EP2713799B1 - Hearing aid device with a piece of ear jewellery and a hearing aid - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a hearing aid unit with a hearing aid, which is arranged in an ear jewelery, which serves for holding the hearing aid with recording and playback function and thus the attachment of the hearing aid to the human ear.

The hearing aid technology currently has two basic approaches. On the one hand, these are the in-the-ear devices, and also IdO (in the ear) hearing aids that are worn completely in the ear. These are individually adapted as a compact, one-piece device to the anatomy of the ear, so that they can be more or less introduced into the ear canal. This version is cosmetically very demanding because they are barely visible or not at all. However, the situation in the ear canal proves to be disadvantageous for various reasons. In addition to the limited space, the occlusion effect, i. the closure of the ear canal by the hearing aid, and the distorted acoustics for the wearer and the hearing aid problematic. The occlusion of the ear canal allows little or no ventilation, which makes the ear canal and the technique more prone to failure. In addition, the wearer takes particular noises such as eating noises or his own voice disturbing and unnatural.

IdO devices in combination with jewelry bodies are for example from the FR 2 820 937 A1 and the US 5,828,757 A known.

As an alternative, the behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids are known. In these systems, the hearing device is formed in two parts, the actual hearing aid, which in a housing in particular microphone, electronics, Batteries and transducers and is worn behind the ear, and a custom-made earmold, the earmold, which is connected via a signal conductor to the main unit behind the ear. The earmold is placed in the ear canal. The earmold does not completely close the auditory canal or at least offers adequate ventilation. In addition, the BTE hearing system allows a sound leakage near the eardrum. The latter is possible, for example, by the design of the signal conductor as a sound tube, specifically when the sound transducer is integrated in the hearing aid and the sound is conducted as an acoustic signal via the hearing tube to the eardrum.

Alternatively, the sound transducer may also be designed as an external sound transducer, called a listener. In this case, the handset is connected via a signal conductor, here an electrical signal conductor, to the main unit behind the ear. In this embodiment, an audio signal is transmitted, i. an electrical signal that passes on acoustic information. Such external listeners allow the generation of sound in the vicinity of the eardrum, resulting in less distortion of the sound, e.g. due to losses, distortions or feedback.

Usually, the hearing aids of the BTE systems are provided with a prefabricated housing. Only the earmolds are adjusted according to the anatomical conditions and are therefore more flexible in their shape. The IT systems, on the other hand, are not yet housed as commercially available components, since they as a whole receive such a housing by encapsulation, which is adapted to the auditory canal of the wearer. Thus, the units provided by the manufacturer are significantly smaller in the case of the ITE hearing aids than in the BTE hearing aids and for further processing by the hearing aid technician more flexible, especially in the shape of the housing.

Subsequently, regardless of whether the transducer is arranged internally or externally, spoken by the actual main unit as a hearing aid. If an external handset is designed, it is explicitly named external as an external component of the hearing device, but is a component of the hearing aid.

For conceptual differentiation of the components of the BTE hearing systems, those which are arranged integrally in a housing are referred to below as hearing aids, and the entire arrangement, which optionally comprises external components, in particular external listeners, as the hearing system.

Although the BTE hearing aids avoid the occlusion effect, give the wearer a better hearing and more space for the electronics and thus more diverse technical options, but are cosmetically unacceptable for many hearing impaired, even if the housing are made increasingly smaller.

For this reason, there are BTE ear systems whose hearing aids are integrated in or on an ear jewelry. For example, describes the DE 87 05 651 U1 an ear jewelry in which the jewelry body is hollow and thus receives at least some components of the hearing aid. A sound directed to the auditory canal, the rear sound outlet or a sound tube, the sound to the auricle (Concha) out.

Also in the DE 93 19 114 U1 , in the EP 0 512 354 A2 and also in the DE 70 40 072 the hearing device is arranged in an ear clip and has a sound tube which leads from the clip into the auricle.

However, this trained to record a hearing aid earrings is firmly connected to the hearing aid, so that a change, as is customary for earrings, can not be done. In addition, the jewelry design is limited. In order to allow at least a certain variability of the jewelry, are in the DE 93 19 114 U1 the caps made changeable by means of magnetic holders. However, these can adversely affect the electronics of the hearing aid.

