JP2012023669A - Hearing aid and housing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hearing aid that is hardly affected by a wind noise and suppresses a howling phenomenon.SOLUTION: A hearing aid (10) comprises a housing (20) having: an external ear insertion part (22) inserted to an external auditory meatus (31); a concave-convex bottom surface part (23) forming a shape along the concavity and convexity of the crux (32) and the helix part (33) of the ear (30); an external surface part (25) opposing to the concave-convex bottom surface part (23) and the external ear insertion part (22); and a side surface part (24) connecting the external surface part (25), the concave-convex bottom surface part (23) and the external ear insertion part (22). Inside the housing (20), the hearing aid (10) further comprises: a microphone (11) for receiving ambient sound; processing means (12) for processing a signal received with the microphone (11); and a receiver (13) for outputting output sound processed by the processing means (12) from the external ear insertion part (22) to the external auditory meatus (31). The microphone (11) is installed on the side surface part (24) on the helix part (33) side.

Description

  The present invention relates to an “ear hole type” hearing aid that is less affected by wind noise and suppresses howling, and a case (housing) used for the hearing aid.

  In general, hearing aids are broadly divided into two types: “ear ears” that fit in the ear holes and “ear hooks” that house many electronic modules, such as microphones and power supplies, in housings located behind the ears. The The “ear ear shape” is inconspicuous, and the “ear shape” has an advantage that the user can easily make adjustments.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a conventional “ear-shaped” hearing aid 40 includes a housing 50 for incorporating main electronic modules such as a microphone and a speaker. The housing 50 has an outer ear insertion part 52 to be inserted into the ear canal 31 and an uneven bottom part 53 having an uneven shape along the unevenness of the cracks 32 and the helix part 33 of the ear 30. Further, the outer surface portion 55 is located opposite to the concave and convex bottom surface portion 53 and the outer ear insertion portion 52 and is located outside even when worn on the ear, and the outer surface portion 55, the concave and convex bottom surface portion 53, and the outer ear insertion portion 52. And has a curved side surface portion 54 connecting the two.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the helix portion 33 refers to a concave portion of the ear 30 that is located on the upper outer side of the ear canal 31. The cracks 32 are convex portions between the helix portion 33 and the ear canal 31.
FIG. 6B shows a state when the hearing aid 40 is attached to the ear 30. The housing 50 is mounted so that the outer ear insertion portion 52 is inserted into the ear canal 31 and the uneven bottom surface portion 53 is aligned with the cracks 32 and the helix portion 33.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the housing 50 includes a microphone 41 that receives ambient sound, a processing device 42 that processes a signal received by the microphone 41, and an output sound that is processed by the processing device 42 for the output sound. A receiver 43 that outputs to 31 is provided. The processing device 42 includes an amplifier unit 44 for amplifying sound, an equalizer for adjusting sound quality, a volume unit 45 such as a volume adjustment knob 46 (FIG. 7), a battery unit (not shown), and the like.

The microphone 41 is fixed to the outer surface 55 of the housing 50. That is, the microphone 41 is inserted into a microphone hole provided in the outer surface portion 55 and exposed to the outer surface of the outer surface portion 55.
The receiver 43 is attached to the distal end of the outer ear insertion portion 52 so as to output the output sound processed by the processing device 42 to the ear canal 31.

Now, as shown in FIG. 7A, the housing 50 is formed separately in an outer surface portion 55 and a shell 51 which is a portion other than the outer surface portion 55.
The shell 51 includes the outer ear insertion portion 52, the concave and convex bottom surface portion 53, and the side surface portion 54. The shell 51 is molded from the user's ear 30 or cut from several typical molds. It is so-called custom-made.
On the other hand, the outer surface portion 55 is a form in which the microphone 41, the processing device 42, and the receiver 43 are previously attached as a set on a simple plate before being processed. For example, the volume unit 45, the microphone 41, and the battery unit in the processing device 42 are directly attached to the plate. Further, the amplifier unit 44 and the receiver 43 are in an assembled form in which the amplifier unit 44 and the receiver 43 are connected to the volume unit 45 by a wiring 47.

