JP2010045772A - Hearing auxiliary device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hearing auxiliary device capable of being readily found, even if one of paired hearing aids is lost. <P>SOLUTION: The paired hearing aid 100 independently attached to each of user's ears comprises a sound collector 101 for collecting an ambient sound; a hearing-assistant processor 102 for performing an assistant process to the collected ambient sound; a sound outputting unit 106 for outputting the devised sound; a communication unit 105 for performing communication with another hearing aid; and a communication controller 103 for directing a communication synthesizer 104, to inform that another hearing aid is detached, with the attached state to user's ears being detected; and the attached state of another hearing aid to the user's ear is detected, on the basis of the information from the communication unit, and when it is determined only the other hearing aid is in a detached state from the user's ear. The communication synthesizer is interposed in between the hearing-assistant processor and the sound outputting unit, and the hearing assistant processor synthesizes the communication sound generated inside the communication synthesizer, with the devised sound when the communication is directed from the communication controller. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hearing aid apparatus in which two hearing aids respectively attached to both ears communicate with each other.

  In recent years, various types of hearing aid devices have been provided, and the options of users have expanded. Among them, many small and light-weight ones are provided in order to obscure the existence at the time of wearing or to reduce the burden on the user. However, because of its small size, it is difficult to find out if it is forgotten or dropped. Therefore, a technique related to a hearing aid that generates a loud sound when it is detected that it is left unattended is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-145198 A

  As described above, an attempt to generate sound by itself to be easily discovered is highly appreciated, but it is still insufficient from the viewpoint of easy discovery in actual use. In other words, conventional loud sounds can contribute to finding a hearing aid if the user has a mild degree of hearing loss, but for users with severe hearing loss, even if a loud sound is generated, It is difficult to capture the sound. Therefore, in this case, it was not possible to easily find a hearing aid.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hearing aid device that can easily find a hearing aid that has been misplaced or dropped even if it is severely deaf.

  And in order to achieve this objective, the hearing aid apparatus of this invention has two hearing aids each mounted | worn separately to a user's both ears, and each of these two hearing aids becomes a mounting | wearing shape to an ear. A sound collecting unit that captures the ambient sound of the main body, a hearing aid processing unit that performs hearing aid processing on the ambient sound captured by the sound collecting unit, and a sound processed by the hearing processing unit is output to the outside of the main body. A sound output unit, a communication unit that communicates with the other hearing aid, and a wearing state of its own ear are detected, and a wearing state of the other hearing aid to the ear is detected based on information obtained from the communication unit. A notification control unit that instructs the notification synthesis unit to notify that the other hearing aid is not worn when it is determined that only the other hearing aid is not worn on the ear, and the notification synthesis unit includes the hearing aid processing unit. Between the notification output unit and the sound output unit. Is instructed to notify, it is characterized in that the hearing aid processing unit is configured to synthesize a notification sound that is generated by the synthesis notification portion to the sound that is processed.

  As described above, according to the hearing aid device of the present invention, in the case of the two hearing aids that are respectively attached to both ears, the sound information that informs that the other hearing aid has fallen off when the hearing aid is attached to the ears. Therefore, even a severely deaf person can easily find a hearing aid that has been lost.

The figure which shows the structure of the hearing aid apparatus in Embodiment 1. Block diagram of hearing aid processor 102 Block diagram of notification control section 103 in the first embodiment Diagram showing the concept of an acoustic loop Block diagram of the notification composition unit 104 Flow chart showing operation of notification control unit The figure which shows the structure of the hearing aid apparatus in Embodiment 2. Block diagram of notification control unit 107 in the second embodiment Diagram explaining the mounting position of the temperature sensor The figure which shows the structure of the hearing aid apparatus in Embodiment 3. Block diagram of notification control unit 108 in the third embodiment

  Embodiments of the hearing aid apparatus of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a hearing aid apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 (a) is a conceptual diagram in which two hearing aids 100 constituting the hearing aid apparatus are worn on the ear, and FIG. 1 (b) is a diagram. 1 is a block diagram of a hearing aid 100. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the hearing aid apparatus of the present invention comprises two hearing aids 100 worn on both ears. The hearing aid 100 comprises a sound collection unit 101, a hearing aid processing unit 102, a notification control unit 103, and a notification synthesis unit. 104, a communication unit 105, and a sound output unit 106. Here, the two hearing aids 100 have exactly the same configuration, and there is no master-slave relationship between them, and they are in an equal relationship. The two hearing aids 100 always communicate with each other by a radio wave 110a as shown in FIG.