In the DE 88 15 571 U1 The housing of the hearing aid by means of grub screws and nuts to be attached to a body of an ear clip. However, this in turn requires an adaptation of the hearing aid to the respective fastening means and appropriate tools, whereby a simple replacement of the ear jewelery by the wearer himself is difficult.

Hearing aids with a directional microphone system to improve speech intelligibility are used in the EP 0 942 627 A2 disclosed.

The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying options that adapt the variability of jewelry design and jewelry use and their easy and quick replacement for wearing a hearing aid without having to accept losses in hearing aid technology or to be unable to use advancements in technology.

To achieve the object, a hearing aid unit with a hearing aid and an ear jewelery according to claim 1 is described. The respective dependent claims describe advantageous embodiments.

Generically, the ear jewelry has a jewelry body with a cavity and at least one opening in the cavity Sound opening and the hearing aid to realize the recording and playback function at least one microphone for receiving acoustic signals, a Signal processing unit for processing the recorded acoustic signals, a sound transducer and a signal conductor for the transmission of acoustic or audio signals in the ear canal.

According to the invention, at least one sound opening is provided in the ornamental body as a sound inlet opening on the front side, i. the side facing away from the ear, arranged and the cavity is formed in position and shape such that a hearing aid loosely inserted and removed. The removability of the hearing aid is in this case linked to the arrangement of at least one microphone in the hearing aid, that is associated with the loose insertion of the microphone of the sound inlet opening. Both features allow in conjunction with each other, the simple and quick replacement of the earrings by the user himself.

In this case, the sound inlet opening is understood to be any opening which runs through the wall of the cavity and thus acoustically connects the cavity to the external environment.

To the front of the ear jewelery each surface part surface of the jewelry body is calculated, which is not turned directly to the ear and thus the head of the wearer and comes for the reception of acoustic signals from the environment of the ear in question. In particular, these are surfaces of the jewelry body, pointing in the direction of the wearer of the ear jewelry, back and to the side.

The inventive design of the cavity in the jewelry body, which should allow a loose insertion and removal of a hearing aid allows the quick and arbitrary change of the ear jewelry without changing the custom hearing aid, with the loose insertion It should be understood that no filigree mounting or installation tools are necessary. It is only necessary to let the hearing aid slide into the cavity so that it lies in the appropriate position for use. The position is determined, in particular, by the position of the one or more sound entry openings through which the sound strikes a microphone of the hearing device, and / or by possible connections, for example to a signal conductor of the hearing device, which must be guided through its wall due to the design of the cavity , If, on the other hand, the cavity is designed to be relatively open, the sound entry openings and / or the connections may well be realized by the openings of the cavity which are present anyway.

A hearing device which can be used for the hearing aid unit regularly comprises at least one microphone, provided that the directional radio technology for spatially selective hearing is also implemented by a plurality of microphones for recording acoustic signals and a signal processing unit for processing the recorded signals, e.g. for time- and / or frequency- and / or amplitude-dependent evaluation, amplification and control of the generation of the acoustic signal by a sound transducer, which receives the wearer of the hearing aid. The sound transducer can be integrated in the hearing device or designed as a separate, connected to the hearing aid via the signal conductor handset. Such a hearing aid is variable and can be combined with filigree mounting or assembly aids with different earrings, resulting in benefits for the wearer of the hearing aid both in terms of hearing aid technology and the cosmetic claims.

With a hearing aid unit according to the invention, the wearer of the design and type of ear jewelery is subject to very different and thereby exchangeable variants Available. The latter relates both to the type of jewelry, the corresponding alternative embodiments eg plug-like, that is as a compact plug of a pierced ear or ear clip, or creolen-like, that is as a full circle or circle trained jewelry, which are also attached by means of clip or piercing pin on the ear can. In addition, with the hearing aid unit according to the invention, the position of the jewelry on the ear can be made more variable. In addition to the jewelry on the earlobe (Lobulus) jewelry on the auricle (Auricula), on the tragus or anti-tragus is possible. Also in the Concha, the pinna, an inventive ear jewelry, for example, be placed in the shape of an earphone, so that the actual function of this ear jewelry is not visible as a carrier of a hearing aid.

The body of jewelry itself can largely independent of the requirements of the hearing aid, at least as far as it has such a size that fit the current hearing aids in the cavity, be made more attractive and variable and can simultaneously the current technology of hearing aids, both BTE and of IdO hearing aids, without special adaptation. Even men's jewelry can act in form and function and become more attractive, with the benefit comes and is supported by the ear jewelry that technical refinements particularly appeal to the man.

The ear jewelry described can provide an improved and cosmetically sophisticated hearing care and the image of hearing aids can be significantly improved. At the same time the hearing loss can be openly supplied, as it is known from BTE devices and described above.

The variability of the ear jewelry is realized in that only one cavity must be provided in the jewelry that receives the hearing aid. According to the above description of the structure and function of BTE hearing aids, this means that the actual main unit is inserted into the cavity of the ear jewelery. The signal conductor and optionally the signal conductor with external receiver protrudes out of the cavity in order to be able to establish the connection to the auditory canal.

There are no further fasteners necessary because the location and opening of the cavity are sufficient for the fixation of the hearing aid in the earrings during use. According to various embodiments, the position and shape of the cavity can also be designed so that the fixation of the hearing aid is realized solely by fixing the ear jewelery and / or by the accuracy of fit of the cavity and hearing aid. For example, The ear closes the entrance of the cavity, through which the hearing aid is inserted and removed, in the use of the jewelry sufficiently. Or the attachment of the Ohrschmuck fixed at the same time the jewelry on the ear and the hearing aid in the jewelry body.

In addition, the hearing aids are becoming ever more filigree and require less space, so that the fixation is simpler and the freedom of design of ear jewelry larger. Also, the often unified, commercially available forms of BTE hearing aids and in particular those with external handset contribute to the more variable, the opportunity adapted and also less expensive interchangeability of the ear jewelry. For such embodiments, e.g. tailor-made cave rooms. Optionally, the loose connection of earrings and BTE hearing aid also allows the temporary wearing of the hearing aid without earrings.

If IdO hearing aids are used, their shape can also be adapted to specific cavities and thus to special ear jewelery designs by casting. Such an embodiment uses the advantages of the ITE technology, in particular with regard to a small and adaptable form and a variable but fixable position of one or more microphones together with that of the BTE technique, which allows a spatial separation of the potted components to the listener and beyond the open signal supply due to the external handset.

But also the change of the hearing aid, e.g. Adjustment or improvement of the signal processing can be done without having to change the earrings. This is while maintaining the original, commercially available form of the hearing aid or in a sufficiently large cavity or in a reproducible by the hearing aid technician encapsulation, e.g. possible by casting.

In a further embodiment of the ear jewelery, at least two sound entry openings are arranged on the front side and at a distance from one another. This makes it possible to use hearing aids that use directional microphone technology in ear jewelery. In this technique, at least two microphones are integrated with different orientation in the hearing aid and the signals from the individual microphones for spatial selection evaluated differently. Thus, similar to human hearing noise, which arrives from behind or as background noise, be hidden.

For this purpose, it is advantageous if the two or more sound entry openings, comparable to the directivity through the auricle, are arranged such that they attach the ear jewelry to the ear in the direction of the wearer, ie forward, and the opposite direction, ie to the rear , aligned and the microphones are assigned to the sound inlet openings by inserting the hearing aid in the cavity of the ear jewelery. Such an alignment achieved by attaching the ear jewelery to the ear a natural hearing comparatively close directional effect of the recorded sound.

As assigned here is to be understood such a position of microphone and sound inlet opening relative to each other that with the microphones, a directional dependence of the sound is detected according to their orientation. An assignment can be achieved in the best case, that the sound inlet opening opens at the microphone. But also a larger number of sound entry openings or multiple perforated, even net-like walls of the cavity of the ear jewelry ensure such a spatial selection.

For the adjustment of the ear jewelery to the position of the one or more directional microphones on the hearing aid either unified hearing aids are used or one or more sound entry openings are realized by the entrance of the cavity. In the case of ITE hearing aids, it is also possible to vary the position of the microphones prior to potting. Alternatively, according to a further embodiment, variable sound inlet openings can be achieved if the wall of the jewelry body surrounding the cavity is at least partially broken. This is also an appealing design means, which can combine design and functionality conveniently.

Depending on the position and shape of the cavity, it may alternatively also be advantageous to arrange a further opening in the cavity for carrying a signal conductor in the direction of the auricle, so that the signal conductor is positioned on the jewelery and ends correctly with the attachment of the ear jewelery to the ear. This applies to both signal conductors, which are formed as a sound tube, and electrical connectors to an external handset.

The fixation of the hearing aid in the cavity of the jewelry body is carried out as described above, in particular by the Design of the ear jewelery possibly in connection with its attachment to the ear.

To attach the hearing aid ear jewelry on the ear, it may be favorable for various designs of Ohrschmucks, although the signal conductor is releasably fixed to the ear jewelry. This is advantageous both for a sound tube and for an electrical conductor as a signal conductor for improving the signal quality.

Fig. 1A bis 1E

eine Creole als erfindungsgemäßen Ohrschmuck in verschiedenen Ansichten,

Fig. 2A und 2B

einen Ohrclip als erfindungsgemäßen Ohrschmuck in verschiedenen Ansichten und

Fig. 3A und 3B

eine Creole gemäß Fig. 1A bis 1E mit einem Hörgerät in zwei verschiedenen perspektivischen Darstellungen.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment. In the accompanying drawing show in schematic representation

Fig. 1A to 1E

a Creole as earrings according to the invention in different views,

FIGS. 2A and 2B

an ear clip as inventive earrings in different views and

FIGS. 3A and 3B

a hoop according to Fig. 1A to 1E with a hearing aid in two different perspective views.

The Creole according to Fig. 1A to Fig. 1E is formed by a hook-shaped, bent-back jewelry body 1, which is formed of two side and a bottom surface and upwards to the ear (not shown) is open. In front view ( Fig. 1A ) is the jewelry body 1 therefore visible as a rectangle. By definition, the boundary surface of the Jewelery body 1, which points to the ear to be referred to as the back of the ear jewelery. The remaining boundary surfaces should be referred to as front 5. In Fig. 1A this should be the bottom surface and the right side surface, so that in Fig. 1A a left earring is shown. In the lower part of the rounding a small, circular sound inlet opening 4 is embedded in the bottom surface.

Fig. 1B represents the left side view of the ear jewelry, ie the view from the ear, and illustrates the hook-shaped design. In the upper part of the ear jewelery a fastener 3 is shown in the form of a plug with a slidable on the plug plate-shaped counterpart. These fasteners 3 are generally known for ear studs for attachment to the earlobe (not shown).

Fig. 1C represents the rear view of the Creole dar. are recognizable turn the bottom and side surfaces with the plug as a fastener 3 in the upper region of the bottom surface. For the sake of clarity, the second part of the fastening means 3, the counterpart is not shown. In the rearward area of the floor area is analogous to the forward area ( Fig. 1A ) also arranged a sound inlet opening 4, so that the bottom surface of the hoop has two sound inlet openings 4. One points to the back and the other to the front. The forward facing sound inlet 4 is in Fig. 1C covered by the slightly raised floor surface. In addition, the jewelry body 1 on a terminal 11, which serves to attach a signal conductor (not shown).

Fig. 1D and Fig. 1E represent the described Creole in perspective, so that in the cavity 2, which is formed between the bottom and the two side surfaces and is upwards to the earlobe open, can be looked. Due to the right-angled connection between the Floor surfaces and the two side surfaces shape and size of the cavity 2 on the shape and size of a side surface directly visible. In Fig. 1D as a front perspective view and Fig. 1E as a perspective rear view, in turn, the fastening means 3, the clamp 11 and the two sound inlet openings 4 can be seen. In Fig. 1D is the front and in Fig. 1E the rear sound inlet opening 4 is only partially visible as a passage through the bottom surface.

Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B represent a cuboid, hollow jewelery body 1 of an ear clip Fig. 2A the open back is shown with the well-known bow-shaped fastening means 3 commonly used for ear clips. The attachment means 3 holds the ear clip on the earlobe (not shown that the cavity 2 inside the jewelry body can be largely closed by the earlobe.) In the front side 5 of the jewelery body 1 opposite the attachment means, two parallelogram-shaped sound entry openings 4 are arranged side by side and at a distance from one another arranged, which open in the cavity 2 ( Fig. 2A ).

The FIGS. 3A and 3B make the creole according to the Fig. 1A to Fig. 1E also in a perspective front and rear view, but with an inserted hearing 7. For the design of the ear jewelery is on the statements to Fig. 1A to 1E directed.

In the cavity 2 of the jewelery body 1 a housed, lens-shaped hearing aid 7 is inserted. Such housing forms are known, for example, from conventional BTE hearing aids. The hearing aid 7 lies solely by its weight in the lower, horizontal part of the hook-shaped cavity 2. The length of this part of the cavity 2 is exactly the same designed so that the hearing aid 7 rests against the front and rear of the bottom surface, so that the two sound inlet openings 4 open in the jewelry body exactly on the two microphones 8 of the hearing aid 7. This position of the cavity 2 causes moreover that the earlobe protrudes through the attachment by means of plug in the hook-shaped curvature of the Creole and thus prevents the hearing aid can fall out. Alternatively, in this and also in other embodiments, a supplementary clamp or comparable fixation hold the hearing device 7 at least for the attachment of the ear jewelery to the ear in the cavity 2. Such a fixation can be integrated, for example, on the attachment means 3 of the ear jewelery.

From the hearing aid 7 protrudes a signal conductor 9, which connects the hearing aid with an external handset 10. The external handset 10 is an external sound transducer as described above, so that the signal conductor 9 is an electrical conductor for transmitting an audio signal. The signal conductor 9 is fixed to the terminal 11.

If, in an alternative embodiment, the sound transducer is integrated in the hearing device 7, the signal conductor 9 is designed as a filigree sound tube with an open end, wherein the sound tube can be fixed by means of the clamp 11 so that it rests permanently on or in the auditory canal during wear of the hoop ,

Hearing aid in combination with an ear jewelery LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

jewelry body

2

cavity

3

fastener

4

Sound port

5

front

7

hearing Aid

8th

microphone

9

signal conductor

10

external listener

11

clamp

Claims (6)

1. Hearing aid unit comprising ear jewellery with a jewellery body (1) and a hearing aid (7) with a recording and playback function, the jewellery body comprising a cavity (2) for receiving the hearing aid (7), with one or more sound openings extending to the outside opening into said cavity, and the hearing aid (7) comprising at least one microphone (8) for recording acoustic signals, a signal processing unit for processing the recorded acoustic signals, a sound transducer and a signal conductor (9) for transmitting acoustic signals or audio signals into the auditory canal, characterized in that the hearing aid (7) is loosely placed into the cavity (2) of the jewellery body (1) and may be removed, and at least one microphone (8) is arranged in the hearing aid (7) in such a way that it is assigned to a sound entrance opening (4) in the ear jewellery, for the purposes of recording acoustic signals, in the inserted state of the hearing aid (7).
2. Hearing aid unit according to Claim 1, characterized in that the ear jewellery has a plug- or creole-style embodiment.
3. Hearing aid unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hearing aid (7) has a sound transducer integrated into the hearing aid (7) or an external receiver (10).
4. Hearing aid unit according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the hearing aid (7) is encapsulated in a form which realizes the positioning of the at least one microphone (8) on a sound entrance opening (4) with an exact fit and corresponds to the cavity (2) of the jewellery body (1) and has an external receiver (10), which is connected to the encapsulated hearing device (7) by way of a signal conductor (9).
5. Hearing aid unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hearing aid (7) comprises at least two microphones (8) and each microphone (8) is assigned to one of the sound entrance openings (4).
6. Hearing aid unit according to Claim 5, characterized in that the sound entrance openings (4) are aligned in the viewing direction of the wearer and in the opposite direction thereto when fastening the ear jewellery on the ear.

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