To assemble the hearing aid 40, first, the outer surface portion 55 is formed from the above plate. That is, the outer surface portion 55 is formed by processing a plate so as to match the outer shape of the opening surface 51 a of the shell 51.
Next, the receiver 43 is attached to the tip of the outer ear insertion portion 52 in the shell 51.
Further, another processing device 42 such as an amplifier unit 44 connected to the volume unit 45 of the outer surface unit 55 by a wiring 47 is incorporated into the shell 51. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7B, the outer surface portion 55 is bonded to the opening surface 51 a of the shell 51 with an adhesive or the like to be integrated with the shell 51. This completes the hearing aid 40 in a form that matches the user's ear 30.

As a conventional hearing aid, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2 in Patent Document 1, the housing includes an upper side plate and a hollow shell part. The upper side plate has standard elements including an electronic module. The hollow shell parts are individually manufactured for the hearing aid user.
The electronic module includes at least one first microphone that receives ambient sound and a second microphone that receives ambient sound. Further included is a processing means for processing a signal from at least one of the first microphone and the second microphone, and an output transducer.

  The first microphone is formed on the convex side surface (upper side plate) of the housing. On the other hand, the second microphone communicates with a tube from the entrance of the opening formed in the concave side surface of the housing. Thus, the second microphone is devised to protect against the influence of wind during normal use of the hearing aid by the housing in cooperation with the user's head and auricle.

JP 2008-211832 A

5 or 7, when the hearing aid 40 is attached to the user, the external sound is received by the microphone 41, and the signal received by the microphone 41 is subjected to volume amplification and sound quality adjustment by the processing device 42. From the receiver 43 to the external auditory canal 31.
In the wind that flows outside the user's body, Karman vortices are generated by the unevenness of the outer surface portion 55 of the hearing aid 40. Since the microphone 41 is attached to the outer surface portion 55, wind noise due to Karman vortex may be picked up by the microphone 41. As a result, some users may hear harsh sounds.

  The output sound output from the receiver 43 to the ear canal 31 leaks to the outside through the gap between the outer ear insertion portion 52 and the ear canal 31. So-called “sound leakage” occurs. The leaked sound is picked up again by the microphone 41 as shown in FIG.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the first microphone is installed at a position facing the receiver (outside the ear canal), the effect of wind noise is directly related to the use of two microphones. I was sometimes received. Therefore, sudden howling is likely to occur.
In addition, the second microphone communicates with a tube from the opening of the opening formed on the concave side surface of the housing. The entrance is located inside the ear cracks. For this reason, the sound leaked to the outside through the gap between the insertion portion and the ear hole is picked up again by the microphone as in the case of FIG.
Moreover, the frequency characteristic of the ambient sound changes from the original in the process from the entrance to the second microphone through the tube. For this reason, there has been a case in which it becomes difficult to perform the original function as a hearing aid.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a hearing aid that is less susceptible to wind noise and that reduces the howling phenomenon.

(First invention)
The first invention in the present application is an outer ear insertion portion (22) to be inserted into the ear canal (31), and an uneven bottom surface portion (23) having a shape along the unevenness of the cracks (32) and the helix portion (33) of the ear (30). ), The concave / convex bottom portion (23) and the outer surface portion (25) facing the outer ear insertion portion (22), the outer surface portion (25), the concave / convex bottom portion (23), and the outer ear insertion portion (22). A housing (20) having a side surface (24) connecting the microphone, a microphone (11) for receiving ambient sound, and a signal received by the microphone (11) are processed inside the housing (20) A hearing aid (10) comprising: processing means (12); and a receiver (13) that outputs the output sound processed by the processing means (12) from the outer ear insertion unit (22) to the ear canal (31). . The microphone (11) is fixed to the side part (24) on the helix part (33) side.