  Hereafter, each element shown in FIG.1 (b) is demonstrated in detail. First, the sound collection unit 101 includes a sound port provided in the body of the hearing aid 100 and a microphone that collects ambient sounds that have entered the sound port. The microphone converts the collected sound signal into an analog electric signal and outputs it. In the present embodiment, the sound collection unit 101 is provided with two sets of sound ports and microphones to provide directivity to the hearing aid wearer, and outputs analog input signals 111a and 111b, respectively.

  The hearing aid processing unit 102 performs hearing aid processing on the analog input signals 111 a and 111 b output from the sound collecting unit 101, adjusts the sound to be suitable for the hearing characteristics of the hearing aid wearer, and generates the analog hearing aid signal 111 as the notification synthesis unit 104. Output to.

  Here, the hearing aid processing unit 102 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the hearing aid processing unit 102. As shown in FIG. 2, the hearing aid processing unit 102 includes an A / D (Analog to Digital) conversion unit 201, a directivity synthesis unit 202, a frequency analysis unit 203, a power calculation unit 204, a gain control unit 205, and a gain adjustment unit 206. It comprises a frequency synthesizer 207 and a D / A (Digital to Analog) converter 208.

  The A / D conversion unit 201 digitally samples the analog input signals 111a and 111b output from the sound collection unit 101, and outputs them to the directivity synthesis unit 202 as digital input signals 210a and 210b.

  The directivity synthesis unit 202 expands the sound from a specific direction to the hearing aid wearer, or reduces the sound from other than the specific direction. That is, the digital input signals 210a and 210b are processed and synthesized so as to direct the directivity of the hearing aid in a specific direction. The synthesized signal is output to the frequency analysis unit 203 as a synthesized signal 211. The directivity synthesis unit 202 includes a plurality of adaptive filters and an adder, and directivity can be directed in an arbitrary direction by changing the calculation coefficient. It can also be omnidirectional so that sounds in all directions can be heard evenly.

  The frequency analysis unit 203 converts the combined signal 211 input in time series from a time domain signal to a frequency domain signal, divides the signal into a plurality of frequency bands, and outputs the frequency signal group 212. As this method, a method of dividing the result of Fourier transform or a subband division method is used. The division is performed by dividing the upper limit to the lower limit of the frequency handled by the hearing aid. For example, if the hearing aid is compatible with 10 channels (or 10 bands), the frequency analysis unit 203 divides the frequency region into ten. . Then, a frequency signal is output for each frequency band. The frequency analysis unit 203 outputs these ten frequency signals as the frequency signal group 212.

  The power calculation unit 204 calculates a power value for each frequency signal in each band of the frequency signal group 212 output from the frequency analysis unit 203. Here, the power value is the power of the signal input to the frequency analysis unit 203 and has a correlation with the sound pressure level of the acoustic signal input to the sound collection unit 101. That is, if the sound pressure level is small, the power value is small, and if the sound pressure level is large, the power value is large. The power value is obtained by calculating the sum of squares of the real part and the imaginary part for each frequency signal in each band. The calculated power value of each band is output to the gain control unit 205 as the power value group 112. Further, the power value group 112 is output to the notification control unit 103.

  The gain control unit 205 determines a gain for the frequency signal in each band based on the power value group 112. A gain table is used to determine the gain. The dynamic range of hearing varies depending on the hearing aid wearer, and nonlinear gain adjustment according to the hearing aid wearer is required for the sound pressure level of the input acoustic signal. Therefore, a gain table is created in which gain characteristics necessary for a hearing aid wearer obtained in advance by an audiogram or the like are determined for each input sound pressure level, that is, for each power value. The gain control unit 205 includes this gain table for all frequency bands. When the power value group 112 is input, the gain control unit 205 determines a corresponding gain with reference to the gain table. These are output to the gain adjustment unit 206 as a gain control signal group 213.

  Based on the gain control signal group 213, the gain adjustment unit 206 performs gain calculation on the frequency signal group 212, which is a frequency signal in each band, and adjusts the gain of the frequency signal. The frequency signals subjected to gain adjustment are output to the frequency synthesis unit 207 as the adjusted frequency signal group 214.

