Hearing aid with digital compression recapture
First Claim
1. A hearing aid, comprising:
- an input to receive an input signal and output an analog signal;
a variable gain amplifier to selectively compress the analog signal;
an analog to digital convertor receiving the analog signal and outputting a first digital signal;
a digital gain control to control gain of the variable gain amplifier;
a compression recapture system outputting a second digital signal that essentially represents a compressed portion of the analog signal;
an output to reproduce the input signal based on the first and second digital signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, devices, and methods are provided to inhibit apparent amplitude modulation in non-linear processing that causes distortion in a processed signal. One aspect of the invention includes a hearing aid. The hearing aid includes a microphone to receive an input signal, a speaker to reproduce the input signal, and a processor. The processor processes the input signal using a gain. The processor includes an inhibitor, which inhibits distortions, and an adjuster, which adjusts the gain. The inhibitor acts to smooth an envelope of the input signal to inhibit undesired modulation. The adjuster adjusts the gain if the envelope is either above or below a threshold. The hearing aid further includes a compression recapture system to supply the compressed portion of the input signal to more closely reproduce the actual input signal.
73 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A hearing aid, comprising:
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an input to receive an input signal and output an analog signal;
a variable gain amplifier to selectively compress the analog signal;
an analog to digital convertor receiving the analog signal and outputting a first digital signal;
a digital gain control to control gain of the variable gain amplifier;
a compression recapture system outputting a second digital signal that essentially represents a compressed portion of the analog signal;
an output to reproduce the input signal based on the first and second digital signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16)
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14. A method of restoring a compressed signal in an input stage of a hearing aid, comprising:
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detecting when an input signal is above a threshold value to produce a gain control signal;
reducing gain of an amplifier to a value below the threshold value based on the gain control signal; and
restoring an output signal of the input stage to include any reduced gain.
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Specification