JP3292098B2 - Hearing aid - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hearing aid such as a hearing aid for compensating for a hearing function of a wearer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a hearing aid has been used as a function assisting device that is worn by a person with a reduced hearing function to compensate for the reduced hearing function. As a hearing aid for a wearer who has a reduced sound transmission system function such as an increase in the minimum audible signal level or a decrease in the treble listening function, a part of the frequency band of an external sound (sound signal) collected by an audio microphone is used. Some amplify everything. In addition, due to aging, in addition to the deterioration of sound-conducting functions, it is intended for wearers with reduced auditory central functions, such as a decrease in the critical speed of speech recognition, which is the maximum speech speed at which speech can be identified. In some cases, not only the collected audio signal is amplified, but also a speech speed conversion process is performed to temporally expand the audio signal to reduce the output speed of the audio signal.

[0003]

By the way, a person listens to his / her own voice (self-uttered voice) from his / her ear, and performs feedback control on the loudness of the next voice and the timing of the voice. Here, the sound microphone of the hearing aid also collects sounds emitted by the wearer. Therefore, the wearer listens to the amplified or speech-rate-converted self-speech sound, and performs feedback control of the next utterance. But,
If the wearer hears the self-speech voice amplified at the same amplification factor as the voice uttered by others, the wearer thinks his own voice is loud and lowers his voice, which hinders smooth conversation. there were. In addition, when the wearer hears the self-uttered voice that has been converted in speech speed and delayed in time, the wearer cannot perform normal utterance. Therefore, paying attention to the fact that the ear canal vibrates when a person speaks, when the vibration of the ear canal is detected, the sound signal collected by the audio microphone is determined to be the wearer's self-speech sound, and For example, hearing aids with a low amplification rate or a ban on speech rate conversion have been considered.

[0004] However, the ear canal vibrates when the mouth is moved without speaking. Therefore, when the wearer moves his or her mouth without speaking, if the voice uttered by another person is collected by the voice microphone, the collected voice is erroneously recognized as the wearer's self-uttered voice. Will be done. Therefore, since the audio signal is not amplified to an appropriate size or the speech speed conversion is prohibited, the wearer cannot hear the audio signal. In other words, there is a problem that the hearing function of the wearer cannot always be compensated for, which hinders a smooth conversation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to accurately determine whether or not a voice signal collected by a voice microphone is a self-uttered voice of a wearer and to compensate for a hearing function only for a voice signal of another person. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hearing aid device that enables smooth conversation.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an audio microphone for collecting an externally input audio signal, and an amplifier for amplifying the audio signal collected by the audio microphone.
A signal processing unit having a means, comprising a low-frequency component generated in response to the movement of the mouth of the wearer.
Rutotomoni provided a detector for detecting a vibration free, to the signal processing unit, wherein from among the detection signal the detection unit outputs
Filter means for removing low-frequency components, and this filter means
Signal level of the detection signal from which the low-frequency component has been removed.
The detected vibration is provided a judging means for judging whether due speech wearer, the amplification on the basis of
The means amplifies the audio signal collected by the audio microphone with different amplification factors when the vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer and when not.

In this configuration, when the detecting section detects the vibration of the ear canal of the wearer, it determines whether or not the voice signal collected by the voice microphone is the wearer's self-uttered voice.
Here, the frequency component of the vibration generated in the ear canal is different between the case where the user speaks and the case where the mouth is moved without the user speaking. Specifically, the frequency of the vibration detected when the mouth is moved without speaking has only a low-frequency component, and the frequency of the vibration detected when speaking has a high frequency as well as the low-frequency component. There are also regional components. For example, without saying, "Oh, u, u,
When the mouth is moved, only a vibration of 40 Hz or less is detected. On the other hand, "Ah, uh, uh,
When you say “O”, in addition to the vibration below 40 Hz, 10
Vibrations above 0 Hz are also detected. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the wearer has spoken from the difference in the frequency components. For example, a low-frequency component of the detected vibration signal of the ear canal is cut using a filter, and it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the wearer speaks from the level of the signal from which the low-frequency component has been cut. Therefore, when the wearer moves his or her mouth without speaking, it is possible to prevent the audio signal collected by the audio microphone from being erroneously recognized as the wearer's self-uttered voice.

[0008] Then, the self-uttered voice of the wearer and the voice of another person are amplified at different amplification factors. Note that the amplification factor for the wearer's self-uttered voice is set smaller than the amplification factor for the voice uttered by another person. This allows the wearer to hear the self-speech sound and the sound uttered by the other person at appropriate levels, thereby always compensating for the reduced hearing function of the wearer and hindering conversation. There is no problem.

