Hearing aid with magnetostrictive electroactive sensor
First Claim
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1. A hearing aid configured to receive a sound from an assistive listening device and deliver the sound to a wearer having an ear canal, comprising:
- a hearing aid circuit including a microphone, a receiver, and an audio processor coupled between the microphone and the receiver;
a magnetostrictive electroactive (ME) sensor configured to sense a sound magnetic field applied to the hearing aid by the assistive listening device and generate a sound signal in response to the sound magnetic field being sensed, the sound magnetic field being a magnetic field representing the sound, the sound signal being an electrical signal representing the sound; and
a sensor processing circuit coupled to the ME sensor, the sensor processing circuit including a sound processing circuit configured to receive the sound signal from the ME sensor and process the sound signal for delivering the sound to the ear canal using the receiver.
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Abstract
A hearing aid includes a magnetostrictive electroactive (ME) sensor that generates an electrical signal in response to a magnetic field or a mechanical pressure. In various embodiments, the ME sensor is used for cordless charging of a rechargeable battery in the hearing aid by generating an electrical signal in response to a magnetic field generated for power transfer, magnetic sound signal reception, and/or detection of user commands by sensing a magnetic field or a pressure applied to the hearing aid.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A hearing aid configured to receive a sound from an assistive listening device and deliver the sound to a wearer having an ear canal, comprising:
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a hearing aid circuit including a microphone, a receiver, and an audio processor coupled between the microphone and the receiver; a magnetostrictive electroactive (ME) sensor configured to sense a sound magnetic field applied to the hearing aid by the assistive listening device and generate a sound signal in response to the sound magnetic field being sensed, the sound magnetic field being a magnetic field representing the sound, the sound signal being an electrical signal representing the sound; and a sensor processing circuit coupled to the ME sensor, the sensor processing circuit including a sound processing circuit configured to receive the sound signal from the ME sensor and process the sound signal for delivering the sound to the ear canal using the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for operating a hearing aid worn by a wearer having an ear canal, comprising:
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sensing a sound magnetic field using a magnetostrictive electroactive (ME) sensor in the hearing aid, the sound magnetic field being a magnetic field representing a sound and applied to the hearing aid by an assistive listening device, the ME sensor generating a sound signal in response to the sound magnetic field being sensed, the sound signal being an electrical signal representing the sound; processing the sound signal generated by the ME sensor to recover the sound; and delivering the recovered sound to the ear canal using a receiver in the hearing aid. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification