JP3655149B2 - Hearing aid and neglect notification method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hearing aid worn on a body and a neglect notification method for notifying the neglect.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional hearing aid will be described with reference to the drawings. The hearing aid shown in FIG. 5 receives sound from the microphone 101, amplifies the sound signal output from the microphone 101 by the amplifier circuit 102, and outputs the sound from the speaker 103. The battery 104 supplies power to the amplifier circuit 102 via the battery contact 105. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the sound amplified from the sound output hole 103a is listened to. When adjusting the volume, the volume adjustment knob 102a is operated, and when adjusting the sound quality, the sound quality adjustment is performed. The knob 102b is operated. In addition, since the microphone 101 and the sound output hole 103a are very close to a small hearing aid attached to the ear hole, when the hearing aid is removed from the ear, an acoustic loop 103b is formed from the microphone 101 and the sound output hole 103a, and then howling. Will occur. Therefore, when the user removes the hearing aid from his / her ear, the user removes the battery from the battery housing portion 104a or lowers the volume with the volume adjustment knob 102a and then places the hearing aid somewhere.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In such a conventional hearing aid, there is a problem that the place where it is placed is forgotten and cannot be found when it is desired to be used. In particular, I couldn't find a small hearing aid that fits in my ear canal if I forgot it. Also, sometimes I fell out of my hand and couldn't know where I went. There is also a problem that it is not easy to find a hearing aid in a dark place.
[0004]
The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and provides a hearing aid that can be easily found when left off the body.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The hearing aid according to the present invention includes a determination unit that determines whether or not the state of being removed from the body continues for a certain period of time, and a notification sound generation unit that generates a notification sound based on the determination by the determination unit. Have. With this configuration, when the state of being removed from the body continues for a certain period of time, it is notified that the device has been left unattended, so that it is possible to provide a hearing aid that can be easily found when left unattended.
[0006]
In the hearing aid of the present invention, the notification sound generating means limits the output level of the sound signal to a predetermined level when the determination means detects an acoustic loop formed by a microphone and an acoustic output hole for outputting sound. The notification sound generating means generates a notification sound when the determination means detects that the acoustic loop has continued for a predetermined time. With this configuration, since the acoustic loop is detected and the state removed from the body is detected, there is no need for switches and sensors that physically detect whether or not the body is in contact with the body, which is economical. In addition, a small hearing aid can be provided.
[0007]
The hearing aid according to the present invention has a configuration in which the notification sound generation means generates a notification sound in which the output level of the sound signal is increased stepwise to gradually increase the volume. With this configuration, it is possible to provide a hearing aid that does not accidentally hurt the user's ear when notifying of leaving.
[0008]
Also, the neglect notification method of the present invention determines whether or not the state of being removed from the body continues for a certain period of time based on the amount of change in the input level of the microphone, and the state of being removed from the body continues for a certain period of time. It has a configuration for generating a notification sound. With this configuration, when the state of being removed from the body continues for a certain period of time, it is notified that the device has been left unattended, so that it is possible to provide a hearing aid that can be easily found when left unattended. In addition, it is possible to provide an economical and small-sized hearing aid without requiring a switch or a sensor that physically detects whether or not it is in contact with the body when notifying of leaving.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of a hearing aid according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a hearing aid according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same parts as those in FIG. In the hearing aid 100 of FIG. 1, the A / D converter 112 converts the sound signal output from the microphone 101 from analog to digital, and the digital processing circuit 113 (notification sound generating means) inputs the sound signal for each frequency band. The D / A converter 114 converts the sound signal from digital to analog, and the output circuit 115 outputs the sound signal to the speaker 103. The CPU 117 (determination means) monitors the formation of the acoustic loop 103b shown in FIG. 2 based on the amount of change in the input level of the microphone 101, and when detecting that the acoustic loop 103b has been formed, the hearing aid 100 is removed from the ear. The digital processing circuit 113 restricts the output level of the sound signal to a predetermined level so that the volume is reduced so as not to generate howling. Therefore, howling does not occur immediately after the hearing aid 100 is removed from the ear. Further, the CPU 117 monitors the change of the acoustic loop 103b based on the amount of change in the input level of the microphone 101, and when the acoustic loop 103b is continuously formed for a certain time, the state removed from the body continues for a certain time. The digital processing circuit 113 generates howling. The timer 118 forms a sampling period for monitoring the acoustic loop 103b. As described above, the hearing aid of the present invention suppresses howling when removed from the body, and intentionally generates howling that should be suppressed when the state removed from the body continues for a certain period of time. Notification of neglect is made.
