System and method for audiometric assessment and user-specific audio enhancement

• US 8,447,042 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2010
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nicholas Hall Gurin
• Original Assignee: Nicholas Hall Gurin
• Inventors: Gurin, Nicholas Hall
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Huyen D
• Application Number:
  US12/658,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20110200217A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,190 Days
• Field of Search: 381/56, 381/58, 381/60, 381/312, 381/314, 381/320, 381/321, 381/71.6, 381/103, 381/104, 600/559, 735/85
• US Class Current: 381/60
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/123 subjective methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/70 Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting

Abstract

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for audiometric assessment and user-specific acoustic enhancement, comprising an audiometry management module, a tone generator coupled to the audiometry management module and adapted to generate streams of acoustical output, and a hearing profile data file, is disclosed. According to the embodiment, the audiometry management module, in a plurality of sessions, instructs the tone generator to send a series of streams of acoustical output of varying acoustical intensity, and, on receiving a series of user responses responsive to audible perception of sounds generated from the streams of acoustical data, the audiometric management module determines, for each of a plurality of frequencies, a hearing threshold, and stores at least that threshold in the hearing profile data file.

Claims

1. A system for audiometric assessment and user-specific acoustic enhancement, comprising:

an audiometry management module;

a tone generator coupled to the audiometry management module and adapted to generate streams of acoustical output;

a hearing profile data file; and

a custom equalizer module adapted to modify an incoming audio stream by adjusting at least a plurality of the frequency components of the audio stream based on data stored in the custom hearing profile data file;

wherein the audiometry management module, in a plurality of sessions, instructs the tone generator to send a series of streams of acoustical output of varying acoustical intensity;

wherein, on receiving a series of user responses responsive to audible perception of sounds generated from the streams of acoustical data, the audiometric management module determines, for each of a plurality of frequencies, a hearing threshold, and stores at least that threshold in the hearing profile data file; and

further wherein, on measuring acoustical response to a given frequency for a given user during two or more sessions conducted at different times, the hearing threshold stored in the hearing profile data file is modified based at least in part on a time series derived from measurements of the given frequency during each of the two or more sessions.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein audio from a single audio source is delivered to a first user and a second user simultaneously using a first custom equalizer and a hearing profile data file for the first user and a second custom equalizer and a second hearing profile data file for the second user, thus delivering audio from a single audio source simultaneously to two different users with each user receiving audio that has been compensated for each user'"'"'s specific hearing profile.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein a prediction of a user'"'"'s hearing profile for a given frequency is made based on extrapolation of a time series of previous measurements obtained during two or more sessions of the user'"'"'s hearing profile for the given frequency.

4. A method of audiometric assessment and user-specific audio enhancement, comprising the steps of:

(a) under the direction of an audiometric management module, generating a series of acoustical output streams of varying amplitude for each of a plurality of frequencies from a tone generator and sending it to a user;

(b) receiving test responses from said user responsive to audible perception for each frequency;

(c) based on the received test responses for each frequency, determining at least a hearing threshold for each frequency;

(d) measuring acoustical response to a given frequency for a given user, as described in steps (a) through (c), during two or more sessions conducted at different times and determining a modified hearing threshold for the given frequency based at least in part on a time series derived from measurements of the given frequency during each of the two or more sessions;

(e) storing the generated hearing thresholds for each frequency in a hearing profile data file;

(f) receiving an audio stream at a custom equalizer module;

(g) adjusting at least a plurality of the frequency components of the audio stream based at least in part on the hearing thresholds stored in the hearing profile data file for the frequency components; and

(h) sending the modified audio stream to a user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein audio from a single audio source is delivered to a first user and a second user simultaneously using a first custom equalizer and a hearing profile data file for the first user and a second custom equalizer and a second hearing profile data file for the second user, thus delivering a audio from a single audio source simultaneously to two different users with each user receiving audio that has been compensated for each user'"'"'s specific hearing profile.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of predicting a user'"'"'s hearing profile for a given frequency based on extrapolation of a time series of previous measurements obtained during two or more sessions of the user'"'"'s hearing profile for the given frequency.