EP4668777A1

EP4668777A1 - A hearing aid with improved directionality using pinna reflection

Info

Publication number: EP4668777A1
Application number: EP24221054.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Christian Asp MOGENSEN; Poul Henriksen
Original assignee: Oticon AS
Current assignee: Oticon AS
Priority date: 2024-12-18
Filing date: 2024-12-18
Publication date: 2025-12-24

Abstract

A method of configuring an in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid placed within an ear canal of a user, the method comprising receiving, by at least one input transducer of the ITE hearing aid, a first direct sound from a first audible sound at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid, and a first reflected sound from the first audible sound reflected by a pinna of the user, the first direct sound and the first reflected sound having a first delay between the first direct sound and the first reflected sound; receiving, by the at least one input transducer, a second direct sound from a second audible sound at a second angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid, and a second reflected sound from the second audible sound reflected by the pinna of the user, the second direct sound and the second reflected sound having a second delay between the second direct sound and the second reflected sound, wherein the second angle is different from the first angle; determining, by a processing unit of the ITE hearing aid, based the first delay, a first incidence angle of the first direct audio and, based the second delay, a second incidence angle of the second direct audio; and configuring, by the processing unit, based on the first incidence angle and the second incidence angle, beamforming of the hearing aid.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application generally relates to the field of hearing aids. In particular, the present application generally relates to methods for configuring in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids, such as by configuring beamforming.

SUMMARY

A hearing aid:

In an aspect of the present application, a method of configuring an in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid placed within an ear canal of a user is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by at least one input transducer of the ITE hearing aid, a first direct sound from a first audible sound at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid, and a first reflected sound from the first audible sound reflected by a pinna of the user, the first direct sound and the first reflected sound having a first delay between the first direct sound and the first reflected sound. The method includes receiving, by the at least one input transducer, a second direct sound from a second audible sound at a second angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid, and a second reflected sound from the second audible sound reflected by the pinna of the user, the second direct sound and the second reflected sound having a second delay between the second direct sound and the second reflected sound, wherein the second angle is different from the first angle. The method includes determining, by a processing unit of the ITE hearing aid, based the first delay, a first incidence angle of the first direct audio and, based the second delay, a second incidence angle of the second direct audio. The method includes configuring, by the processing unit, based on the first incidence angle and the second incidence angle, beamforming of the hearing aid.
Thereby an improved method of configuring an ITE hearing aid is disclosed. Hearing aids are often placed in the ear for optimum discreteness. In this position two microphones are normally used to achieve directional audio processing, but implementing these increases the exposed area of the hearing aid thereby compromising discreteness of the hearing aid. Advantageously, removing the need for two microphones for directional audio processing will enable a more discrete hearing aid.
The reflections around the outer part of the ear (the pinna of the ear) causes multiple paths of an audio signal (e.g., first audible sound and/or second audible sound) to arrive at different times at the at least one input transducer (e.g., microphone) of the ITE hearing aid due to the variations in the path lengths and corresponding delays. This causes distortion of the arriving audio signals due to multiple instances the microphone inlet and the affect the effective audio response over frequency.
Advantageously, if at least one input transducer (e.g., microphone) is placed in the ear near the tragus of the ear, there will be a reflection from the pinna that can be used to form the desired directionality of the audio signal.
In certain examples, a reflection of first and second audible signals can be calibrated during a fitting procedure by recording clicking sounds from several angles in the horizontal plane and knowing this, embodiments of the disclosed method can be used to cancel the multipath distortion of incoming audio signals. In turn, the method can also include determining incident angles of the individual sources from the direct/reflected paths. In certain examples, calibration (e.g., fitting of the reflection environment) can also be made without calibration stimuli (clicks) by assuming that sources determined as voices come from the front and adjust the reflection model on that assumption.
The hearing aid can be an in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid. For example, the hearing aid can be configured to be partially or fully within the ear canal of the user during use (e.g., placed within the ear canal of the user). The hearing aid may not have a behind-the-ear (BTE) component.
A ITE hearing aid can be understood as a type of hearing device that fits entirely within the outer ear of a user. ITE hearing aids can be custom-made to fit the unique shape of the user's ear canal and outer ear. In certain examples, ITE hearing aids contain all the necessary components-microphone, amplifier, and receiver-within a single shell that sits in the ear.
The method can include configuring the ITE hearing aid. Configuring the hearing aid includes, for example, beamforming of the hearing aid. Configuring the hearing aid includes, for example, providing angular discrimination of the hearing aid. Configuring, as used herein, can include adjusting settings, changing parameters, etc. Configuring can include configuring software. Configuring can include configuring hardware. Configuring can include changing digital signal processing algorithms. Configuring can include adjusting beamforming pattern(s) of the ITE hearing aid. Configuring can include changing beamforming modes. For example, different beamforming modes can include omnidirectional and directional. Configuring can include adjusting sensitivity of the at least one input transducer.
As used herein, beamforming can be understood with audio processing where sources with different incident angles can be distinguished identified and prioritized in audio processing.
The method can be performed by an ITE hearing aid. The method can be performed fully by the ITE hearing aid. The method can be performed partially by the ITE hearing aid. For example, the method can be performed partially in an accessory device, such as a mobile phone and/or hearing aid technician equipment.
The ITE hearing aid can include at least one input transducer. The at least one input transducer can be at least one microphone. The at least one input transducer can be configured to receive audio (e.g., sound) of the environment around the ITE hearing aid.
The method includes receiving, by at least one input transducer of the ITE hearing aid, a first direct sound from a first audible sound at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid. The first audible sound can be a clicking sound. The method includes receiving, by the at least one input transducer of the ITE hearing aid, a first reflected sound from the first audible sound reflected by a pinna of the user. In other words, the receiving receives two different components from the first audible sound source (e.g., the first direct sound and the first reflected sound). Both the first direct sound and the first reflected sound come from the same single first audible sound.