[0009] The invention as set forth in claim 2, the speech speed of performing the voice microphone for collecting a voice signal input from the outside, a speech speed conversion processing for temporally stretching an audio signal collected by the voice microphone in auditory prosthesis having a signal processing unit having a conversion means, occur in response to movement of the wearer's mouth
That Rutotomo provided a detection section for detecting vibrations including low-frequency components
To the signal processing unit, the detection signal the detection unit outputs
Filter means for removing the low-frequency component from the
The detection signal from which the low-frequency component has been removed by the filter means
Determination means for determining whether or not the detected vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer based on the signal level of the signal.
Provided, wherein the speech speed conversion means, when a vibration caused by the utterance of the wearer, characterized in that stopping the speech speed conversion process on the audio signal collected by the voice microphone.

In this configuration, when it is determined that the voice is a self-uttered voice, the voice speed conversion processing is prohibited. In addition, according to the same configuration as the invention described in claim 1, it is accurately determined whether the audio signal collected by the audio microphone is the self-uttered voice of the wearer or the voice emitted by another person. You. Therefore, the voice uttered by another person is surely subjected to the speech speed conversion processing, and the self-uttered voice of the wearer is not subjected to the speech speed conversion processing. Therefore, it is possible to always compensate for the reduced hearing function of the wearer, and there is no problem that the conversation is hindered.

[0011] The invention as set forth in claim 3, speech rate to perform the voice microphone for collecting a voice signal input from the outside, a speech speed conversion processing for temporally stretching an audio signal collected by the voice microphone in auditory prosthesis having a signal processing unit, a having an amplification means for amplifying the converting means and the audio signal collected by the voice microphone, corresponding to the movement of the wearer's mouth
Ru is provided a detector for detecting a vibration which includes a low-frequency component generated Te
Together, the signal processing unit, and outputs said detector test
Filter means for removing the low-frequency component from the output signal
And the low-frequency component has been removed by the filter means.
A determining means for determining whether or not the detected vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer based on the signal level of the detection signal.
And amplifying means for amplifying audio signals collected by the audio microphone at different amplification factors when the vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer and when the vibration is not, and the speech speed conversion is performed.
The means may include the sound when the vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer.
The speech speed conversion process for a voice signal collected by a voice microphone is stopped .

The present invention is a combination of the first and second aspects described above, and has the effects described in the first and second aspects.

The hearing aid according to claim 1 is intended for a person who has only a reduced sound conduction function, and the hearing aid according to claim 2 is for a person who has reduced only the function of the auditory central system. The hearing aid device according to the third aspect is intended for a person who has reduced functions of both the sound transmission system and the auditory central system.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present invention. The hearing aid 1 has an earpiece 2 attached to the wearer's ear, and a signal processing unit connected to the earpiece 2 via a signal line and processing an audio signal collected by a microphone provided in the earpiece 2. A part 3 is provided. The earpiece 2 includes an audio microphone 11, a self-speaking microphone 12, and a receiver 13. The sound microphone 11 collects sound signals that propagate in the air, converts the sound signals into electric signals, and outputs the electric signals. Self-speaking microphone 12
Is a bone conduction microphone that is placed in the ear canal of the wearer and detects vibration of the ear canal generated in response to the movement of the mouth of the wearer. The receiver 13 emits the sound signal collected by the sound microphone 11 and processed by the signal processing unit 3 to the external auditory canal of the wearer by air vibration. Note that the voice microphone 11 collects both the self-uttered voice of the wearer and the voice emitted by a person other than the wearer. In addition, the self-speech microphone 12 does not react to a voice signal (a voice uttered by a person other than the wearer) propagating in the air. The self-speech microphone 12 corresponds to a detection unit according to the present invention.

The audio signal output from the audio microphone 11 is amplified by a preamplifier 21. The amplified audio signal is cut by an anti-aliasing filter 22 into high-frequency components exceeding １ ／ of the sampling frequency, and then converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter 23.
The variable amplifier 24 amplifies the A / D-converted audio data at the selected amplification factor. In addition, the variable amplification unit 24 includes an amplification factor K1 for the voice uttered by the wearer, and
Two types of amplification factors K2 are set for the sound uttered by the person other than the wearer, and either one is selected. The amplification factor K1 is a value smaller than the amplification factor K2. The speech speed conversion processing unit 25 performs a speech speed conversion process of extending the audio signal amplified by the variable amplifier 24 on a time axis. If the voice signal collected by the voice microphone 11 is a voice generated by the wearer, a signal for inhibiting the voice speed conversion is input to the voice speed conversion processing unit 25, and the voice speed conversion processing unit 2
5 outputs the input audio signal without performing the speech speed conversion process. In the D / A converter 26, the speech speed conversion processing unit 25
The audio signal (digital) output from is converted into an analog signal. The smoothing filter 27 is a low-pass filter that removes aliasing noise due to D / A conversion. The driver 28 controls the receiver 13 based on the input analog signal, and emits the processed audio signal to the ear canal of the wearer by air vibration.