(Function)
When the hearing aid (10) is worn on the user's ear (30), the external sound is received by the microphone (11), and the signal received by the microphone (11) is amplified and adjusted by the processing means (12). Then, it is output to the ear canal (31) by the receiver (13).
In the wind that flows outside the user's body, Karman vortices are generated by the unevenness of the outer surface portion (25) of the hearing aid (10). However, since the microphone (11) is attached to the side surface portion (24) on the helix portion (33) side, it is less susceptible to wind noise due to Karman vortices. Therefore, sudden howling and harsh sounds due to wind are less likely to occur.
Further, the output sound output from the receiver (13) to the ear canal (31) leaks to the outside through the gap between the ear insertion part (22) and the ear canal (31). However, since the propagation path of the sound leakage is far away from the side surface portion (24) on the helix portion (33) side to the microphone (11), howling resistance is enhanced.
Further, since the helix part (33) is difficult for rain, sweat, dirt and the like to enter, it contributes to reducing the failure rate of the hearing aid (10) caused by them.

(Variation 1 of the first invention)
The first invention can also provide the following variations.
That is, the housing (20) includes a shell (21) integrally formed of the concave and convex bottom surface portion (23), the outer ear insertion portion (22), and a side surface portion (24), and an outer surface portion (25). The shell (21) is provided with a microphone hole (26) for attaching the microphone (11) to the side surface portion (24) on the helix portion (33) side in advance.

(Function)
Since the microphone hole (26) is provided in advance in the side surface part (24) of the shell (21), for example, the microphone (11) attached in advance to the outer surface part (25) is connected to the microphone hole (26). Easy to install.

(Variation 2 of the first invention)
In the first invention, it is desirable that the microphone (11) is disposed as close as possible to the uneven bottom surface portion (23).

(Function)
When the microphone (11) is placed at a deep position in the helix part (33), the propagation path of sound leakage is increased, and the sound collection effect for collecting external sound is improved.

(Variation 3 of the first invention)
In the first invention, it is more preferable that the side surface portion (24) where the microphone (11) is attached is formed so as to be close to the helix portion (33).

(Function)
Howling is reduced by changing the direction of the microphone (11) or by changing the shape of the path through which external sound propagates to the microphone (11).

(Second invention)
The second invention includes an outer ear insertion portion (22) to be inserted into the ear canal (31), and an uneven bottom surface portion (23) having a shape along the unevenness of the cracks (32) and the helix portion (33) of the ear (30). The outer surface portion (25) facing the uneven bottom surface portion (23) and the outer ear insertion portion (22), and the outer surface portion (25), the uneven bottom surface portion (23), and the outer ear insertion portion (22) are connected. And a hearing aid housing formed with a side surface portion (24).
That is, the side surface portion where the microphone (11) is attached is formed so as to be close to the helix portion (33).

According to the first invention, it is possible to provide a hearing aid that is less affected by wind noise and that suppresses howling.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a housing that is used in a hearing aid that is less susceptible to wind noise and that suppresses howling.

It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the hearing aid which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows a state when the hearing aid of FIG. 1 is mounted | worn to an ear. 3A is an exploded perspective view of the hearing aid of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B is an overall perspective view of the hearing aid of FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the other Example in the hearing aid of FIG. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the conventional hearing aid. 6A is an explanatory diagram showing the name of the ear, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram showing a state when the hearing aid of FIG. 5 is attached to the ear. 7A is an exploded perspective view of the hearing aid of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7B is an overall perspective view of the hearing aid of FIG.

  Hereinafter, a hearing aid 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings used here are FIGS. 1 to 4.

  In FIG. 1, the longitudinal cross-section of the state which mounted | wore the user's ear canal 31 with the hearing aid 10 is shown. The hearing aid 10 includes a housing 20 that is hollow inside. The housing 20 has an outer ear insertion portion 22 to be inserted into the ear canal 31 and an uneven bottom surface portion 23 having an uneven shape along the unevenness of the cracks 32 and the helix portion 33 of the ear 30. Furthermore, it has the uneven | corrugated bottom face part 23 and the outer surface part 25 which opposes the said outer ear insertion part 22, and the curved-shaped side part 24 which connects the outer surface part 25, the said uneven | corrugated bottom face part 23, and the said outer ear insertion part 22. The hearing aid 10 has an ear shape.

  FIG. 2 shows a state when the hearing aid 10 is worn on the ear 30. The housing 20 is mounted so that the outer ear insertion portion 22 is inserted into the ear canal 31 and the uneven bottom surface portion 23 is aligned with the cracks 32 and the helix portion 33. Therefore, the hearing aid 10 is mounted so as to cover the ear canal 31, the cracks 32 and the helix portion 33 when viewed from the outside of the ear 30.

  Inside the housing 20, as shown in FIG. 1, a microphone 11 that receives ambient sound, a processing device 12 (processing means) that processes a signal received by the microphone 11, and a processing device 12 that processes the signal. And a receiver 13 that outputs output sound to the ear canal 31. The processing device 12 includes an amplifier unit 14 that amplifies sound, a volume unit 15 such as an equalizer that adjusts sound quality and a volume adjustment knob 16 (see FIG. 3), a battery unit (not shown), and the like.

  The receiver 13 is attached to the distal end of the outer ear insertion portion 22 so as to output the output sound processed by the processing device 12 to the ear canal 31.

  The microphone 11 is attached to the side surface portion 24 of the housing 20 on the helix portion 33 side. That is, the microphone 11 is inserted into the microphone hole 26 of the side surface portion 24 and fixed to the side surface portion 24. In particular, it is desirable that the microphone 11 be attached as close to the concave and convex bottom surface portion 23 of the housing 20 as possible. The reason for this will be described later in detail, but it can be less affected by wind noise and the propagation path of the sound leakage of the output sound output from the receiver 13 can be increased.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the housing 20 is formed separately in an outer surface portion 25 and a shell 21 that is a portion other than the outer surface portion 25.
The shell 21 includes the outer ear insertion portion 22, the concave and convex bottom surface portion 23, and the side surface portion 24, and has a shape shaped from the user's ear 30. The shell 21 is provided with a microphone hole 26 for attaching the microphone 11 to the side surface portion 24 on the helix portion 33 side in advance.

On the other hand, the outer surface portion 25 is a form in which the microphone 11, the processing device 12, and the receiver 13 are previously attached as a set on a simple plate before being processed.
For example, the volume unit 15 and the battery unit (not shown) of the processing device 12 are directly attached to the plate. In addition, the microphone 11, the amplifier unit 14, and the receiver 13 are in an assembled form in which the microphone 11, the amplifier unit 14, and the receiver 13 are connected to the volume unit 15 through the wiring 17. That is, the microphone 11 is not directly attached to the plate as in the prior art, but is connected by the wiring 17.

To assemble the hearing aid 10, first, the outer surface portion 25 is formed from the above plate. That is, the outer surface portion 25 is formed by processing a plate so as to match the outer shape of the opening surface 21 a of the shell 21.
Next, the receiver 13 is attached to the tip of the outer ear insertion portion 22 in the shell 21.
Furthermore, the microphone 11 connected to the volume portion 15 of the outer surface portion 25 by the wiring 17 is fixed to the inside of the side surface portion 24 on the helix portion 33 side. That is, the microphone 11 is attached to the microphone hole 26 in the shell 21.

  Further, another processing device 12 such as the amplifier unit 14 connected to the volume unit 15 of the outer surface unit 25 by the wiring 17 is incorporated into the shell 21. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3B, the outer surface portion 25 is bonded to the opening surface 21 a of the shell 21 with an adhesive or the like to be integrated with the shell 21. This completes the hearing aid 10 in a form that matches the user's ear 30.

  When the hearing aid 10 is worn on the user's ear 30, external sound is received by the microphone 11, and the signal received by the microphone 11 is amplified in volume and adjusted by the processing device 12, and then is sent to the ear canal 31 by the receiver 13. Output.

  In the wind that flows outside the user's body, Karman vortices are generated by the unevenness of the outer surface portion 25 of the hearing aid 10. However, since the microphone 11 is not attached to the outer surface portion 25 and is attached to the side surface portion 24 of the shell 21 on the helix portion 33 side, the microphone 11 is hardly affected by wind noise due to Karman vortex. Actually, it is difficult for the wind to enter the helix portion 33. For this reason, sudden noises and harsh sounds due to wind are less likely to occur.