  The frequency synthesizer 207 converts the adjusted frequency signal group 214 composed of the divided ten frequency signals into a frequency domain signal and a time domain signal. The frequency synthesis is performed by inverse Fourier transform if the frequency analysis is Fourier transform, or by subband synthesis if the frequency analysis is subband division. The frequency synthesized signal is output as a digital hearing aid signal 215.

  The D / A conversion unit 208 performs a reverse conversion to the A / D conversion unit 201 and converts the digital hearing aid signal 215 that is a digital signal into the analog hearing aid signal 111 that is an analog signal.

  Next, the notification control unit 103 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the notification control unit 103. The notification control unit 103 includes a howling detection unit 301, a mounting detection unit 302, and a mounting determination unit 303.

  The howling detection unit 301 detects whether or not howling has occurred from the power value group 112 output from the power calculation unit 204. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a concept of an acoustic loop generated in the hearing aid 100. 4, 401 indicates an ear, 402 indicates an acoustic loop, FIG. 4A shows a state in which the hearing aid 100 is attached to the ear, and FIG. 4B shows a state in which the hearing aid 100 is detached from the ear. . In FIG. 4A, since the hearing aid 100 is in close contact with the ear canal of the ear 401, the sound collecting unit 101 hardly collects the acoustic signal output from the sound output unit 106. In FIG. 4B, since there is nothing to block between the sound output unit 106 and the sound collection unit 101, the sound collection unit 101 collects the sound signal output from the sound output unit 106 again to form an acoustic loop 402. Is done. As a result, howling occurs.

  It is well known that when a howling occurs, a state where a power value at a specific frequency is large continues. Therefore, howling detection section 301 uses power value group 112 to determine whether or not howling has occurred. For this purpose, howling detection section 301 includes a reference level comparison section and a determination section. First, the reference level comparison unit compares the power values of all frequency bands included in the power value group 112 with the determination reference level, and outputs the comparison result to the determination unit. The reference level comparison unit performs this comparison every sampling clock of the A / D conversion unit 201 and outputs the comparison result once per clock.

  The determination unit monitors the comparison result output from the reference level comparison unit, and determines that howling has occurred when the result that the power value of the same frequency is equal to or higher than the reference level continues for 10 clocks, for example. Then, a howling detection signal 310 is output to the attachment detection unit 302.

  The wearing detection unit 302 detects whether or not it is worn on the ear. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the hearing aid 100 is removed from the ear, an acoustic loop 402 is formed and howling occurs. When howling occurs, it is detected by the howling detection unit 301, and detection is performed using this information. However, howling may occur even when the hearing aid 100 is worn on the ear if the hearing aid is displaced and a gap is formed between the ear canal and the hearing aid. Therefore, it is necessary to discriminate between howling that occurs when the hearing aid is shifted and howling that occurs when the hearing aid is removed.

  Therefore, the wearing detection unit 302 counts the time when the howling detection signal 310 is continuously output from the howling detection unit 301, and when the howling detection signal 310 continues for a predetermined time or longer, it is removed. Or, the value of the non-wearing signal 114 is changed because it has dropped out. This non-wearing signal 114 is 0 when it is attached and 1 when it is not attached, and is input to the communication unit 105 and the attachment determination unit 303. Here, the predetermined time is, for example, 30 seconds. Usually, when howling occurs with the hearing aid worn on the ear, the hearing aid wearer feels very uncomfortable, and immediately tries to stop the howling by fixing the displaced hearing aid. Therefore, leaving the howling for 30 seconds can be said to be a state in which the hearing aid wearer cannot control it, that is, a state in which the hearing aid has dropped and the whereabouts are unknown. Note that this time can be freely set from a fitting device for adjusting the hearing aid characteristics of the hearing aid processor 102.

  The wearing determination unit 303 generates a search mode instruction signal 116 based on the non-wearing signal 114 output from the wearing detection unit 302 and the pair non-wearing signal 115 output from the communication unit 105. Here, the pair non-wearing signal 115 is a signal indicating the wearing state of the other hearing aid obtained through the communication unit 105. That is, it is a signal indicating a result of receiving the non-wearing signal 114 transmitted from the wearing detection unit 302 of the other hearing aid, which is a result of detecting whether or not it is worn, by the communication unit 105.

