EP1443803B1 - Hearing aid and method for the detection and automatic selection of an input signal - Google Patents

Hearing aid and method for the detection and automatic selection of an input signal Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1443803B1
EP1443803B1 EP04405158.9A EP04405158A EP1443803B1 EP 1443803 B1 EP1443803 B1 EP 1443803B1 EP 04405158 A EP04405158 A EP 04405158A EP 1443803 B1 EP1443803 B1 EP 1443803B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
signal
input signal
analog
hearing aid
relevant
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP04405158.9A
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1443803A2 (en
EP1443803A3 (en
Inventor
Gerard Van Oerle
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sonova Holding AG
Original Assignee
Phonak AG
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Phonak AG filed Critical Phonak AG
Priority to DK04405158T priority Critical patent/DK1443803T3/da
Priority to EP04405158.9A priority patent/EP1443803B1/en
Publication of EP1443803A2 publication Critical patent/EP1443803A2/en
Publication of EP1443803A3 publication Critical patent/EP1443803A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1443803B1 publication Critical patent/EP1443803B1/en
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/43—Electronic input selection or mixing based on input signal analysis, e.g. mixing or selection between microphone and telecoil or between microphones with different directivity characteristics
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/55—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception using an external connection, either wireless or wired
    • H04R25/554—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception using an external connection, either wireless or wired using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R2460/00—Details of hearing devices, i.e. of ear- or headphones covered by H04R1/10 or H04R5/033 but not provided for in any of their subgroups, or of hearing aids covered by H04R25/00 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
    • H04R2460/03—Aspects of the reduction of energy consumption in hearing devices
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/50—Customised settings for obtaining desired overall acoustical characteristics
    • H04R25/505—Customised settings for obtaining desired overall acoustical characteristics using digital signal processing

Definitions

  • the invention relates to the field of hearing devices or hearing aids. It relates in particular to a hearing aid with detection and automatic selection of an input signal and a method for detecting and automatically selecting an input signal in a hearing aid as described in the preamble of the corresponding independent claims.
  • hearing aid denotes on the one hand hearing aid devices that are therapeutic devices improving the hearing ability of individuals, primarily according to diagnostic results. Such hearing aid devices may be Outside-The-Ear hearing aid devices or In-The-Ear hearing aid devices.
  • hearing aid devices stands for devices which may improve the hearing of individuals with normal hearing e.g. in specific acoustical situations as in a very noisy environment or in concert halls, or which may even be used in context with remote communication or with audio listening, for instance as provided by headphones.
  • the hearing devices addressed by the present invention are so-called active hearing devices which comprise at the input side at least one acoustical to electrical converter, such as a microphone, at the output side at least one electrical to mechanical converter, such as a loudspeaker, and which further comprise a signal processing unit for processing signals according to the output signals of the acoustical to electrical converter and for generating output signals to the electrical input of the electrical to mechanical output converter.
  • the signal processing circuit may be an analog, digital or hybrid analog-digital circuit, and may be implemented with discrete electronic components, integrated circuits, or a combination of both.
  • Many hearing aids comprise more than one microphone in order to allow directional hearing. They may also have additional signal sources such as telecoils, audio input lines and wireless receivers for amplitude or frequency modulated (AM or FM) signals.
  • AM or FM amplitude or frequency modulated
  • Telecoils and the processing of telecoil signals are e.g. activated by a reed relay that is operated by a small magnet attached to a telephone receiver as described in DE 31 09 049 C2 .
  • Audio input processing may be enabled by a contact which is mechanically activated when a corresponding input device such as an audio shoe is attached to the hearing aid.
  • DE 101 46 886 proposes to constantly digitise audio signals from two potential signal sources.
  • the digitised signals are analysed by a classification algorithm running on a digital signal processor (DSP), resulting in an indication which signal may carry relevant acoustic information.
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • the respective signal or a mixture of signals is then fed to the output speaker.
  • US 2003/223592 A1 is directed to minimising the number of electrical terminals of a microphone assembly, where the microphone assembly on the one hand has an internal microphone and on the other hand can handle externally generated auxiliary audio signals.
  • the auxiliary audio signal and a control signal for switching the assembly to process the auxiliary audio signal are transmitted over the same pair of terminals.
  • a switching means is adapted to detect the control signal and then to select the auxiliary signal instead of the internal one.
  • the auxiliary signal source must be adapted to generate the control signal required by the switching means. This principle is extended to more than one auxiliary input.
  • the detection in the switching means is based on the characteristic of the combined auxiliary/control signal , such as its DC or AC amplitude level, but the manner in which this detection is accomplished is not disclosed. No further information is given on the internal workings of the switching means, that is, on the structure according to which the input signal characteristics are analysed.
  • EP-A-1 367 857 describes a data logging method for a hearing prosthesis comprises two AD-converters. In an omnidirectional mode of operation, one of the AD-converters is shut down to conserve power. The mode of operation is selected by the user, not automatically.
  • US-A-4 596 902 discloses a hearing aid with a microprocessor and further elements.
  • the input signal is analysed periodically with a subset of the power-consuming circuitry, and only if a relevant signal (according to intensity and duration) is present, is the entire hearing aid fully activated.
  • an A/D converter is configured to digitise said first analog input signal and transmit the digitised signal for further processing.
  • Said A/D converter is either an A/D converter that was powered down and is activated to convert said first analog input signal, or an A/D converter that was used to convert another analog input signal and is switched over to analyse the first analog input signal instead.
  • the digitised input signal corresponding to the newly detected analog signal may be analysed and classified in the DSP or in any other appropriate processing means such as a microcontroller or custom integrated circuit in order to verify whether it should be provided to the user. In this way, the flexibility and sophistication of classification algorithms that may be implemented on the DSP are obtained.
  • a hearing aid further comprises a signal detection means configured to analyse a single signal, and a further input multiplexer for alternately selecting one of the analog input signals and feeding it to the signal detection means in turn.
  • the signal detection means is configured to indicate the presence of a relevant signal in an input signal if the amplitude of the input signal exceeds a predetermined amplitude threshold during a predetermined minimum time within a predetermined time window.
  • the amplitude threshold may optionally be dynamically adapted in accordance with user feedback and/or with the signal classification performed by the digital signal processing means. For example, if the signal detection means repeatedly reports the presence of a signal which is then rejected by the signal processing means, then the amplitude threshold can be increased.
  • This approach allows a simple and low-power implementation of a detection circuit and method.
  • a digital signal processor is not required, and yet all of the input signals can be analysed for the presence of a relevant signal.
  • the approach works equally well for two or more signal sources.
  • each of these selected input signals is associated with one A/D converter, either by powering on the converter or by routing or feeding the input signal to the converter.
  • the DSP is then configured to combine the several digitised input signals.
  • the invention is preferably practiced in order to switch from a microphone input to a telecoil and/or wireless receiver input or to a combined signal generated from the microphone and telecoil and/or wireless receiver inputs.
  • the input signal detection means of the present invention can furthermore be used to automatically control the operational mode of the entire hearing aid in order to minimise electric power consumption. For example, if the detection means does not detect any relevant acoustic signals on any of the multiple sources (i.e. microphones, telecoil, audio input or wireless receiver, etc.) the hearing aid is automatically put into sleep mode. In such a sleep mode all circuitry associated with audio signal processing - especially the DSP, audio signal converters and transducers, which constitute the major fraction of power consumption - is switched off, i.e. deactivated, thus reducing the electric power consumption of the hearing aid to a minimum.
  • the detection means does not detect any relevant acoustic signals on any of the multiple sources (i.e. microphones, telecoil, audio input or wireless receiver, etc.) the hearing aid is automatically put into sleep mode. In such a sleep mode all circuitry associated with audio signal processing - especially the DSP, audio signal converters and transducers, which constitute the major fraction of power consumption - is
  • the audio signal processing path is reactivated ("woken up" from sleep mode), i.e. the device is restored to its normal operational mode.
  • This wake-up functionality regarding the audio signal processing in its entirety may be implemented independently from the selection of individual signal sources.
  • FIG. 1 schematically shows a block diagram with a signal flow structure of a hearing aid according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • the hearing aid comprises a plurality of analog input signal sources, each providing an analog input signal.
  • Such sources are, for example one or more microphones 1, a telecoil 2 and an audio input 3.