The first direct sound and the first reflected sound can have a first delay between the first direct sound and the first reflected sound. The first delay can occur due to the time needed for the first audible sound to reflect off of the pinna.
The first audible sound can be a clicking sound. The first audible sound can be a beep or a buzz. The first audible sound can have properties suited for establishing arrival of an audio signal to the at least one input transducer and could be a triangle, step, square, dirac, chirp, gated sine, etc. The particular type of sound of the first audible sound is not limiting.
The method includes receiving, by the at least one input transducer of the ITE hearing aid, a second direct sound from a second audible sound at a second angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid. The method includes receiving, by the at least one input transducer of the ITE hearing aid, a second reflected sound from the second audible sound reflected by a pinna of the user. In other words, the receiving receives two different components from the second audible sound source (e.g., the second direct sound and the second reflected sound). Both the second direct sound and the second reflected sound come from the same single second audible sound.
The second direct sound and the second reflected sound can have a second delay between the second direct sound and the second reflected sound. The second delay can occur due to the time needed for the second audible sound to reflect off of the pinna.
The second angle can be different from the first angle.
The second audible sound can be a clicking sound. The second audible sound can be a beep or a buzz. The second audible sound can have properties suited for establishing arrival of an audio signal to the at least one input transducer and could be a triangle, step, square, dirac, chirp, gated sine, etc The particular type of sound of the second audible sound is not limiting. The second audible sound can be the same sound as the first audible sound.
In certain example, the method includes receiving, by the at least one input transducer, further direct and reflected audible sound(s) from further audible sounds at further angles with respect to the horizontal plane. For example, the method includes receiving third, fourth, fifth, etc. direct and reflected sounds from respective third, fourth, fifth, etc. angles with respect to the horizontal plane from third, fourth, fifth, etc. audible sounds. Each of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. angles can be different from each other.
There are not a set number of angles required, but when sources are spaced with small angles they difficult to tell apart, so a minimum angle is likely required. Actual minimum angles depend on implementation and the "quality" of the reflector and the amplitude difference in the sources and this needs to be determined in the actual implementation when considering the allocated processing load and other practical limitations.
The method can include determining, by the processing unit of the ITE hearing aid, a first incidence angle of the first direct audio. The first delay can be used to determine the first incidence angle.
The method can include determining, by the processing unit of the hearing aid, a second incidence angle of the second audio. The second delay can be used to determine the second incidence angle.
The respective incidence angle is determined from the delay from direct audio to reflected audio caused by the difference in pathlength (e.g., the reflected audio takes longer than the direct audio).
The method includes configuring, based on the first incidence angle and the second incidence angle, beamforming of the hearing aid. The method includes configuring, based on the first incidence angle and the second incidence angle, angular discrimination of the hearing aid.
In one or more example methods, the at least one input transducer comprises a single microphone. In other words, the ITE hearing aid may only use a single microphone, while still allowing for adequate beamforming. This can save significant space and processing power within an ITE hearing aid. Advantageously, audio processing can be performed using a single microphone.
In one or more example methods, configuring the beamforming comprises cancelling multipath distortion of the first audible sound and the second audible sound.
For example, by identifying delayed representation of audio from distinct reflectors and subtract it from the audio, multipath distortions can be reduced and/or removed.
With small delays like in the ear as discussed in the proposal, it is very small and will likely not be audible/disturbing to a user. But with reflections further away like in larger rooms it can be annoying and lower speech understanding in these specific circumstances, but also subconsciously give information about the environment which might be helpful.
In one or more example methods, the method is performed by a hearing care technician. In one or more example methods, the first audible sound and the second audible sound are produced by a hearing care technician. In one or more example methods, the method is performed under guidance of a hearing care technician. For example, the method can be performed as an initial setup of an ITE hearing aid. The hearing care technician can include equipment to provide the first audible sound and the second audible sound. In certain examples, the method can be performed by a user of the ITE hearing aid. For example, the method can allow for in-home configuration of the ITE hearing aid.
In one or more example methods, the method can include determining a first direction of the first audible sound and/or a second direction of the second audible sound.
For example, determining the first incidence angle can use a longer first delay to be indicate of audio coming from the front, whereas little/no delay is indicative of audio coming from the back. With a first delay of half that of audio coming from the front, the audio indicates perpendicular to the reflector/mic line, so from the side.