  This pair non-wearing signal 115 becomes 0 when the non-wearing signal 114 of the other hearing aid arrives as 0, and becomes 1 when the non-wearing signal 114 of the other hearing aid arrives as 1. Further, when the non-wearing signal 114 does not reach from the other hearing aid, that is, when the other hearing aid is not turned on or cannot communicate with the other hearing aid due to a communication failure or the like. .

  Further, the search mode instruction signal 116 instructs the notification synthesis unit 104 to perform “search mode (first notification)” for searching for the other hearing aid when the other is not worn when the wearer is in the wearing state. Therefore, the signal becomes 1 when the “search mode” is not performed, and becomes 2 when the wearing state of the other hearing aid is unknown.

  When the search mode instruction signal 116 is 2, that is, when the wearing state of the other hearing aid is unknown, the notification synthesizing unit 104 is instructed to perform the “notification mode (second notification)” to notify the hearing aid wearer. To do.

  When the pair non-wearing signal 115 is 1 indicating that the other hearing aid is not worn, or when the wearing determination unit 303 is 2 indicating that the wearing state of the other hearing aid is unknown, Is checked based on the non-wearing signal 114. Here, when the device itself is not mounted, the mounting determination unit 303 sets the search mode instruction signal 116 to 0 and outputs it.

  When the pair non-wearing signal 115 is 1 and its own non-wearing signal 114 is 1, it means that both of the two hearing aids are not worn. For example, the hearing aid is turned on after the hearing aid is turned on. It means a state before being worn on the ear or before removing the hearing aid from both ears and turning off the power. In this case, the search mode is unnecessary. Furthermore, when the pair non-wearing signal 115 is 2 and its own non-wearing signal 114 is 1, the wearing state of the other hearing aid is unknown, but if it is not wearing, it will be notified Since it is not possible, the notification mode is unnecessary.

  When it is informed that the other hearing aid is not worn because the pair non-wearing signal 115 is 1 to the wearing determination unit 303, it is understood that the non-wearing signal 114 is 0 and the device is not worn. The wearing determination unit 303 outputs the search mode instruction signal 116 as 1 in order to instruct to perform the search mode. When the pair non-wearing signal 115 becomes 0 and it is detected that the other hearing aid is worn during the search mode, the search mode instruction signal 116 is changed from 1 to 0 and the search mode is stopped. .

  In addition, when the wearing determination unit 303 is notified that the wearing state of the other hearing aid is unknown because the pair non-wearing signal 115 is 2, the non-wearing signal 114 is 0 and the device itself is not worn. If it is determined that there is not, the wearing determination unit 303 outputs the search mode instruction signal 116 as 2 in order to instruct to perform the notification mode. During the notification mode, when the pair non-wearing signal 115 becomes 1 and it is notified that the other hearing aid is not worn, the search mode instruction signal 116 is changed from 2 to 1, and the search mode is set. When the pair non-wearing signal 115 becomes 0 and it is detected that the other hearing aid is worn, the search mode instruction signal 116 is changed from 2 to 0 and the notification mode is stopped.

  Next, the notification composition unit 104 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the notification synthesis unit 104, and the notification synthesis unit 104 includes a sound signal generation unit 501, a notification sound control unit 502, and a sound signal synthesis unit 503.

  When instructed to perform the search mode by the search mode instruction signal 116, the sound signal generation unit 501 generates a specific sound. Here, the specific sound is a beep sound that is repeated at short intervals. The sound signal generation unit 501 outputs the specific sound as the specific sound signal 511 to the notification sound control unit 502. In the present embodiment, the specific sound signal 511 is an analog signal.

  In addition, when the search mode instruction signal 116 becomes 2 and the sound signal generation unit 501 is instructed to perform the notification mode, the sound signal generation unit 501 generates a sound different from the search mode. The generated sound is output to the notification sound control unit 502 as a specific sound signal 511.

  When the notification sound control unit 502 is instructed to perform the search mode by the search mode instruction signal 116, the notification sound control unit 502 adjusts the volume of the specific sound signal 511 output from the sound signal generation unit 501 to generate a sound signal as the notification sound signal 512. The data is output to the combining unit 503. The volume adjustment of the specific sound signal 511 is performed based on the received power signal 117 output from the communication unit 105.

  The reception power signal 117 is a result of measuring the reception strength of the radio communication radio wave in the communication unit 105 to be described later. The reception power signal 117 increases as the reception strength increases, and decreases as the reception strength decreases. The notification sound control unit 502 adjusts the volume of the specific sound signal 511 so as to be proportional to the received power signal 117. That is, the notification sound signal 512 has a large volume if the received power signal 117 is large, and a small volume if the received power signal 117 is small.