The waveform shaping circuit 29 includes the preamplifier 2
After the waveform of the audio signal output from 1 is shaped, the presence or absence of the audio signal collected by the audio microphone 11 is determined from the level of the waveform-shaped signal. Specifically, when the level of the waveform-shaped signal is higher than the threshold value stored in the threshold value memory 30, it is determined that there is an audio signal, and otherwise, it is determined that there is no audio signal. Waveform shaping circuit 29
Inputs this determination result to the AND circuit 36 (a high-level signal is input when the determination result indicates that there is an audio signal, and a low-level signal is input when there is no audio signal). The output of the AND circuit 36 is input to the variable amplifier 24 and the speech speed conversion processor 25. The variable amplification unit 24
When the output of the ND circuit 36 is at a high level, the amplification factor K
1 is selected, and the amplification factor K2 is selected when the level is low. Further, the speech speed conversion processing unit 25 includes the AND circuit 3
When the output of No. 6 is at a high level, the speech speed conversion is prohibited,
Speaking speed conversion is not prohibited (executed) when it is at low level. The variable amplification unit 24 and the speech speed conversion processing unit 2
Reference numeral 5 actually comprises one signal processor for processing digital signals.

Further, the signal output from the self-speech microphone 12 is amplified by a preamplifier 31 and input to a filter 32. The filter 32 cuts low-frequency components of the input signal. The amplifier 33 amplifies the signal passing through the filter 32 and inputs the amplified signal to the waveform shaping circuit 34.
After shaping the waveform of the input signal, the waveform shaping circuit 34 determines whether or not the wearer has spoken based on the level of the waveform-shaped signal. Specifically, when the level of the waveform-shaped signal is greater than the threshold value stored in the threshold value memory 35, it is determined that the wearer has spoken, and otherwise, it is determined that the wearer has not spoken. I do. The waveform shaping circuit 34 inputs this determination result to the AND circuit 36 (a high-level signal is input when it is determined that the wearer is speaking, and a low-level signal is input when it is determined that the wearer is not speaking). Enter.). That is, the presence or absence of the audio signal collected by the audio microphone 11 and the presence or absence of the utterance of the wearer are input to the AND circuit 36. Also, AND
The circuit 36 outputs a high level when there is an audio signal collected by the audio microphone 11 and there is an utterance of the wearer (otherwise, it outputs a low level).

Hereinafter, the operation of the hearing aid of the present embodiment will be described in detail. The audio signal collected by the audio microphone 11 is supplied to a preamplifier 21-an anti-aliasing filter 22.
The signal is input to the variable amplifier 24 via the A / D converter 23. The signal amplified by the preamplifier 21 is also input to the waveform shaping circuit 29. The waveform shaping circuit 29 shapes the waveform of the input signal, compares the waveform-shaped signal level with the threshold value stored in the threshold memory 30, and compares the signal level of the audio signal collected by the audio microphone 11. Determine the presence or absence. The waveform shaping circuit 29 outputs a high level when it determines that there is an audio signal.

The self-uttering microphone 12 detects the vibration of the ear canal of the wearer and outputs the vibration. Here, not only when a person speaks, but also when the mouth is moved without speaking, vibration occurs in the ear canal. Therefore, the self-uttering microphone 12 detects not only the case where the wearer speaks but also the vibration when the mouth is moved without speaking, and outputs this. Therefore, it is not possible to accurately determine whether the wearer has spoken from the level obtained by simply shaping the output signal of the self-speaking microphone 12. However, a signal detected when the wearer utters (a detection signal at the time of utterance) is compared with a signal detected when only the mouth is moved without uttering (a detection signal at the time of a mouth lip). As shown in FIG. 2, although the signal level of the detection signal at the time of lip-sync is large, only a low-frequency component exists. On the other hand, in the signal detected at the time of utterance, in addition to the signal detected at the time of lip-flushing, there is also a signal having a small signal level but a high-frequency component. Therefore, the low-frequency component of the signal detected by the self-uttering microphone 12 is cut, and if the level of the signal from which the low-frequency component has been cut is higher than a predetermined level, the wearer is speaking and the level is lower than the predetermined level. If it is smaller, it can be determined that the user is not speaking.