A hearing aid:

It is intended that some or all of the structural features of the device described herein, in the `detailed description of embodiments' or in the claims can be combined with embodiments of the method disclosed above, when appropriately substituted by a corresponding process and vice versa. Embodiments of the hearing aid can have the same advantages as the corresponding methods.
For example, disclosed herein is an in-the-ear hearing aid configured to perform one or more of the methods described above.
The hearing aid may be adapted to provide a frequency dependent gain and/or a level dependent compression and/or a transposition (with or without frequency compression) of one or more frequency ranges to one or more other frequency ranges, e.g. to compensate for a hearing impairment of a user. The hearing aid may comprise a signal processor for enhancing the input signals and providing a processed output signal.
The hearing aid may comprise an output unit for providing a stimulus perceived by the user as an acoustic signal based on a processed electric signal. The output unit may a vibrator of a bone conducting hearing aid. The output unit may comprise an output transducer. The output transducer may comprise a receiver (loudspeaker) for providing the stimulus as an acoustic signal to the user (e.g. in an acoustic (air conduction based) hearing aid). The output transducer may comprise a vibrator for providing the stimulus as mechanical vibration of a skull bone to the user (e.g. in a bone-attached or bone-anchored hearing aid). The output unit may (additionally or alternatively) comprise a (e.g. wireless) transmitter for transmitting sound picked up-by the hearing aid to another device, e.g. a far-end communication partner (e.g. via a network, e.g. in a telephone mode of operation).
The hearing aid may comprise an input unit for providing an electric input signal representing sound. The input unit may comprise an input transducer, e.g. a microphone, for converting an input sound to an electric input signal. The input unit may comprise a wireless receiver for receiving a wireless signal comprising or representing sound and for providing an electric input signal representing said sound.
The hearing aid may comprise a 'forward' (or `signal') path for processing an audio signal between an input and an output of the hearing aid. A signal processor may be located in the forward path. The signal processor may be adapted to provide a frequency dependent gain according to a user's particular needs (e.g. hearing impairment). The hearing aid may comprise an 'analysis' path comprising functional components for analyzing signals and/or controlling processing of the forward path. Some or all signal processing of the analysis path and/or the forward path may be conducted in the frequency domain, in which case the hearing aid comprises appropriate analysis and synthesis filter banks. Some or all signal processing of the analysis path and/or the forward path may be conducted in the time domain.
An analogue electric signal representing an acoustic signal may be converted to a digital audio signal in an analogue-to-digital (AD) conversion process, where the analogue signal is sampled with a predefined sampling frequency or rate f_s, f_s being e.g. in the range from 8 kHz to 48 kHz (adapted to the particular needs of the application) to provide digital samples x_n (or x[n]) at discrete points in time t_n (or n), each audio sample representing the value of the acoustic signal at t_n by a predefined number N_b of bits, N_b being e.g. in the range from 1 to 48 bits, e.g. 24 bits. Each audio sample is hence quantized using N_b bits (resulting in 2^Nb different possible values of the audio sample). A digital sample x has a length in time of 1/f_s, e.g. 50 µs, for f_s = 20 kHz. A number of audio samples may be arranged in a time frame. A time frame may comprise 64 or 128 audio data samples. Other frame lengths may be used depending on the practical application.
The hearing aid may comprise an analogue-to-digital (AD) converter to digitize an analogue input (e.g. from an input transducer, such as a microphone) with a predefined sampling rate, e.g. 20 kHz. The hearing aids may comprise a digital-to-analogue (DA) converter to convert a digital signal to an analogue output signal, e.g. for being presented to a user via an output transducer.
The hearing aid, e.g. the input unit, may comprise a transform unit for converting a time domain signal to a signal in the transform domain (e.g. frequency domain or Laplace domain, Z transform, wavelet transform, etc.). The transform unit may be constituted by or comprise a TF-conversion unit for providing a time-frequency representation of an input signal. The time-frequency representation may comprise an array or map of corresponding complex or real values of the signal in question in a particular time and frequency range. The TF conversion unit may comprise a filter bank for filtering a (time varying) input signal and providing a number of (time varying) output signals each comprising a distinct frequency range of the input signal. The TF conversion unit may comprise a Fourier transformation unit (e.g. a Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) algorithm, or a Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) algorithm, or similar) for converting a time variant input signal to a (time variant) signal in the (time-)frequency domain. The frequency range considered by the hearing aid from a minimum frequency f_min to a maximum frequency f_max may comprise a part of the typical human audible frequency range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, e.g. a part of the range from 20 Hz to 12 kHz. Typically, a sample rate f_s is larger than or equal to twice the maximum frequency f_max, f_s ≥ 2f_max. A signal of the forward and/or analysis path of the hearing aid may be split into a number NI of frequency bands (e.g. of uniform width), where NI is e.g. larger than 5, such as larger than 10, such as larger than 50, such as larger than 100, such as larger than 500, at least some of which are processed individually. The hearing aid may be adapted to process a signal of the forward and/or analysis path in a number NP of different frequency channels (NP ≤ NI). The frequency channels may be uniform or non-uniform in width (e.g. increasing in width with frequency), overlapping or non-overlapping.
The hearing aid may be configured to operate in different modes, e.g. a normal mode and one or more specific modes, e.g. selectable by a user, or automatically selectable. A mode of operation may be optimized to a specific acoustic situation or environment, e.g. a communication mode, such as a telephone mode. A mode of operation may include a low-power mode, where functionality of the hearing aid is reduced (e.g. to save power), e.g. to disable wireless communication, and/or to disable specific features of the hearing aid.
The hearing aid may comprise a number of detectors configured to provide status signals relating to a current physical environment of the hearing aid (e.g. the current acoustic environment), and/or to a current state of the user wearing the hearing aid, and/or to a current state or mode of operation of the hearing aid. Alternatively or additionally, one or more detectors may form part of an external device in communication (e.g. wirelessly) with the hearing aid. An external device may e.g. comprise another hearing aid, a remote control, and audio delivery device, a telephone (e.g. a smartphone), an external sensor, etc.
One or more of the number of detectors may operate on the full band signal (time domain). One or more of the number of detectors may operate on band split signals ((time-) frequency domain), e.g. in a limited number of frequency bands.
The number of detectors may comprise a level detector for estimating a current level of a signal of the forward path. The detector may be configured to decide whether the current level of a signal of the forward path is above or below a given (L-)threshold value. The level detector operates on the full band signal (time domain). The level detector operates on band split signals ((time-) frequency domain).
The hearing aid may comprise a voice activity detector (VAD) for estimating whether or not (or with what probability) an input signal comprises a voice signal (at a given point in time). A voice signal may in the present context be taken to include a speech signal from a human being. It may also include other forms of utterances generated by the human speech system (e.g. singing). The voice activity detector unit may be adapted to classify a current acoustic environment of the user as a VOICE or NO-VOICE environment. This has the advantage that time segments of the electric microphone signal comprising human utterances (e.g. speech) in the user's environment can be identified, and thus separated from time segments only (or mainly) comprising other sound sources (e.g. artificially generated noise). The voice activity detector may be adapted to detect as a VOICE also the user's own voice. Alternatively, the voice activity detector may be adapted to exclude a user's own voice from the detection of a VOICE.
The hearing aid may comprise an own voice detector for estimating whether or not (or with what probability) a given input sound (e.g. a voice, e.g. speech) originates from the voice of the user of the system. A microphone system of the hearing aid may be adapted to be able to differentiate between a user's own voice and another person's voice and possibly from NON-voice sounds.
The hearing aid may comprise a classification unit configured to classify the current situation based on input signals from (at least some of) the detectors, and possibly other inputs as well. In the present context `a current situation' may be taken to be defined by one or more of

