US2248837A - Custom-made hearing aid receiver tip - Google Patents

Description

July 8, 1941. F. D. F. WALTERS CUSTOM-MADE HEARING AID RECEIVER TIP Filed Aug. 5, 1938 Fatented July 8 1941 (CUS'llUil-ll-MADE HEARKNG 311D REGEKVIER TIEP Frank Ell. lF Walters, Easton, Pa, assignor of onehallf to Mabel A. E. l/l alters, Eastern, Pa.

' Application August 5, 1938, Serial No. 223,318

(or. ire-rec) 4 (Claims.

My invention relates to custom-made hearing air receiver tips, whereby phones are properly supported and held in proper position to direct the sounds reproduced by the phone into the human ear.

More particularly, my invention relates to the construction of a tip or cap which is constructed not only to fit snugly and comfortably in a human ear but also to provide a chamber within the tip which resembles the formation of the outer ear.

Heretofore, difficulty has been experienced in wearing devices for aid of hearing, not only because of the discomfort caused by the tip itself, but often because the sounds reproduced by the phone are generally introduced into the ear in a concentrated, and consequently, in rather harsh and metallic tones.

Qne common fault with many of the hearing aid devices has been that very generally the phone portion of the device has been secured to the tip or portion that is inserted into the ear by the use of a snap fastening. The result of this type of fastening is generally that the two portions are not securely held together and certain undesirable vibrations are created and are introduced into the ear together with the desired sounds.

An object of my invention is to provide means for more firmly securing the tip to the receiver shell and thus to eliminate vibrations caused by a loose connection between the two.

Another object is to provide a connection between the receiver and tip in which the con ventional metal back or door of the receiver is removed to eliminate the harsh metallic tone often produced with the reproduced sounds.

A further object is to provide a sound chamber within the tip to thus accommodate a greater variation of volume of sounds being introduced into the ear without the necessity of constantly changing the conventional volume control and yet reproducing a very clear and undistorted sound, varying from normal volume to loud volume.

A further object is to remove or eliminate the metal iioor or back of the receiver, thus eliminating the necessity of the sound vibrations being condensed sufiiciently to permit their escape through the conventional small opening therein.

A still further object is to provide an ear tip in which the size and shape of the sound chamber can be adjusted to suit the requirements of the individual user, even to the extent of removing portions of the inner shell which further elimihate the metallic ring.

' thin walls it between that cavity and the outside An even further object is to provide an ear tip permitting the adjusting or regulating of the thickness of the walls of the tip to change the size of the sound chamber to suit the user.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the ear tip attached to a phone or receiver;

Fig. 2 is a plan view;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified form of ear Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section of this modified form;

Fig. Y is a plan view of another modified form of ear tip; and

Fig. 8 is a vertical cross-section of the ear tip, showing a truncated cone within the tip for purposes of determining the desired thickness of the walls.

In Fig. l, I have shown a perspective view of my custom-made hearing air receiver tip which is assembled with, and attached to, a conventional receiver i, from which wires lead to any suitably located transmitter (not shown).

The receiver tip 2 is custom-made to fit comiortably within the outer ear of the person to whom the hearing aid is being fitted This re-= ceiver tip has secured to the end thereof remote from the sound passage 8 of the tip which extends into the auditory passage, a ferrtde ill which is provided with female screw-threads it which are adapted to be screwed on to the receiver Q at the time that the receiver and tip are assembled to be used.

The interior of the receiver tip 2 is provided with a relatively large hollow chamber or cavity, leaving only a comparatively thin wall it between the outside of the receiver tip 2 and the cavity within the receiver tip.

The receiver tip is made in the customary fashion and is adapted to fit snugly within the wearers ear and to conform generally to the formation of the outer ear. An outer projection or horn Z is provided and is adapted to enter the recess underneath the helix of the ear in the region of the fossa of anti-helix, whereby the tip is rendered entirely self-retaining in the ear when properly placed and adjusted therein. By thus snugly fitting within the wearers ear, the receiver tip is not'uncomfortable to Wear, and will remain easily in place after properly positioning. The inner cavity within the receiver tip by virtue of the fact that the receiver tip has comparatively of the receiver tip is of approximately the same formation as the area of the wearers outer ear, and therefore provides a formation which will properly absorb and coordinate all sounds which are introduced into the cavity from the receiver 4.

In the conventional form of receiver tip, the receiver is secured to the tip by means of a button which extends from the receiver to be received within an opening within the receiver tip. With this construction, the sounds reproduced by the receiver necessarily must be forced through a relatively small space, and consequently introduced directly through a channel in the receiver tip extending into the auditory passage.

By providing a substantially large hollow chamber within the receiver tip 2, I have been enabled to allow the reproduced sounds from the receiver 4 to pass directly into the chamber through the ferrule i0, and thereby cause less distortion of the sounds which are reproduced by the diaphragm within the receiver.

By this construction, I have been able to remove the conventional metal back or floor of the receiver, and thereby minimize the metallic ring which is created by the receiver in reproducing sounds.

