652 Ear tips; Ear moulds hybrid ear moulds or post-processing thereof for their customisation H04R25/659

Abstract

Examples of retaining seal assemblies for acoustically sealing and retaining a canal hearing device or an earpiece within the ear canal are disclosed. The retaining seal assembly may include one or more flanges and a clip element. The flanges may include elongate trenches along an exterior surface of one or more of the flanges. The elongate trenches may allow the flange to conform to the shape of the ear canal and distribute concentric compressive forces when the seal assembly is inserted in the ear canal. The clip element may be formed of a relatively rigid material and may include one or more locking tabs. The conforming flanges may be concentrically positioned over the clip element. The seal assembly may include a debris barrier to provide protection for a sound outlet of the canal hearing device or the earpiece.

Claims

1. A retaining seal assembly for a canal hearing device, comprising:

a medial flange formed of a compliant material and comprising relatively small medial trenches along an exterior surface of the medial flange, wherein the medial flange is configured to conform to a shape of an ear canal and distribute concentric compressive forces when the retaining seal assembly is inserted in the ear canal;

a lateral flange irremovably coupled to the medial flange, wherein the lateral flange is formed of the compliant material and comprising relatively large lateral trenches along an exterior surface of the lateral flange, wherein the lateral flange is configured to conform to the shape of the ear canal and distribute concentric compressive forces when the retaining seal assembly is inserted in the ear canal; and

a relatively rigid clip element, wherein at least one of the medial and lateral flanges is concentrically positioned over the clip element,

wherein the lateral trenches and medial trenches are sized and configured to provide acoustic sealing in an audiometric frequency range and low frequency venting when the retaining seal assembly is placed in the ear canal.

2. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the lateral flange is configured to provide occlusion relief.

3. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein any of the lateral and medial flanges comprise at least one blocked trench and at least one open trench.

4. The retaining seal assembly of claim 3, wherein the at least one blocked trench is shaped to increase conformability of the seal assembly and the at least one open trench provided to increase venting.

5. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the lateral and medial flanges are formed from any of a Silicone and a neoprene material.

6. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1 configured to provide at least 12 dB of acoustic attenuation at an audiometric frequency within the range of 1000-4000 Hz.

7. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the medial and lateral trenches has a length of at least 2 mm.

8. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein one or more of the medial trenches of the medial flange have a width in the range of 0.2-0.4 mm.

9. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein one or more of the lateral trenches of the lateral flange have a width in the range of 0.4-0.6 mm.

10. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1 further comprising a debris barrier.

11. The retaining seal assembly of claim 10, wherein the debris barrier comprises a membrane.

12. The retaining seal assembly of claim 10, wherein the debris barrier is configured to provide a minimum acoustic attenuation of less than 3 dB across an audiometric frequency range.

13. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the medial and lateral flanges are non-removably attached to the clip element.

14. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the lateral flange comprises at least 6 lateral trenches.

15. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the medial flange comprises at least 6 medial trenches.

16. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the clip element has a thickness of 0.3 mm or less.

17. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the clip element comprises one or more locking tabs.

18. The retaining seal assembly of claim 17, wherein the one or more locking tabs comprise a cut-out.

19. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein a thickness of at least one of the medial flange and the lateral flange in a non-trench area of the respective flange is in the range of 0.5-1.2 mm.

20. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the lateral and medial trenches comprise a control acoustic conduit configured to provide pressure equalization across the canal hearing device when placed in the ear.

21. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of one or more of the lateral and medial trenches is selected from the group consisting of a semi-circular groove, a U-shaped groove, and a V-shaped groove.

22. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the clip element is formed from any of plastic, metal or nylon materials.

23. The retaining seal assembly of claim 1, wherein the clip element is configured for removably coupling the retaining seal assembly to the canal hearing device.

24. The retaining seal assembly of claim 10, wherein the debris barrier is configured to provide acoustic filtering in a frequency range of 3-4 kHz.

25. A retaining seal assembly for a hearing device, comprising:

a plurality of compliant flanges, wherein at least one flange from the plurality of flanges comprises a plurality of elongate trenches along an exterior surface of the at least one flange, wherein the plurality of elongate trenches are configured to compress and conform to a shape of an ear canal and to distribute concentric compressive forces when the retaining seal assembly is inserted in the ear canal,

wherein the plurality of elongate trenches are configured as a low pass acoustic filter to provide acoustic attenuation at 1000 Hz and above, and acoustic leakage below 250 Hz.

26. The retaining seal assembly of claim 25, wherein the seal assembly is configured to be removably coupled to a hearing device or a portion thereof.

27. The retaining seal assembly of claim 25 further comprising a clip element formed of a relatively thin, rigid material, the clip element configured for removably attaching the retaining seal assembly to a hearing device or a portion thereof.

28. The retaining seal assembly of claim 27, wherein the clip element comprises one or more locking tabs.

29. The retaining seal assembly of claim 27, wherein the clip element is formed of plastic or nylon materials.

30. The retaining seal assembly of claim 25, wherein the elongate trenches comprise at least one blocked trench and at least one open trench.

31. A retaining seal assembly for a canal hearing device, comprising:

at least one compliant flange comprising at least 6 elongate trenches along an exterior surface of the flange, wherein the flange is configured to conform to a shape of an ear canal and distribute concentric compressive forces when the retaining seal assembly is inserted in the ear canal, wherein the elongate trenches are configured to provide at least 12 dB of acoustic attenuation at a frequency range of 1000-4000 Hz and less than 10 dB of acoustic attenuation at 125 Hz and below; and

a debris barrier configured to provide protection for a sound port of a canal hearing device in-situ.

32. The removable retaining seal assembly of claim 31 further comprising a clip element formed of a relatively thin, rigid material, wherein the clip element is configured for removably attaching the removable retaining seal assembly to the canal hearing device or a portion thereof.

33. The removable retaining seal assembly of claim 32, wherein the clip element comprises one or more locking tabs.

34. The removable retaining seal assembly of claim 32, wherein the clip element is formed of a plastic material or a nylon material.

35. The retaining seal assembly of claim 31, wherein the elongate trenches comprise at least one blocked trench and at least one open trench.