a) the physical environment (e.g. including the current electromagnetic environment, e.g. the occurrence of electromagnetic signals (e.g. comprising audio and/or control signals) intended or not intended for reception by the hearing aid, or other properties of the current environment than acoustic);
b) the current acoustic situation (input level, feedback, etc.), and
c) the current mode or state of the user (movement, temperature, cognitive load, etc.);
d) the current mode or state of the hearing aid (program selected, time elapsed since last user interaction, etc.) and/or of another device in communication with the hearing aid.

The classification unit may be based on or comprise a neural network, e.g. a recurrent neural network, e.g. a trained neural network.
The hearing aid may comprise an acoustic (and/or mechanical) feedback control (e.g. suppression) or echo-cancelling system. Adaptive feedback cancellation has the ability to track feedback path changes over time. It is typically based on a linear time invariant filter to estimate the feedback path but its filter weights are updated over time. The filter update may be calculated using stochastic gradient algorithms, including some form of the Least Mean Square (LMS) or the Normalized LMS (NLMS) algorithms. They both have the property to minimize the error signal in the mean square sense with the NLMS additionally normalizing the filter update with respect to the squared Euclidean norm of some reference signal.
The hearing aid may further comprise other relevant functionality for the application in question, e.g. compression, noise reduction, etc.
The hearing aid may comprise a hearing instrument.

A computer readable medium or data carrier:

In an aspect, a tangible computer-readable medium (a data carrier) storing a computer program comprising program code means (instructions) for causing a data processing system (a computer) to perform (carry out) at least some (such as a majority or all) of the (steps of the) method described above, in the `detailed description of embodiments' and in the claims, when said computer program is executed on the data processing system is furthermore provided by the present application.
By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Other storage media include storage in DNA (e.g. in synthesized DNA strands). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. In addition to being stored on a tangible medium, the computer program can also be transmitted via a transmission medium such as a wired or wireless link or a network, e.g. the Internet, and loaded into a data processing system for being executed at a location different from that of the tangible medium.

Definitions:

In the present context, a hearing aid, e.g. a hearing instrument, refers to a device, which is adapted to improve, augment and/or protect the hearing capability of a user by receiving acoustic signals from the user's surroundings, generating corresponding audio signals, possibly modifying the audio signals and providing the possibly modified audio signals as audible signals to at least one of the user's ears. Such audible signals may e.g. be provided in the form of acoustic signals radiated into the user's outer ears and/or acoustic signals transferred as mechanical vibrations to the user's inner ears through the bone structure of the user's head and/or through parts of the middle ear.
The hearing aid may be configured to be worn in any known way, e.g. as a unit arranged behind the ear with a tube leading radiated acoustic signals into the ear canal or with an output transducer, e.g. a loudspeaker, arranged close to or in the ear canal, as a unit entirely or partly arranged in the pinna and/or in the ear canal, as a unit, e.g. a vibrator, attached to a fixture implanted into the skull bone, etc. The hearing aid may comprise a single unit or several units communicating (e.g. acoustically, electrically or optically) with each other. The loudspeaker may be arranged in a housing together with other components of the hearing aid, or may be an external unit in itself (possibly in combination with a flexible guiding element, e.g. a dome-like element).
A hearing aid may be adapted to a particular user's needs, e.g. a hearing impairment. A configurable signal processing circuit of the hearing aid may be adapted to apply a frequency and level dependent compressive amplification of an input signal. A customized frequency and level dependent gain (amplification or compression) may be determined in a fitting process by a fitting system based on a user's hearing data, e.g. an audiogram, using a fitting rationale (e.g. adapted to speech). The frequency and level dependent gain may e.g. be embodied in processing parameters, e.g. uploaded to the hearing aid via an interface to a programming device (fitting system), and used by a processing algorithm executed by the configurable signal processing circuit of the hearing aid.
A `hearing system' refers to a system comprising one or two hearing aids, and a `binaural hearing system' refers to a system comprising two hearing aids and being adapted to cooperatively provide audible signals to both of the user's ears. Hearing systems or binaural hearing systems may further comprise one or more `auxiliary devices', which communicate with the hearing aid(s) and affect and/or benefit from the function of the hearing aid(s). Such auxiliary devices may include at least one of a remote control, a remote microphone, an audio gateway device, an entertainment device, e.g. a music player, a wireless communication device, e.g. a mobile phone (such as a smartphone) or a tablet or another device, e.g. comprising a graphical interface. Hearing aids, hearing systems or binaural hearing systems may e.g. be used for compensating for a hearing-impaired person's loss of hearing capability, augmenting or protecting a normal-hearing person's hearing capability and/or conveying electronic audio signals to a person. Hearing aids or hearing systems may e.g. form part of or interact with public-address systems, active ear protection systems, handsfree telephone systems, car audio systems, entertainment (e.g. TV, music playing or karaoke) systems, teleconferencing systems, classroom amplification systems, etc.
The invention is set out in the appended set of claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The aspects of the disclosure may be best understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The figures are schematic and simplified for clarity, and they just show details to improve the understanding of the claims, while other details are left out. Throughout, the same reference numerals are used for identical or corresponding parts. The individual features of each aspect may each be combined with any or all features of the other aspects. These and other aspects, features and/or technical effect will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the illustrations described hereinafter in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example method of configuring an in-the-ear hearing aid according to embodiments of the disclosure,
FIG. 2 illustrates an outside the ear view of pinna reflections according to embodiments of the disclosed method,
FIG. 3 illustrates an inside the ear schematic view of pinna reflections according to embodiments of the disclosed method,
FIG. 4 illustrates direct and reflected audio received by a hearing aid according to embodiments of the disclosure, and
FIG. 5 shows a schematic of an in-the-ear hearing aid configured to perform embodiments of the methods according to the disclosure.