In the hearing aid 1 of this embodiment, the output of the self-speech microphone 12 is input to the waveform shaping circuit 34 via the preamplifier 31-filter 32-amplifier 33. The filter 32 is a high-pass filter that cuts low-frequency components of the input signal. Therefore, it is possible to cut off the detection signal at the time of the mouth pallet detected by the self-speaking microphone 12 by the filter 32. The output of the filter 32 is amplified by the amplifier 33 and then input to the waveform shaping circuit 34. Here, the reason why the amplifier 33 is provided is that the signal level of the high frequency component included in the vibration signal of the ear canal detected when the wearer speaks is small. After shaping the input signal, the waveform shaping circuit 34 compares the waveform-shaped signal level with a threshold stored in the threshold memory 35 to determine whether the wearer has spoken. . The waveform shaping circuit 34 outputs a high level when it is determined that the wearer has spoken. Thus, in the hearing aid 1 of this embodiment, when the wearer moves his mouth without speaking, it can be determined that the wearer is not speaking.

The AND circuit 36 includes two waveform shaping circuits 2
A high level is output when the outputs 9 and 34 are both at a high level (otherwise, a low level is output). FIG. 3 shows an audio microphone 11 and a waveform shaping circuit 2.
9 shows the timing of output signals from the self-uttering microphone 12, the waveform shaping circuit 34, and the AND circuit 36. Section 1 shown
Is when there is a signal output from the voice microphone 11 and no signal output from the speech microphone 12. Specifically, this is when the wearer is not speaking and someone other than the wearer is speaking. Section 2 is a case where there is no signal output from the voice microphone 11 and there is a signal output from the speech microphone 11. Specifically, it is when the wearer utters his mouth without speaking, and no one other than the wearer is speaking. Sections 3 and 4 correspond to the case where the outputs of the voice microphone 11 and the speech microphone 12 are both present. Note that the section 3 is a state in which the wearer is uttering without speaking and other than the wearer is speaking. Section 4 is a state in which the wearer is speaking. As is clear from this figure, the output of the AND circuit 36 is at the high level only in the section 4. That is, AND only when the wearer speaks
The output of the circuit 36 is at a high level, and otherwise is at a low level.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the variable amplifier. As described above, in the variable amplification unit 24, two amplification factors K1 and K2 are set for the audio signal output from the audio microphone 11 (K1 <K2). When the input from the AND circuit 36 is at a low level, the variable amplifying unit 24 collects sound with the audio microphone 11 and
1-Anti-aliasing filter 22-A / D converter 2
3 as the amplification factor for the audio signal input through
2 is selected (n1, n3). On the other hand, if the input from the AND circuit 36 is at a high level, K1 is selected as the amplification factor for the input audio signal (n1, n2). Here, when a person other than the wearer speaks and the mouth moves without speaking, the output of the AND circuit 36 is at a low level (section 3 shown in FIG. 3), and The amplification factor K2 is selected for the audio signal collected by the microphone 11. At this time, the audio microphone 11 collects audio signals spoken by persons other than the wearer. Accordingly, the self-uttered voice of the wearer is always amplified at the amplification K1, and the voice uttered by a person other than the wearer is always amplified at the amplification K2.

The audio signal amplified by the variable amplifier 24 is input to a speech speed conversion processor 25. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the speech speed conversion processing unit 25. When the input from the AND circuit 36 is at a low level, the speech speed conversion processing unit 25 permits execution of the speech speed conversion process on the input voice signal (n11, n13). On the other hand, the AND circuit 36
Is high, the execution of the speech speed conversion process on the input voice signal is prohibited (n11, n1).
2). That is, when the output of the AND circuit 36 is at a low level, the audio signal collected by the audio microphone 11 is subjected to speech speed conversion processing. When the output is at a high level, the audio signal collected by the audio microphone 11 is subjected to speech speed conversion processing. Output without being performed. As described above, only when the wearer speaks, the output of the AND circuit 36 becomes high level.
The speech speed conversion process is always prohibited for the self-uttered voice of the wearer, and the speech speed conversion process is always executed for the voice uttered by a person other than the wearer.

The signal output from the speech speed conversion processing section 25 is input to a driver 28 via a D / A conversion circuit 26 and a smoothing filter 27. The driver 28 controls the receiver 13 based on the input signal, and outputs a sound signal to the ear canal of the wearer.