[0012]
The acoustic loop 103b is monitored by sampling the input level of the microphone a plurality of times as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, sampling n1, n2, and n3 is performed three times with a time width Tw, an interval Ti, and a period T. Such sampling is performed a predetermined number of times (N times), and it is determined that the hearing aid is left unattended when the state of being removed from the body continues in this N times of sampling (a period of about cycle T × number of times N). To do. Note that the conditions necessary for determination and sampling (hereinafter referred to as determination sampling conditions) such as the period T and the number N are stored in advance in the memory 116 shown in FIG. Specifically, for example, the period T is set in the timer 118, and the timer 118 notifies the CPU 117 every period T. The CPU 117 performs sampling every period T, and determines whether or not the state removed from the body continues by N samplings.
[0013]
The formation of the acoustic loop 103b and the detection of the change are performed based on the amount of change in the input level of the microphone in a plurality of samplings. For example, in each of the samplings n1, n2, and n3 shown in FIG. 3, an average of input levels (generally referred to as moving average) is taken within each sampling time width Tw, and the input levels of the microphones are compared by comparing these averages. Find the amount of change. In such a comparison, it is determined whether or not there is almost no change in the input level of the microphone (whether or not the amount of change is within a predetermined range). The digital processing circuit 113 shown in FIG. 1 limits the output level of the sound signal to a predetermined level so as not to generate howling immediately after being removed from the body. In such a case, the amount of change in the input level of the microphone falls within a predetermined range. Therefore, if the input level of the microphone hardly changes after the acoustic loop is formed, it can be determined that the state removed from the body continues. Note that the input level of the microphone may be sampled in a plurality of frequency bands in order to reliably detect the formation and change of the acoustic loop 103b.
[0014]
Moreover, the hearing aid of the present invention is configured to set determination sampling conditions from a personal computer. When the battery 104 is removed in FIG. 1 and the adjustment terminal 220 is connected to the battery contact 105 instead, the connection between the personal computer 200 and the hearing aid 100 is established. Note that power is supplied from the adjustment terminal 220 to the hearing aid.
[0015]
In the present embodiment, the period T and the number N are stored in the memory 116 in advance, and based on the period T and the number N, whether to leave is determined by sampling N times for each period T. The present invention is not limited to this configuration. In short, what is necessary is just to comprise so that the acoustic loop 103b may be monitored based on the variation | change_quantity of the input level of a microphone. For example, the timer 118 shown in FIG. 3 may not be provided, and the sampling interval Ti may be counted by the CPU 117 itself to form the sampling timing. Further, a change amount of the input level of the microphone may be continuously detected without providing a sampling period.
[0016]
In the present embodiment, howling is generated when left unattended. Therefore, it is not necessary to add new hardware for generating a special notification sound. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the digital processing circuit 113 shown in FIG. 1 may be configured to generate a sound (single tone) having a specific frequency. Since the single tone has a strong irritation to the ear, a hearing aid can be easily found even by a user (eg, an elderly person) whose ear sensitivity has been lowered.
[0017]
In addition, the notification sound is output from the speaker 103 at a low volume at first and is gradually increased. The digital processing circuit 113 in FIG. 1 sets the output level of the sound signal with respect to the input level of the sound signal for each frequency band. If the notification sound is a single tone, the output level of the frequency band of the single tone is increased step by step. The same applies to the case where the notification sound is a howling sound, and the limit value of the output level that is originally provided to suppress howling is raised step by step. In this way, the digital processing circuit 113 increases the output level of the sound signal step by step to form a notification sound that gradually increases in volume, so that it may accidentally hurt the user's ear when notifying that it is left unattended. There is no.
[0018]
Next, an embodiment of the neglect notification method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the hearing aid leaving notification method according to the present invention, and shows a method for notifying the hearing aid 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0019]
First, the personal computer 200 receives an input of the determination sampling condition (S1). Here, the determination sampling condition refers to a condition necessary for determining and sampling whether or not the state of being removed from the body continues for a certain period of time. For example, the sampling period T and the number N of times. Further, the period T may be fixed, and the fixed time itself may be input from the personal computer 200. In this case, the number of times N is calculated by the personal computer 200 based on a fixed time and a period T. For example, a person who frequently removes or wears the hearing aid 100 inputs for a certain period of time (so that the number of times N increases), and removes the hearing aid 100 from the body. If there is no such thing, input is made so that the fixed time is short (so that the number of times N is small). Next, the connection between the hearing aid 100 and the personal computer 200 is established (S2). Here, when the adjustment terminal 220 is attached to the hearing aid 100, the connection between the personal computer 200 and the hearing aid 100 is established. Next, the hearing aid 100 receives the determination sampling condition from the personal computer 200 (S3). Here, the hearing aid 100 stores the received determination sampling condition in the memory 116. Next, the connection between the personal computer 200 and the hearing aid 100 is disconnected (S4). Here, when the adjustment terminal 220 is removed from the hearing aid 100, the connection between the personal computer 200 and the hearing aid 100 is cut off. Then, the user wears the battery 104 in the hearing aid 100 and wears the hearing aid 100 in the ear. When the battery 104 is attached, the hearing aid 100 becomes usable, and the CPU 117 samples the input level of the microphone 101 based on the determination sampling condition stored in the memory 116 (S5). Further, the CPU 117 determines whether or not the state in which the hearing aid 100 is removed from the body continues for a predetermined time based on the amount of change in the input level of the microphone (S6). When the state of being removed from the body continues for a certain time, the digital processing circuit 113 generates a notification sound. The generated notification sound is output from the speaker 103.
[0020]
Next, another embodiment of the hearing aid according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a phosphorescent material is used for a part of the case that is the appearance of the hearing aid. Specifically, when forming the ear hole insertion portion 100b to be inserted into the ear hole, the phosphorescent material is mixed with the resin. Here, the phosphorescent material refers to a material made to emit light in a dark place, and emits light when stimulated by light such as electric light. As a phosphorescent material, for example, there is a material using zinc sulfide. The hearing aid 100 is directly attached to the human body, and particularly the skin of the ear canal is sensitive. Therefore, a phosphorescent material that does not harm the human body and does not stimulate the ear canal is selected. Further, by using a phosphorescent material for the ear canal insertion part 100b, it is shielded by the lid part 100a when the hearing aid is worn, and can be stimulated by light when the hearing aid is left unattended. . Further, depending on the material, it is not used for the surface layer that directly contacts the skin of the ear canal, but the surface layer transmits light.
[0021]
As described above, in the hearing aid using the phosphorescent material, the hearing aid can be found immediately even in a sudden situation occurring at night. If the light is not irradiated for a long time, the light emitted by the phosphorescent material is weak. However, when illuminated with a flashlight, the phosphorescent material emits light in response to the irradiated light, so it is easy to find a hearing aid. . Further, since the ear hole insertion part contains the phosphorescent material, when the hearing aid is worn on the body, the light is not directly applied to the phosphorescent material, and the hearing aid does not shine unnecessarily.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a hearing aid that can be easily found when it is removed from the body and left unattended.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a hearing aid according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a hearing aid. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of sampling. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a conventional hearing aid.
100 hearing aids
100a lid
100b ear canal insertion
101 microphone
102 Amplifier circuit
102a Volume control knob
102b Sound quality adjustment knob
103 Speaker
103a Sound output hole
103b Acoustic loop
104 battery
104a Battery compartment
105 Battery contacts
112 A / D converter
113 Digital processing circuit (notification sound generation means)
114 D / A converter
115 Output circuit
116 memory
117 CPU (determination means)
118 timer
200 PC
220 Adjustment terminal

Claims (4)

  A hearing aid, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not the state of being removed from the body continues for a predetermined time; and a notification sound generation unit that generates a notification sound based on the determination of the determination unit.   When the determination means detects an acoustic loop formed by a microphone and an acoustic output hole for outputting sound, the notification sound generation means limits the output level of the sound signal to a predetermined level, and the acoustic loop continues for a certain period of time. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the notification sound generation means generates a notification sound when the determination means detects that it is in progress.   The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the notification sound generating means generates a notification sound in which the output level of the sound signal is increased stepwise to gradually increase the volume. In the neglect notification method for notifying the hearing aid, whether or not the device is removed from the body for a certain period of time is determined based on the amount of change in the microphone input level. A neglect notification method characterized in that a notification sound is generated when the user is in a state .

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