In the modified form disclosed in Fig. 5, I have produced a receiver tip 20, which is adapted to fit within the wearers outer ear in the same manner as the receiver tip 2, and which is provided with a ferrule 22 having female threads 24, so that the receiver tip may be secured to a conventional receiver 4 in the same manner as the receiver tip 2 is secured. In th modified form, the receiver tip 20 is cut transversely thereof, and the inner portions of the receiver tip which customarily extend directly to the auditory passage of the ear are removed entirely and the natural formations within the outer car are utilized to receive the sounds transmitted by the receiver 4 and introduce those sounds into the auditory passage.

It has been found that in many cases a receiver tip of this character has been decidedly more advantageous and helpful to the wearer than is a A receiver tip which is provided with a sound passage 8, because the reproduced sounds from the receiver 4 may often be more properly absorbed and mellowed by the natural operation of the outer ear thanthey could possibly be by the use of an artificial reproduction thereof.

In the modified form which I have disclosed in Fig. '7, I provide a receiver tip 30, which is fitted to the wearers ear in the same manner in which the receiver tip 2 is fitted. This receiver tip is also provided with a hearing passageway which is adapted to be inserted within the auditory passage of the wearers ear. In every other respect the receiver tip 30 is constructed in the same manner as the receiver tips 2 and 20, that is, it is provided with a ferrule 34 having female threads 36 adapted to receive the threads on a receiver 4.

The receiver tip 30 in addition to the sound passage 32 is provided with a plurality of perforations 38 which permit the sounds from within the chamber inside of the receiver tip 30 to be emitted therefrom and to strike against a portion of the wearers outer ear. These modified forms have been found to be satisfactory in cases where the preferred form of receiver tip has not been suitable because the reproduced sounds are sometimes oo harsh and loud when they are introduced directly into an auditory passage.

In Fig. 8, I have shown a receiver tip 2 prowithin the receiver tip 2 in order to ascertain the approximate desired size of the chamber within the receiver tip if it is found that the patient does not obtain suitable results with a receiver tip as disclosed in Figs. 3, 6 and 7, because of the fact that the chamber within the tip is too large and the reproduced sound is not sufficiently directed into the wearers auditory passage.

By thus experimenting and using different truncated cones [6, to increase or decrease the size of the opening at the apex of the cone to regulate the volume and velocity required, it is possible to discover the desired internal capacity of the chamber within the tip 2, so that that chamber may be filled with any suitable material, leaving only the desired cavity within the chamber.

By the use of my invention, it has been found that many of the objectionable features of conventional hearing aid receiver tips have been removed, and among the most outstanding of these is the fact that by removing the conventional metal floor or base in the receiver and by widening or enlarging the opening through which the reproduced sounds are emitted to be introduced into the ear, many metallic and harsh sounds are either not created or are absorbed and diffused within the chamber inside of the ear tip before the reproduced sounds are introduced to the wearers auditory passage.

By the use of my improved receiver tips, it has been found that in many cases it has been unnecessary to repeatedly adjust the volume control provided with a conventional hearing aid device, because these harsh and metallic sounds are not created, and consequently are not introduced into the wearer's auditory passage.

I claim:

1. A device of the general character described including a hollow shell-like tip characterized by a thin wall, the outer and inner surfaces of which conform approximately to the concha of the wearers ear, presenting an inner chamber only lessened in cubic capacity by the thickness of the wall from the normal cubic capacity of the concha, and opening unobstructedly to the diaphragm of a sound receiver to which thetip is adapted to be attached, the tip having a projection adapted to enter the recess underneath the helix of the ear in the region of the fossa of antihelix, whereby the device provides a lining for the concha of the ear and is rendered entirely self-retaining in the ear.

2. A device of the general character described including a hollow shell-like tip characterized by a thin wall, the outer and inner surfaces of which conform approximately to the concha of the wearers ear,presenting an inner chamber only lessened in cubic capacity by the thickness of the wall from the normal cubic capacity -of the concha, and opening unobstructedly to the diaphragm of a sound receiver to which the tip is adapted to be attached, the tip having a projection adapted to enter the recess underneath the helix of the ear in the region of the fossa of antihelix, whereby the device provides a lining for the concha of the ear and is rendered entirely selfretaining in the ear, and a sound passage adapted to be inserted into the auditory passage of the wearer's ear.

3. A device of the general character described including a hollow shell-like tip characterized by a thin wall, the outer and inner surfaces of which conform approximately to the concha .of the wearers ear, presenting an inner chamber only lessened in cubic capacity by the thickness of the wall from the normal cubic capacity of the concha, and opening unobstructedly to the diaphragm of a sound receiver to which the tip is adapted to be attached. the tip having a projection adapted to enter the recess underneath the helix oi the ear in the region of the fossa of antiheiix, whereby the device provides a lining for the concha of the ear and is rendered entirely self-retaining in the ear, said shell-like tip being perforated.

4. A device of the general character described including a hollow shell-like tip characterized by a thin wall, the outer and inner surfaces of which conform approximately to the concha of the wearer's ear, presenting an inner chamber only lessened in cubic capacity by the thickness of th wall from the normal cubic capacity of the concha, and opening unobstructedly to the diaphragm of a sound receiver to which the tip is adapted to be attached, the tip having a projection adapted to enter the recess underneath the helix of the ear in the region of the fossa of antihelix, whereby the device provides a lining for the concha of the ear and is rendered entirely self-retaining in the ear, the portion of the said shell-like tip remote from the said receiver being substantially open.

FRANK D F. WALTERS.

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