  The output sound output from the receiver 13 to the ear canal 31 leaks to the outside through the gap between the outer ear insertion portion 22 and the ear canal 31. So-called sound leakage occurs. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the propagation path of the sound leakage has a greater howling resistance because the distance from the side surface 24 on the helix 33 side to the microphone 11 is longer than in the conventional case.

  The above-mentioned howling can be reduced by changing the direction of the microphone 11. Alternatively, the above-described howling can be reduced by changing the shape of the path through which external sound propagates to the microphone 11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, in the housing 20, it is effective to form an angle θ so that the side surface portion 24 where the microphone 11 is attached reduces howling. In FIG. 4, the angle θ indicates an angle with respect to the direction in which the external sound propagates.

  Further, since the microphone 11 is located in the helix portion 33, rain, sweat, dirt, and the like are difficult to enter the microphone hole 26 of the microphone 11. Therefore, it contributes to suppressing the failure occurrence of the hearing aid 10 caused by them.

Further, by attaching the microphone 11 as close as possible to the concave and convex bottom surface portion 23 in the housing 20, the helix portion 33 is in a deep position. As a result, the propagation path of sound leakage becomes far, which contributes to a reduction in howling, and the sound collection effect for collecting external sounds is improved.
Further, since the microphone hole 26 and the microphone 11 are not connected by a pipe as in Patent Document 1, the distance between the microphone hole 26 and the microphone 11 is almost 0 (zero) mm, and the frequency characteristics change. Hard to do. Therefore, it is less necessary to process the sound heard by the user via the hearing aid, which contributes to simplifying software and hardware.

  As described above, it is possible to provide the hearing aid 10 that is less affected by wind noise and that reduces the howling phenomenon.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has applicability in a hearing aid manufacturing industry, a software development industry that develops software related to a hearing aid, a hearing aid related service industry that receives repairs and improvements related to a hearing aid, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Hearing aid 11 Microphone 12 Processing apparatus (processing means) 13 Receiver 14 Amplifier part 15 Volume part 16 Volume adjustment knob 17 Wiring 20 Housing 21 Shell 21a Opening surface 22 Outer ear insertion part 23 Concave bottom part 24 Side part 25 Outer surface part 26 Microphone hole 30 Ear 31 Ear canal 32 Cracks 33 Helix
(Conventional technology)
40 ear hole hearing aid 41 microphone 42 processing equipment 43 receiver 44 amplifier section 45 volume section 46 volume adjustment knob 47 wiring 50 housing 51 shell 51a opening surface 52 outer ear insertion section 53 uneven bottom section 54 side section 55 outer surface section

Claims (5)

An outer ear insertion portion to be inserted into the ear canal, an uneven bottom portion having a shape along the unevenness of the ear cracks and the helix portion, an outer surface portion facing the uneven bottom surface portion and the outer ear insertion portion, and the outer surface portion and the uneven bottom surface A housing having a portion and a side portion connecting the outer ear insertion portion,
Inside the housing is a microphone that receives ambient sound, processing means that processes the signal received by the microphone, and a receiver that outputs the output sound processed by the processing means from the outer ear insertion section to the ear canal, A hearing aid comprising:
A hearing aid in which the microphone is fixed to a side portion on the helix side. The housing is formed by dividing a shell formed integrally with the uneven bottom surface portion, the outer ear insertion portion and the side surface portion, and an outer surface portion,
The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein a microphone hole for attaching a microphone to a side surface portion on the helix portion side is provided in the shell in advance.   The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the microphone is disposed in the vicinity of the uneven bottom portion.   The hearing aid according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein a side surface portion of a portion where the microphone is attached is formed so as to be close to the helix portion. An outer ear insertion portion to be inserted into the ear canal, an uneven bottom portion having a shape along the unevenness of the ear cracks and the helix portion, an outer surface portion facing the uneven bottom surface portion and the outer ear insertion portion, and the outer surface portion and the uneven bottom surface A housing for a hearing aid formed by having a portion and a side portion connecting the outer ear insertion portion,
The side part where the microphone is attached is a housing formed so as to be close to the helix part.

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