The figures are schematic and simplified for clarity, and they just show details which are essential to the understanding of the disclosure, while other details are left out. Throughout, the same reference signs are used for identical or corresponding parts.
Further scope of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only. Other embodiments may become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. Several aspects of the apparatus and methods are described by various blocks, functional units, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). Depending upon particular application, design constraints or other reasons, these elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer program, or any combination thereof.
The electronic hardware may include micro-electronic-mechanical systems (MEMS), integrated circuits (e.g. application specific), microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, printed circuit boards (PCB) (e.g. flexible PCBs), and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionality described throughout this disclosure, e.g. sensors, e.g. for sensing and/or registering physical properties of the environment, the device, the user, etc. Computer program shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.
The present application relates to the field of hearing aids, in particular to the field of methods of configuring hearing aids.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example method of configuring an in-the-ear hearing aid (ITE) hearing aid placed within an ear canal of a user according to embodiments of the disclosure. As shown, the method 100 includes receiving 102, by at least one input transducer of the ITE hearing aid, a first direct sound from a first audible sound at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid, and a first reflected sound from the first audible sound reflected by a pinna of the user, the first direct sound and the first reflected sound having a first delay between the first direct sound and the first reflected sound. The method 100 includes receiving 104, by the at least one input transducer, a second direct sound from a second audible sound at a second angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid, and a second reflected sound from the second audible sound reflected by the pinna of the user, the second direct sound and the second reflected sound having a second delay between the second direct sound and the second reflected sound, wherein the second angle is different from the first angle. The method 100 includes determining 104, by a processing unit of the ITE hearing aid, based the first delay, a first incidence angle of the first direct audio and, based the second delay, a second incidence angle of the second direct audio. The method 100 includes configuring 108, by the processing unit, based on the first incidence angle and the second incidence angle, beamforming of the hearing aid.
FIG. 2 illustrates an outside the ear view of pinna reflections according to embodiments of the disclosed method. First audible sound 202, second audible sound 204, and further audible sound 206 show a planar wave from the front that is reflected by the pinna on to the ITE hearing aid 10 and the microphone inlet. As shown, an ITE hearing aid 10 can be placed within the ear canal of a user's ear 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the first audible sound 202 and the second audible sound 204 will reflect off of the pinna 52 of the user's ear 50. Therefore, the hearing aid 10 will be configured for receiving the first audible sound 202 and the second audible sound 204 both directly and via a reflection.
FIG. 3 illustrates an inside the ear schematic view of pinna reflections according to embodiments of the disclosed method. This shows a similar approach as in FIG. 2, with the hearing aid 10 being located between the pinna 52 and the tragus 54 of the user's ear. Therefore, both first reflected audio and first direct audio from the first audible sound 202 and second reflected audio and second direct audio from the second audible sound 204 can be received by the hearing aid 10.
FIG. 4 illustrates reflections received by a hearing aid according to embodiments of the disclosure. In FIG. 4, a single audible sound (herein the first audible sound 202) is shown for convenience, though further audible sounds can be used. As shown, the hearing aid 10 will receive first direct audio 402 as the first audible sound 202 first passes by the hearing aid 10. The hearing aid 10 will also receive first reflected audio 404, where the first audible sound 202 is reflected by the pinna 52. Accordingly, there will be a delay between the hearing aid 10 receiving the first direct audio 402 and the first reflected audio 404.
FIG. 5 shows a schematic of an in-the-ear hearing aid configured to perform embodiments of the methods according to the disclosure. Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a hearing aid 10 having a housing configured to be positioned entirely in the ear canal of a user (e.g., an ITE hearing aid). This means that the end of the housing configured to face the external environment while the hearing instrument is in the intended position in the ear canal is also inside the ear canal. For example, a single input transducer 4 (e.g., microphone) can receive audio from the environment. The hearing aid 10 comprises a front section 2. The front section is configured to be inserted into the ear canal of a user. The front section 2 comprises a speaker unit/output transducer for delivering sound into the ear canal of the user. Here the housing is formed by an encapsulating material encapsulating a (rechargeable/secondary) battery and a substrate carrying some electronic components.

It is intended that the structural features of the devices described above, either in the detailed description and/or in the claims, may be combined with steps of the method, when appropriately substituted by a corresponding process.
As used, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well (i.e. to have the meaning "at least one"), unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "includes," "comprises," "including," and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element, but an intervening element may also be present, unless expressly stated otherwise. Furthermore, "connected" or "coupled" as used herein may include wirelessly connected or coupled. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The steps of any disclosed method are not limited to the exact order stated herein, unless expressly stated otherwise.
It should be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "an aspect" or features included as "may" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined as suitable in one or more embodiments of the disclosure. The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
The claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more." Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more.

Claims

A method of configuring an in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid placed within an ear canal of a user, the method comprising:
receiving, by at least one input transducer of the ITE hearing aid, a first direct sound from a first audible sound at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid, and a first reflected sound from the first audible sound reflected by a pinna of the user, the first direct sound and the first reflected sound having a first delay between the first direct sound and the first reflected sound;

receiving, by the at least one input transducer, a second direct sound from a second audible sound at a second angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the hearing aid, and a second reflected sound from the second audible sound reflected by the pinna of the user, the second direct sound and the second reflected sound having a second delay between the second direct sound and the second reflected sound, wherein the second angle is different from the first angle;

determining, by a processing unit of the ITE hearing aid, based the first delay, a first incidence angle of the first direct audio and, based the second delay, a second incidence angle of the second direct audio; and

configuring, by the processing unit, based on the first incidence angle and the second incidence angle, beamforming of the hearing aid.
The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one input transducer comprises a single microphone.
The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the beamforming comprises cancelling multipath distortion of the first audible sound and the second audible sound.
The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a hearing care technician.
The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a first direction of the first audible sound and/or a second direction of the second audible sound.
An in-the-ear hearing aid configured to perform the method of any one of the previous claims.