  • the telecoil 2 or T-coil receives signals inductively from a telephone speaker or from a coil installed in a building.
  • the audio input 3 may receive signals e.g. from a wire connection or from a wireless receiver.
  • Each of the input signal sources may comprise dedicated signal conditioning means.
  • a multiplexer 4 is configured to select one of the input signals and to route or connect it, optionally via a pre-amplifier, to an A/D converter 5 which generates a corresponding digital signal and transmits it to a digital signal processor 6.
  • the digital signal processor 6 processes one or more incoming audio signals in accordance with the needs of the user and generates a digital output signal that is converted by a D/A converter 7 and output via an output amplifier 8 and a speaker 9.
  • the input signals are also transmitted to a "sniffer" circuit 10 which detects whether a specific input signal comprises a relevant signal, that is, whether a signal component carrying information for the user is present in the input signal.
  • the sniffer circuit 10 comprises a single detection circuit 12 and a further multiplexer 11 for selecting the input signal to be analysed, and a synchronised demultiplexer 13 for controlling binary signal lines, each of which represents the detection of a relevant input signal on a corresponding input line.
  • the binary signals A_M, A_TC, A_AI are processed by a selection logic 20 for selecting which of the analog input devices 1, 2, 3 is to be connected by the multiplexer 4 to the A/D converter 5.
  • the selection logic 20 transmits a corresponding control signal s to the multiplexer 4.
  • the hearing aid comprises a second A/D converter connected to the digital signal processor 6, and a second multiplexer configured to connect one of several input sources to the second A/D converter. This allows to select two input signals for further processing by the digital signal processor 6. Said further processing may include combining or "mixing" of the input signals.
  • the second A/D converter is permanently associated with one signal input, e.g. a microphone, and the multiplexer 4 and sniffer circuit 10 are configured to choose among the remaining input signal sources.
  • Figure 2 schematically shows a structure of a signal detection means according to the invention.
  • the further multiplexer 11 has only two inputs, i.e. one from a telecoil 2 and one from an audio input 3.
  • the further multiplexer 11 alternately selects one of said inputs for a suitable period of time that is sufficiently long to detect a signal activity on the input.
  • the signal lines of Figure 2 are marked with reference numbers 21 to 27, and corresponding signal waveforms along a common time axis t are shown in Figure 3 .
  • the input signal 21 is transmitted from the further multiplexer 11 to a variable gain amplifier 14 which normalises the amplitude levels of signals coming from different sources.
  • the variable gain amplifier 14 generates a differential output signal 22.
  • a first differential amplifier 16 is arranged to compare this differential output signal 22 to a reference signal generated by a reference signal source 15, generating a first comparator output 24 which has positive binary value if the amplitude of the differential output signal 22 exceeds the reference signal.
  • a second differential amplifier 17 compares the inverted differential output signal 23 to the reference signal (or the differential output signal to the inverted reference signal) and generates second comparator output 25 which has a positive binary value if the amplitude of the inverted differential output signal exceeds the reference signal (or if the negative amplitude of the differential output signal exceeds the inverted reference signal).
  • the output signals 24, 25 of the two differential amplifiers 16, 17 are combined by an OR-gate 18.
  • the OR-combined signal 26 is fed to an integrator 19.
  • the integrator 19 determines whether the duty cycle, i.e. the relative time duration in which the OR-combined signal 26 is positive, exceeds, over a given period of time, or integration time T, a predetermined threshold. If this threshold is exceeded, then the integrator output 27 is set to represent a logical value of ON or True.
  • the time T may be constant or be dynamically adapted by a learning algorithm. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this is done by having a programmable counter circuit that is enabled only when the OR-combined signal 26 is in an ON or positive state.
  • the counter frequency is suitably higher than typical frequencies of the audio input signals and the combined signal, for example on the order of 64 kHz.
  • the counter is periodically set back to zero, for example every 256 ms, whereby this integration time is predetermined, programmable and optionally adaptable parameter. Only if the counter reaches a predetermined threshold value is a relevant signal considered to be detected, and is a corresponding logical signal 27 transmitted to the demultiplexer 13.
  • the circuit elements corresponding to the further A/D converter are not provided with power and are not operational. In other words, a power supply to said circuit elements is interrupted. Only when a relevant signal is detected does the sniffer circuit 10 send a signal that causes the further A/D converter to be powered up. This causes the further A/D converter to generate a digital representation corresponding to said analog input signal and communicate it to the digital signal processor 6 as a new signal.
  • the digital signal processor 6 is simultaneously triggered by an interrupt generated by the sniffer circuit 10. This causes the digital signal processor 6 either to switch immediately to processing the new signal, or to first perform a classification of the new signal. During this classification, the new signal is preferably not transmitted to the output. Only if the classification determines that the new signal satisfies predetermined criteria that characterise e.g. speech or non-noise signals, is the new signal processed and included in the output. Accordingly, the multiplexer 4 may be also controlled by the digital signal processor 6.
  • the signal routing for selecting the desired input signal is then performed within the digital signal processor 6. If the signals are not combined, that is, if the previously active signal is disregarded, then the A/D converter 5 of the previously active signal is no longer needed and may be powered down.
  • Switching back to the original signal source takes place when either no relevant signal is received on the new signal, or when a relevant signal occurs on the original signal. If the original signal is not disregarded but combined with the new signal, then conversion and processing of the new signal is deactivated when it does not comprise a relevant signal for a predetermined period of time.
  • the sniffer circuit 10 and detection circuit 12 according to the invention as described above are preferably implemented in a mixed-signal integrated circuit, based e.g. on CMOS technology. This is preferable if other analog front-end signal conditioning and preprocessing means are implemented on such a mixed-signal circuit anyway, and the inventive circuits are then located on the same, already existing chip. However, under other circumstances it may be advantageous to obtain the same functionality by other implementation technologies and other circuit arrangements.
  • the OR-combined signal 27 as described could also be obtained by full-wave-rectification of the input signal and comparison with a given reference value by a Schmitt trigger.
  • the integrated circuit could be replaced by essentially an RC-circuit. Such an implementation could be implemented by purely analog means, but would incur a larger silicon area, greater circuit design complexity and less precision.
  • a typical power consumption of the circuit according to the invention is on the order of 25 microamperes for the sniffer circuit 10 alone, whereas an additional A/D converter and pre-amplifier would draw approximately 90 microamperes.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Neurosurgery (AREA)
  • Otolaryngology (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Analogue/Digital Conversion (AREA)
  • Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)
  • Amplifiers (AREA)
EP04405158.9A 2004-03-16 2004-03-16 Hearing aid and method for the detection and automatic selection of an input signal Expired - Lifetime EP1443803B1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DK04405158T DK1443803T3 (da) 2004-03-16 2004-03-16 Høreapparat og fremgangsmåde til detektering og automatisk valg af et indgangssignal
EP04405158.9A EP1443803B1 (en) 2004-03-16 2004-03-16 Hearing aid and method for the detection and automatic selection of an input signal

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP04405158.9A EP1443803B1 (en) 2004-03-16 2004-03-16 Hearing aid and method for the detection and automatic selection of an input signal

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1443803A2 EP1443803A2 (en) 2004-08-04
EP1443803A3 EP1443803A3 (en) 2005-04-13
EP1443803B1 true EP1443803B1 (en) 2013-12-04

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EP04405158.9A Expired - Lifetime EP1443803B1 (en) 2004-03-16 2004-03-16 Hearing aid and method for the detection and automatic selection of an input signal

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EP (1) EP1443803B1 (da)
DK (1) DK1443803T3 (da)

Families Citing this family (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8284970B2 (en) * 2002-09-16 2012-10-09 Starkey Laboratories Inc. Switching structures for hearing aid
ATE482578T1 (de) * 2006-06-01 2010-10-15 Phonak Ag Methode zur einstellung eines hörhilfesystems
US7738666B2 (en) 2006-06-01 2010-06-15 Phonak Ag Method for adjusting a system for providing hearing assistance to a user
DE102006046703A1 (de) * 2006-10-02 2008-04-17 Siemens Audiologische Technik Gmbh Hörvorrichtung mit gesteuerten Eingangskanälen und entsprechendes Verfahren
EP2317777A1 (en) * 2006-12-13 2011-05-04 Phonak Ag Method for operating a hearing device and a hearing device
DE102006059138B4 (de) * 2006-12-14 2010-09-09 Siemens Audiologische Technik Gmbh Hörhilfe- und/oder Gehörschutzgerät mit einem Audio-Eingang
WO2007082579A2 (en) 2006-12-18 2007-07-26 Phonak Ag Active hearing protection system
DK2206362T3 (en) * 2007-10-16 2014-04-07 Phonak Ag Method and system for wireless hearing assistance
WO2008031901A1 (en) * 2007-11-23 2008-03-20 Phonak Ag Method of operating a hearing device and a hearing device
CN103262578B (zh) 2010-12-20 2017-03-29 索诺瓦公司 操作听力设备的方法及听力设备
DK2835986T3 (da) 2013-08-09 2018-01-08 Oticon As Høreapparat med indgangstransducer og trådløs modtager
DE102017200680A1 (de) 2017-01-17 2018-03-01 Sivantos Pte. Ltd. Verfahren zum Betrieb einer Hörvorrichtung und Hörvorrichtung

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4596902A (en) * 1985-07-16 1986-06-24 Samuel Gilman Processor controlled ear responsive hearing aid and method
DE10146886B4 (de) * 2001-09-24 2007-11-08 Siemens Audiologische Technik Gmbh Hörgerät mit automatischer Umschaltung auf Hörspulenbetrieb
AU2003226937A1 (en) * 2002-04-10 2003-10-27 Sonion A/S Microphone assembly with auxiliary analog input
EP1367857B1 (en) * 2002-05-30 2012-04-25 GN Resound A/S Data logging method for hearing prosthesis

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1443803A2 (en) 2004-08-04
DK1443803T3 (da) 2014-02-24
EP1443803A3 (en) 2005-04-13

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