  Further, when the search mode instruction signal 116 becomes 2 and the notification sound control unit 502 is instructed to perform the notification mode, the notification sound control unit 502 sets the volume of the specific sound signal 511 output from the sound signal generation unit 501 to a constant volume. The notification sound signal 512 is output to the sound signal synthesis unit 503.

  The sound signal synthesis unit 503 superimposes the analog hearing aid signal 111 output from the hearing aid processing unit 102 and the notification sound signal 512 output from the notification sound control unit 502 with a multiplier to the sound output unit 106 as a synthesized hearing aid signal 118. Output.

  Next, the communication unit 105 will be described. The communication unit 105 performs data communication between both hearing aids 100 using a known wireless communication protocol. Data to be transmitted / received are a power value and gain determination information used by the hearing aid processing unit 102 and a non-wearing signal 114 used by the notification control unit 103. In addition, the communication unit 105 includes an RSSI measurement unit that measures received signal strength RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), and outputs a measured value as a received power signal 117.

  This RSSI tends to decrease as the distance between the two hearing aids 100 increases. That is, when the two hearing aids are separated from each other, the volume of the notification sound signal 512 is small in the notification synthesis unit 104, and the volume of the notification sound signal 512 is increased as the two hearing aids approach each other. As a result, the notification sound increases as the hearing aid wearer approaches a hearing aid that is lost while wearing one of the hearing aids, and the hearing aid wearer can be navigated. This series of operations is referred to as “search mode”.

  The sound output unit 106 includes a sound introduction port and a speaker. The speaker converts the synthesized hearing aid signal 118 output from the notification synthesis unit 104 into an acoustic signal and outputs the sound signal. When the hearing aid is an earphone type, the sound guide opening is a hole provided to guide the acoustic signal output from the speaker to the outside of the hearing aid body. When the hearing aid is of the ear-mounted type, the sound guide opening is a hole connected to a sound guide path provided in a tube that guides the sound output from the hearing aid to the ear of the hearing aid wearer.

  Next, the search mode will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows an operation flowchart of the mounting determination unit 303. In step S001, the wearing determination unit 303 detects whether or not the other is in the wearing state from the pair non-wearing signal 115 output from the communication unit 105. When the pair non-wearing signal 115 indicates that the other hearing aid is in the wearing state, the wearing determination unit 303 does nothing.

  On the other hand, when it is shown that the other hearing aid is in a non-wearing state, the wearing determination unit 303 next determines whether or not it is in a wearing state from the non-wearing signal 114 output from the wearing detection unit 302 (step). S002). When the non-wearing signal 114 indicates that it is not wearing, that is, both the self-hearing device and the other hearing aid are in the non-wearing state. At this time, there is no need to perform the search mode because the hearing aid is not put on the ear after the power is turned on or before the power is turned off by removing the hearing aid from the ear, and the process returns to step S001.

  On the other hand, if the non-wearing signal 114 indicates that its own hearing aid is in the wearing state, the process proceeds to step S003, and the wearing determining unit 303 outputs the search mode instruction signal 116 and sets the search mode to the notification combining unit 104. Let it run. Thereafter, the search mode is continued while the pair non-wearing signal 115 indicates that the other hearing aid is not attached (steps S004 and S005), and the pair non-wearing signal 115 changes so that the other hearing aid indicates the wearing state. Then, the output of the search mode instruction signal 116 is stopped, and the search mode is ended (step S006).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the notification control unit that detects whether or not the two hearing aids to be worn on both ears are worn or not and controls whether or not to notify the hearing aid wearer, When making a notification, a notification synthesizer that synthesizes notification information with a sound signal that has undergone hearing aid processing is provided, so even if one of the hearing aids is left behind or lost due to falling, the hearing aid wearer can rely on the notification. Search for missing hearing aids and find them easily.

  Note that a switch is provided in the hearing aid 100 so that the signal is input to the wearing determination unit 303. When the conditions for executing the above-described search mode are met, the wearing determining unit 303 receives a signal from the switch. Alternatively, the search mode instruction signal 116 may be set to 1 and output. That is, the wearing determination unit 303 does not start the search mode until the hearing aid wearer inputs a switch and gives an instruction even when the other is not worn and is worn. Thereby, when a hearing aid wearer intends, search mode can be started and the convenience improves.

