GB2311186A - Hearing aid feedback detecting and warning device - Google Patents

Hearing aid feedback detecting and warning device Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2311186A
GB2311186A GB9605277A GB9605277A GB2311186A GB 2311186 A GB2311186 A GB 2311186A GB 9605277 A GB9605277 A GB 9605277A GB 9605277 A GB9605277 A GB 9605277A GB 2311186 A GB2311186 A GB 2311186A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
warning
hearing aid
feedback
user
detecting
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB9605277A
Other versions
GB9605277D0 (en
Inventor
Jan Albert Gadd
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.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to GB9605277A priority Critical patent/GB2311186A/en
Publication of GB9605277D0 publication Critical patent/GB9605277D0/en
Priority to PCT/GB1997/000698 priority patent/WO1997034442A1/en
Priority to AU20325/97A priority patent/AU2032597A/en
Publication of GB2311186A publication Critical patent/GB2311186A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • 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
    • H04R25/45—Prevention of acoustic reaction, i.e. acoustic oscillatory feedback
    • H04R25/453—Prevention of acoustic reaction, i.e. acoustic oscillatory feedback electronically
    • 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
    • H04R25/502—Customised settings for obtaining desired overall acoustical characteristics using analog signal processing

Abstract

An electronic device 20 for detecting and warning a user of feedback occurring in a hearing aid. The device includes detection means comprising a microphone 22, a filter 23, rectifier 24, and comparator 25, for detecting the feedback and warning means 26 for warning the user when feedback occurs. The warning means 26 may comprise a warning light and/or vibrator to produce a warning signal. The device 20 is powered by a battery 27.

Description

HEARING AID FEEDBACK DETECTING AND WARNING DEVICE The invention relates to a device for detecting and warning a user of feedback occurring in a hearing aid. People who are deaf or partially deaf commonly use a hearing aid to amplify sounds around them. A typical hearing aid comprises a microphone which detects sound, an amplifier circuit, and a loudspeaker to feed the amplified sounds into the deaf person's ear. If the hearing aid is not properly adjusted, sounds from the loudspeaker are picked up by the microphone and amplified, causing feedback and resulting in a loud whistling noise. Deaf people are not always conscious of this.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a warning device which will alert the wearer of a hearing aid when feedback is occurring. This will allow the wearer to adjust the hearing aid so that it operates at an optimum level.
Accordingly, the invention provides an electronic device for detecting and warning a user of feedback occurring in a hearing aid comprising detection means for detecting the feedback and warning means for warning the user when feedback occurs.
The device may comprise a warning light and/or a vibrator to produce a warning signal.
The device is preferably separate from the hearing aid so that the hearing aid will not be undesirably bulky.
Preferably the detection means is a microphone which detects the feedback noise from the loudspeaker of the hearing aid or a suitable detection means incorporated into the circuitry of the hearing aid.
The detection means may be tunable to detect particular frequency of feedback noise.
This allows the device to be used with a variety of different hearing aids which may produce feedback at different frequencies. Alternatively, the device may be pretuned to a particular frequency. This latter option is particularly advantageous where the device is sold in combination with a particular hearing aid.
A further preferred embodiment is a hearing aid in combination with a device according to the invention.
The device may additionally comprise malfunction detection means and malfunction warning means, for detecting and warning a user of a malfunction in the hearing aid and/or device.
Such a malfunction may be the exhaustion of a battery powering the hearing aid andior device.
The malfunction warning means may be separate from the feedback warning means and may comprise one or more lights and/or vibrator means. In the latter case, it may be desirable for the vibrator to vibrate at a frequency different to that of the vibration signal which warns of feedback occurring to allow the user to distinguish between a feedback warning signal and a malfunction warning signal.
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the following Figures: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a typical hearing aid; and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a detection device according to the invention.
Figure 1 shows a typical hearing aid (10). Sound waves (11) are detected by a microphone (12) and amplified by an amplifier (13) which activates a receiver (14). This produces amplified sound waves (15) which are detected by the ear of the user (not shown). The whole hearing aid is powered by a battery (16).
When feedback occurs, amplified sound waves (15) are picked up by the microphone (12) and reamplified by the amplifier (13). This usually produces a loud whistling noise which may not be detected by the deaf user but will impede the sensitivity of the hearing aid.
Figure 2 shows an example of a feedback detection device (20) according to the invention.
Feedback sound waves (21) are detected by a microphone (22) which produces an AC signal representative of the sound wave. This is filtered by a bandpass filter (23) which prevents sounds other than the feedback noise from activating the device. A rectifier (24) produces a representation of the amplitude of the AC signal in the form of a DC signal. A comparator (25) then compares the DC signal produced by the rectifier (24) with a preset threshold value. If this preset value is exceeded, an alarm (25) is triggered.
The whole detection device is powered by a battery (27).
The alarm may be in the form of a warning light, which require the device to be permanently visible to the user, or by means of a vibrator which allows the user to carry the warning device in a pocket or a handbag.
The bandpass filter (23) may be preset to a particular feedback frequency or tuneable to allow the device to be used with different hearing aids.
The device may also include circuitry to detect a voltage drop in the device and hence warn the user of an exhausted battery. The device may also comprise circuitry which detects when no sound is being produced by the receiver (14) of the hearing aid (10), thus indicating a possible malfunction or loss of battery power.
These features enhance the ability of a user to use the hearing aid to its full potential and has the further advantage that the user is warned of a malfunction in the hearing aid.