As described above, in the hearing aid 1 of this embodiment, when the wearer moves his mouth without speaking, the sound signal collected by the sound microphone 11 is regarded as the wearer's self-speech sound. There is no misrecognition. Therefore, it does not happen that the voice uttered by a person other than the wearer is not amplified to an appropriate volume, the speech speed conversion is prohibited, and the wearer cannot hear the voice signal. This makes it possible to always compensate for the reduced hearing function of the wearer, so that the conversation can be performed smoothly.

In the above-described embodiment, a description has been given of an example in which a bone conduction microphone is applied as the self-speaking microphone 12, but a sensor capable of detecting the shape distortion of the ear canal of the wearer is used as the self-speaking microphone 12. May be applied.

The waveform shaping circuit 29 and the threshold memory 3
0 and the AND circuit 36 are eliminated, and the waveform shaping circuit 34
May be input to the variable amplifying unit 24 and the speech speed conversion processing unit 25 (see FIG. 6). Even with such a configuration, the same effect as the hearing aid of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the wearer moves his or her mouth without speaking, the voice collected by the voice microphone is erroneously recognized as the wearer's self-uttered voice. Never do. Therefore, it does not occur that the voice uttered by a person other than the wearer is not amplified to an appropriate volume, the speech speed conversion is prohibited, and the wearer cannot hear the audio signal. This makes it possible to always compensate for the reduced hearing function of the wearer, so that the conversation can be performed smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a self-speech signal detected by a self-speech microphone and a lip-sync signal.

FIG. 3 shows a voice microphone, a waveform shaping circuit, a self-speech microphone,
FIG. 4 is a timing chart of output signals of a waveform shaping circuit and an AND circuit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by a variable amplifier.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a speech speed conversion processing unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a hearing aid according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1-Hearing aid 2-Earwear part 3-Signal processing part 11-Speech microphone 12-Speech microphone 24-Variable amplification part 25-Speech speed conversion processing part 32-Filter 36-AND circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Owaki 10-1, Nakazawa-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Yamaha Corporation (72) Inventor Akira Miki 10-1, Nakazawa-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Yamaha Corporation (56) References JP-A-3-91400 (JP, A) JP-A-6-266381 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04R 25/00 G10L 11 / 02 H03H 17/02 601

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An audio microphone for collecting an audio signal input from the outside, and amplifying means for amplifying the audio signal collected by the audio microphone.
In auditory prosthesis having a signal processing unit, a having, Rutotomoni provided a detection section for detecting vibrations including low-frequency component generated in response to movement of the wearer's mouth, to the signal processing unit, said detection Of the detection signal output by the
Filter means for removing the low-frequency component from the
Of the detection signal from which the low-frequency component has been removed by the filter means.
Determining means for determining whether the detected vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer based on the signal level.
The amplifying means amplifies audio signals collected by the audio microphone with different amplification factors depending on whether the vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer or not. 2. A signal processing unit comprising: a voice microphone for collecting a voice signal input from the outside; and a voice speed conversion unit for performing a voice speed conversion process for temporally extending the voice signal collected by the voice microphone. When, in the auditory prosthesis having a Rutotomoni provided a detection section for detecting vibrations including low-frequency component generated in response to movement of the wearer's mouth, to the signal processing unit, detects the detection portion outputs Signal
Filter means for removing the low-frequency component from the
Of the detection signal from which the low-frequency component has been removed by the filter means.
Determining means for determining whether the detected vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer based on the signal level.
The speech assisting device according to claim 1 , wherein said speech speed converting means stops said speech speed converting process on the voice signal collected by said voice microphone when the vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer. 3. A voice microphone for collecting a voice signal input from the outside, a voice speed conversion means for performing a voice speed conversion process for temporally extending a voice signal collected by the voice microphone, and a voice speed microphone. in auditory prosthesis having a signal processing unit having an amplification means for amplifying a sound signal collected, and Ru is provided a detector for detecting vibrations including low-frequency component generated in response to movement of the wearer's mouth together, the signal processing unit, it of the detection signal the detection unit outputs
Filter means for removing the low-frequency component from the
Of the detection signal from which the low-frequency component has been removed by the filter means.
Determining means for determining whether the detected vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer based on the signal level.
The amplifying means amplifies audio signals collected by the audio microphone at different amplification factors when the vibration is caused by the utterance of the wearer and when the vibration is not, and the speech speed converting means performs When the vibration is caused by speech,
A hearing aid device, wherein the speech speed conversion process for a collected voice signal is stopped .