  Further, the notification sound control unit 502 may adjust the interval between the specific sound signals according to the magnitude of the received power signal 117. That is, when the specific sound signal 511 is a beep sound that is repeated at short intervals, the notification sound control unit 502 increases the beep sound interval as the received power signal 117 decreases. Thereby, the hearing aid wearer can know whether or not he / she is approaching the hearing aid he / she is searching for by the sound interval.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the hearing aid apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the difference from Embodiment 1 is the notification control unit 107, and the output of the power value group 112 from the hearing aid processing unit 102 to the notification control unit 107 is deleted along with the change of the notification control unit 107. . In the second embodiment, since the configuration and operation other than the notification control unit 107 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the notification control unit 107. The difference from the notification control unit 103 shown in the first embodiment is that a temperature determination unit 801 is provided instead of the howling detection unit 301. The temperature determination unit 801 further includes a temperature detection unit 802 and a comparison determination unit 803. The temperature detection unit 802 is, for example, a contact type temperature sensor, and outputs the detected temperature value. As shown in FIG. 9, the temperature detection unit 802 is arranged as close to the eardrum as possible within a range where the hearing aid 100 contacts the ear canal. The temperature detection unit 802 may be provided on the surface of the shell that forms the outline of the hearing aid 100, or may be provided inside the shell when the thermal conductivity of the shell is high.

  The comparison determination unit 803 compares the temperature value output from the temperature detection unit 802 with a predetermined value. When the temperature value is smaller than the predetermined value, a low temperature detection signal 811 is output to the attachment detection unit 302. Here, the predetermined value will be described. The temperature around the ear tympanic membrane reflects the temperature of the hypothalamus and is close to body temperature. Since the human body temperature is around 36 degrees, the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit 802 when the hearing aid 100 is worn is considered to be at least higher than 34 degrees. Therefore, if 34 degrees is set as the predetermined value, it is possible to determine whether the wearing or non-wearing. Note that the temperature detected at the position where the outside air is touched is greatly influenced by the outside air temperature. Therefore, the temperature detection unit 802 is preferably provided at a position close to the eardrum that touches the ear canal without touching the outside air.

  The attachment detection unit 302 performs the same operation as when the howling detection signal 310 in the first embodiment is input. That is, when the low temperature detection signal 811 is output from the temperature determination unit 801 for a longer time than the predetermined time, the non-attachment signal 114 is set to 1 and output because it has been removed or dropped. Hereinafter, the processing using the non-wearing signal 114 and the operation of the wearing determination unit 303 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the hearing aid is provided with the temperature detection unit, and whether or not the hearing aid is worn or not is determined based on whether or not the detected temperature is close to the body temperature. The accuracy can be increased.

  When the wearing detection unit 302 determines that the wearer itself is not worn, the operation of the sound collection unit 101, the hearing aid processing unit 102, the notification synthesis unit 104, and the sound output unit 106 may be stopped. good. For example, the non-wearing signal 114 is connected to a circuit that supplies power to the sound collecting unit 101, the hearing aid processing unit 102, the notification synthesis unit 104, and the sound output unit 106. Try to block. Thereby, since the hearing aid in the non-wearing state does not perform unnecessary hearing aid processing, power consumption can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the temperature detection unit 802 is a contact-type temperature sensor, but a non-contact temperature sensor that detects infrared rays emitted from the vicinity of the eardrum and detects the body temperature may be used. The principle of detecting the body temperature is the same as that of a known ear hole thermometer. However, in the case of the present invention, when the infrared ray cannot be captured by the sensor and measurement is impossible, the non-wearing signal 114 is set to 1 and output. In this way, it is possible to determine wearing without being affected by the outside air temperature.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a hearing aid apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In FIG. 10, the difference from Embodiment 1 is the notification control unit 108. With the change of the notification control unit 108, the input / output of the non-attachment signal 114 and the pair non-attachment signal 115 with the communication unit 105 is deleted and received. The power signal 117 is input to the notification control unit 108. Since the configuration and operation other than the notification control unit 108 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the notification control unit 108. The difference from the notification control unit 103 shown in the first embodiment is that the non-wearing signal 114 is not output to the outside of the notification control unit 108, and the received power signal 117 is input to the wearing determination unit 304 instead of the pair non-wearing signal 115. This is the point. The wearing determination unit 304 uses the non-wearing signal 114 and the received power signal 117 to determine whether or not to perform the search mode, and when performing the search mode, the search mode instruction signal 116 is set to 1 and the notification combining unit 104. Output to.