Claims (13)

1. An electronic device for detecting and warning a user of feedback occurring in a hearing aid, comprising detection means for detecting the feedback and warning means for warning the user when feedback occurs.
2. A device according to Claim 1, wherein the warning means comprises a light.
3. A device according to Claims 1 or 2, wherein the warning means comprises vibrator means.
4. A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the device is separate from the hearing aid.
5. A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the detection means comprises a microphone to detect the feedback noise from the loudspeaker of the hearing aid.
6. A device according to any of the preceding claims which additionally comprises means for allowing the detection means to be tuned to a particular feedback frequency.
7. A device according to any of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the detection means is pretuned to a particular feedback frequency.
8. A device according to any of the preceding claims, additionally comprising malfunction detection means and malfunction warning means for detecting and warning a user of a malfunction in the hearing aid and/or device.
9. A device according to Claim 8, wherein the malfunction is the exhaustion of a battery powering the hearing aid and/or device.
10. A device according to Claim 8 or 9, wherein the malfunction warning means are separate from the feedback warning means.
11. A device according to Claim 10, wherein the malfunction warning means comprises a light and/or a vibrator.
12. In combination, a hearing aid and a device for detecting and warning a user of feedback occurring in a hearing aid as defined in any one of the preceding claims.
13. A device for detecting and warning a user of feedback occurring in a hearing aid, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying description and/or diagrams.
GB9605277A 1996-03-13 1996-03-13 Hearing aid feedback detecting and warning device Withdrawn GB2311186A (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9605277A GB2311186A (en) 1996-03-13 1996-03-13 Hearing aid feedback detecting and warning device
PCT/GB1997/000698 WO1997034442A1 (en) 1996-03-13 1997-03-12 Hearing aid feedback detecting and warning device
AU20325/97A AU2032597A (en) 1996-03-13 1997-03-12 Hearing aid feedback detecting and warning device

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9605277A GB2311186A (en) 1996-03-13 1996-03-13 Hearing aid feedback detecting and warning device

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9605277D0 GB9605277D0 (en) 1996-05-15
GB2311186A true GB2311186A (en) 1997-09-17

Family

ID=10790313

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB9605277A Withdrawn GB2311186A (en) 1996-03-13 1996-03-13 Hearing aid feedback detecting and warning device

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU2032597A (en)
GB (1) GB2311186A (en)
WO (1) WO1997034442A1 (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1999014985A1 (en) * 1997-09-17 1999-03-25 Siemens Hearing Instruments, Inc. High-gain, feedback-resistant cic hearing aid
US6445805B1 (en) * 2001-08-06 2002-09-03 The United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration Hearing aid assembly
EP1708544A1 (en) 2005-03-29 2006-10-04 Oticon A/S System and method for measuring vent effects in a hearing aid
EP1940198A2 (en) 2006-12-25 2008-07-02 Sony Corporation Audio output apparatus, audio output method, audio output system, and program for audio output processing

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4845757A (en) * 1987-02-17 1989-07-04 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Circuit for recognizing oscillations in a useful signal due to feedback between acoustic input and output transducers
US5003606A (en) * 1988-10-13 1991-03-26 U.S. Philips Corporation Antihowling hearing aid
EP0581261A1 (en) * 1992-07-29 1994-02-02 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Auditory prosthesis with user-controlled feedback

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4049930A (en) * 1976-11-08 1977-09-20 Nasa Hearing aid malfunction detection system
US4079199A (en) * 1977-05-25 1978-03-14 Patronis Jr Eugene T Acoustic feedback detector and automatic gain control
FR2529727B1 (en) * 1982-06-30 1989-03-24 Radiotechnique DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING THE SOUND LEVEL OF A SOURCE OF USEFUL SOUNDS AS A FUNCTION OF AMBIENT NOISE
DK164349C (en) * 1989-08-22 1992-11-02 Oticon As HEARING DEVICE WITH BACKUP COMPENSATION

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4845757A (en) * 1987-02-17 1989-07-04 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Circuit for recognizing oscillations in a useful signal due to feedback between acoustic input and output transducers
US5003606A (en) * 1988-10-13 1991-03-26 U.S. Philips Corporation Antihowling hearing aid
EP0581261A1 (en) * 1992-07-29 1994-02-02 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Auditory prosthesis with user-controlled feedback

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1999014985A1 (en) * 1997-09-17 1999-03-25 Siemens Hearing Instruments, Inc. High-gain, feedback-resistant cic hearing aid
US6445805B1 (en) * 2001-08-06 2002-09-03 The United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration Hearing aid assembly
EP1708544A1 (en) 2005-03-29 2006-10-04 Oticon A/S System and method for measuring vent effects in a hearing aid
US7756283B2 (en) 2005-03-29 2010-07-13 Oticon A/S System and method for measuring vent effects in a hearing aid
EP1940198A2 (en) 2006-12-25 2008-07-02 Sony Corporation Audio output apparatus, audio output method, audio output system, and program for audio output processing
EP1940198A3 (en) * 2006-12-25 2011-07-13 Sony Corporation Audio output apparatus, audio output method, audio output system, and program for audio output processing
US8447041B2 (en) 2006-12-25 2013-05-21 Sony Corporation Audio output apparatus, audio output method, audio output system, and program for audio output processing

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO1997034442A1 (en) 1997-09-18
GB9605277D0 (en) 1996-05-15
AU2032597A (en) 1997-10-01

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WAP Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1)