  The wearing determination unit 304 first compares the received power signal 117 with a predetermined value (first threshold value). If the received power signal 117 is smaller than the predetermined value, the wearing determining unit 304 determines that either one or both hearing aids are not worn, The non-wearing signal 114 is confirmed. When the non-wearing signal 114 indicates own wearing, the search mode instruction signal 116 is output to perform the search mode. Thereafter, when the received power signal 117 becomes larger than a predetermined value or the non-wearing signal 114 indicates its own non-wearing, the output of the search mode instruction signal 116 is changed to zero. Since the operation of the notification synthesis unit 104 when the search mode instruction signal 116 becomes 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. Even when the received power signal 117 is smaller than a predetermined value, the search mode is not instructed when the non-wearing signal 114 indicates its own non-wearing.

  Here, the received power signal 117 and the predetermined value will be described. The received power signal 117 is a signal whose magnitude changes according to the distance between the two hearing aids, and the value decreases as the distance increases. That is, when one of the two hearing aids is removed and the hearing aid is lost, the distance between the two hearing aids becomes longer than the distance between the ears of the hearing aid wearer, and the received power signal 117 becomes smaller. .

  Therefore, the change characteristic of the received power signal 117 corresponding to the distance between the two hearing aids is obtained in advance, and the value of the received power signal 117 corresponding to the desired distance is set as a predetermined value. This predetermined value is smaller than the value of the received power signal 117 when the two hearing aids are respectively worn on both ears, and is larger than the value of the received power signal 117 at the maximum distance at which wireless communication is possible between the two hearing aids. It is set in a large range.

  Note that if the received power signal 117 is smaller than a specific threshold (second threshold) set lower than the predetermined value described above, the attachment determination unit 304 determines to perform the notification mode. This is because when the power of the other hearing aid is not turned on or communication with the other hearing aid is difficult due to a communication failure or the like, the received power signal 117 becomes zero or a low value. The notification mode is selected on the assumption that the state of is unknown.

  The wearing determination unit 304 outputs the search mode instruction signal 116 as 2 when the received power signal 117 is smaller than a specific threshold and the non-wearing signal 114 is 0 indicating its own wearing. The operation of the notification synthesis unit 104 when the search mode instruction signal 116 becomes 2 is the same as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the wearing or not wearing of the hearing aid is determined using the strength of the radio wave that changes according to the distance between the hearing aids. Can be set freely.

  In addition, it is also possible to determine mounting by combining the temperature determination result and the received power signal by using the temperature determination unit shown in the second embodiment instead of the howling detection unit 301 of the present embodiment.

  The hearing aid device according to the present invention can be easily found even if one of the two pairs is lost, and is useful as an audio device worn on both ears.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Hearing aid 110a Radio wave 101 Sound collecting part 102 Hearing aid processing part 103,107,108 Notification control part 104 Notification synthetic | combination part 105 Communication part 106 Sound output part 111 Analog hearing aid signal 111a, 111b Analog input signal 112 Power value group 114 Non-wearing signal 115 Pair non-attachment signal 116 Search mode instruction signal 117 Received power signal 201 A / D conversion unit 202 Directivity synthesis unit 203 Frequency analysis unit 204 Power calculation unit 205 Gain control unit 206 Gain adjustment unit 207 Frequency synthesis unit 208 D / A conversion Unit 210a, 210b digital input signal 211 composite signal 212 frequency signal group 213 gain control signal group 214 adjusted frequency signal group 215 digital hearing aid signal 301 howling detection unit 302 wearing detection unit 303, 304 wearing determination unit 31 0 Howling detection signal 401 Ear 402 Acoustic loop 501 Sound signal generation unit 502 Notification sound control unit 503 Sound signal synthesis unit 511 Specific sound signal 512 Notification sound signal 801 Temperature determination unit 802 Temperature detection unit 803 Comparison determination unit 811 Low temperature detection signal

Claims (12)

It has two hearing aids that are worn separately on both ears of the user,
Each of these two hearing aids
To the main body that is attached to the ear,
A sound collection unit that captures the ambient sound of the main unit,
A hearing aid processor that performs hearing aid processing on the ambient sound captured by the sound collector;
A sound output unit that outputs the sound processed by the hearing aid processing unit to the outside of the main body;
A communication unit for communicating with the other hearing aid;
When detecting the wearing state of one's own ear and detecting the wearing state of the other hearing aid to the ear based on the information obtained from the communication unit, and determining that only the other hearing aid is not attached to the ear A notification control unit that instructs the notification synthesis unit of itself to notify the non-wearing of the other hearing aid,
The notification synthesizing unit is interposed between the hearing aid processing unit and the sound output unit. When a notification is instructed from the notification control unit, a sound processed by the hearing aid processing unit is generated in the synthesis notification unit. Hearing assistance device configured to synthesize notification sound. The notification control unit
A howling detection unit for detecting whether howling has occurred,
A mounting detection unit that determines whether or not the device is in a mounted state using the detection result of the howling detection unit;
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a wearing determination unit configured to determine whether to give the notification using the determination result of the wearing detection unit of the device and the determination result of the wearing detection unit of the other hearing aid. . The notification control unit
A howling detection unit for detecting whether howling has occurred,
A mounting detection unit that determines whether or not the device is in a mounted state using the detection result of the howling detection unit;
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a wearing determination unit that determines whether to instruct the notification using a determination result of the wearing detection unit of the device itself and a strength of a communication radio wave received by the communication unit. . The notification control unit
A temperature determination unit that measures the ambient temperature of the main body and compares it with a predetermined value;
A mounting detection unit that determines whether or not it is in a mounting state using the comparison result of the temperature determination unit,
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a wearing determination unit configured to determine whether to give the notification using the determination result of the wearing detection unit of the device and the determination result of the wearing detection unit of the other hearing aid. . The notification control unit
A temperature determination unit that measures the ambient temperature of the main body and compares it with a predetermined value;
A mounting detection unit that determines whether or not it is in a mounting state using the comparison result of the temperature determination unit,
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a wearing determination unit that determines whether to instruct the notification using a determination result of the wearing detection unit of the device itself and a strength of a communication radio wave received by the communication unit. . The hearing aid processing unit
A directivity synthesis unit that provides directivity to ambient sounds collected by the sound collection unit;
A frequency analysis unit that converts sound information in the time domain output by the directivity synthesis unit into sound information in the frequency domain;
A power calculator that calculates the power of sound information in the frequency domain output by the frequency analyzer;
A gain control unit for determining a gain in accordance with the hearing aid characteristics of the user from the power information output by the power calculation unit;
A gain adjustment unit that performs gain adjustment of sound information in the frequency domain output by the frequency analysis unit using the gain determined by the gain control unit;
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a frequency synthesis unit that converts the sound signal gain-adjusted by the gain adjustment unit into sound information in a time domain. The notification composition unit
A sound signal generator for generating a notification sound for notifying the user;
A notification sound control unit for controlling the characteristics of the notification sound;
The hearing assistance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a sound signal synthesizing unit that synthesizes a notification sound whose characteristic is controlled by the notification sound control unit with a sound processed by the hearing aid processing unit. The notification sound control unit
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the volume of the notification sound is changed according to the strength of communication radio waves received by the communication unit. The notification sound control unit
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the sounding interval of the notification sound is changed according to a communication radio wave intensity received by the communication unit. When it is determined by the wearing detection unit that it is in a non-wearing state,
The hearing aid device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the sound collection unit, the hearing aid processing unit, the sound output unit, and the notification synthesis unit stop operating. The notification control unit
Notification synthesis that the first notification is performed when it is determined that the wearing detection unit determines that the device is in a wearing state and the wearing detection unit of the other hearing aid determines that the other hearing aid is not worn. Instruct the department,
Instructing the notification composition unit to perform the second notification when the wearing detection unit determines that it is in a wearing state and the determination result of the wearing detection unit of the other hearing aid cannot be obtained.
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 2 or 4. The notification control unit
When the attachment detection unit determines that the device is in the attached state, and the strength of the communication radio wave received by the communication unit is smaller than the first threshold and larger than the second threshold, the first notification is performed. Instruct the notification composition unit,
When the attachment detection unit determines that the device is in the attached state and the communication radio wave intensity received by the communication unit is smaller than a second threshold or the communication unit cannot receive the communication radio wave, a second notification is given. Instruct the notification composition unit to
The hearing aid apparatus according to claim 3 or 5.

Images