JPH10229598A - Digital hearing aid device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily change a hearing aid processing program by processing the output signals of an A/D converter for converting the output signals of a microphone corresponding to the hearing aid processing program stored in a rewritable memory, D/A converting the digital output signals and supplying them to the hearing sensation of a user. SOLUTION: A memory rewrite means 2 provided separately from a digital hearing aid device main body 1 is operated, power is supplied from a power supply part 2a to the hearing aid device main body 1, CPU OFF signals are sent from a CPU control part 2c and the address and data bus of a CPU 6 are electrically opened. Then, the hearing aid processing program for deciding the procedure of a hearing aid processing stored in an RAM 5 composed of a flash memory is rewritten. Thereafter, CPU ON signals are sent from the CPU control part 2c, the CPU 6 is activated and the hearing aid processing is performed corresponding to the program after rewrite. When hearing aid sound is not appropriate, the hearing aid sound based on different algorithm is successively tried by a similar procedure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital hearing aid capable of easily changing a program for determining a hearing aid processing procedure from the outside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a conventional digital hearing aid having a built-in arithmetic processing unit (CPU). In FIG. 2, the microphone 10 outputs an output signal corresponding to an external sound. The output signal (analog signal) of the microphone 10 is converted to a digital signal by the A / D converter 20 and then sent to the CPU 30. The CPU 30 performs A / D conversion according to a hearing aid processing program that determines a hearing aid processing procedure stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 40.
The output signal (digital signal) of the converter 20 is signal-processed. The signal-processed digital signal is converted to a D / A converter 50.
Is converted into an analog signal, and further guided from the earphone 60 as an acoustic signal to the ear canal of the wearer.

Here, the hearing aid processing program stored in the ROM 40 is a digital signal processing algorithm created to improve hearing of a hearing-impaired person, and the most suitable one is selected for the hearing-impaired person. I have.

[0004]

Research on the hearing of hearing-impaired persons is conducted daily at research institutions in various fields.
As the hearing aid processing program to be written in the ROM 40 for improving hearing, a new system has been developed year by year. When a new hearing aid processing program is created,
Alternatively, if an improved version of the current hearing aid processing program is developed, the hearing aid processing program is more likely to provide a hearing impaired person with more hearing than the currently used hearing aid.
Therefore, it is desirable that the contents of the ROM 40 be rewritable.

However, it is very difficult mechanically to provide a function that allows the ROM 40 to be easily replaced in a device such as a hearing aid that requires strong miniaturization. IC sockets and the like are required, and the increase in size of the equipment is inevitable. The hearing aid is a device worn by a hearing-impaired person on a daily basis, and considering the comfort of the user in daily life, it is not preferable to increase the size of the hearing aid. Therefore, in the digital hearing aid shown in FIG.
40 has a non-exchangeable structure.

[0006] Therefore, if a hearing aid processing program that is easier to hear is developed, if the currently used digital hearing aid program becomes unsuitable for the degree of hearing loss, it is necessary to replace the entire hearing aid. was there. In addition, since digital hearing aids are more expensive than ordinary analog hearing aids, replacement of the hearing aids imposes a large financial burden on the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hearing aid processing for determining a procedure of a hearing aid processing performed by an arithmetic processing unit (CPU). An object of the present invention is to provide a digital hearing aid that can easily rewrite a program.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a microphone for outputting an output signal corresponding to an external sound, and an A / D converter for converting an analog output signal of the microphone into a digital signal. A rewritable memory storing a hearing aid processing program for determining a hearing aid procedure, an arithmetic processing device for processing an output signal of the A / D converter according to the hearing aid processing program stored in the rewritable memory, It comprises a D / A converter for converting a digital output signal of the arithmetic processing device into an analog signal, and signal supply means for supplying the output signal of the D / A converter to the user's hearing.

[0009] The hearing aid processing program stored in the rewritable memory may be rewritten with a memory rewriting means.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital hearing aid according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a digital hearing device is
It comprises a digital hearing aid device main body 1 and a memory rewriting means 2 provided separately from the digital hearing aid device main body 1.

The digital hearing aid main body 1 includes a microphone 3 for outputting an output signal corresponding to an external sound, and an A / A for converting an analog output signal of the microphone 3 into a digital signal.
A D converter 4, a RAM 5 storing a hearing aid processing program for determining a hearing aid processing procedure, a CPU 6 for processing an output signal of the A / D converter 4 according to the hearing aid processing program stored in the RAM 5, and a digital The D / A converter 7 converts an output signal into an analog signal, and the earphone 8 converts an output signal of the D / A converter 7 into an acoustic signal and guides the signal to an external auditory canal of a user.

In the case of the present embodiment, since the RAM 5 is constituted by a flash memory, the stored contents can be retained without a power supply backup.

On the other hand, the memory rewriting means 2 outputs a power supply section 2a for directly supplying power as a power supply for the digital hearing aid device body 1, a memory rewriting section 2b for rewriting the contents of the RAM 5, and a control signal relating to activation of the CPU 6. And a CPU control unit 2c.

Also, a personal computer can be applied to the memory rewriting means 2, and the functions of the power supply section 2a, the function of the memory rewriting section 2b, and the function of the CPU control section 2c can be assigned to the personal computer.
In that case, the RAM 5 is stored in the storage unit of the personal computer.
Program for rewriting the contents of RAM and new RAM
5, a hearing aid processing program to be input may be stored.

As the hearing aid processing program, for example, those described in JP-B-4-17520, JP-A-3-245700 and JP-A-3-284000 are applied. These publications describe typical examples of a hearing aid processing algorithm for improving hearing for various hearing-impaired persons.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-17520 discloses a frequency compression type hearing aid. This shows a process of compressing the frequency of an input sound toward a low-frequency region for a hearing-impaired person who has a hearing loss in a high-frequency region (treble hearing loss). Since high-frequency hearing loss cannot hear the high-frequency components of the sound input to the ear, they often misunderstand words and miss high-frequency sounds such as telephone sounds and insect voices. The frequency compression is a process for lowering the frequency of the input sound by digital signal processing for such a hearing-impaired person.

According to the frequency compression method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-17520, in addition to such a normal compression process, an input sound is subjected to PARCOR analysis to extract various acoustic parameters. The value is changed and re-combined. As a result, not only the frequency of the input sound is lowered, but also the input state is maintained without lowering only the pitch frequency of the voice, and a wide range of processing can be performed such that unvoiced sounds having a high frequency are compressed more than usual. It has become.

In the above-mentioned digital hearing aid, the power supply unit 2a for supplying power to the digital hearing aid main body 1 is connected to the digital hearing aid.
A memory rewriting unit 2b for storing the hearing aid processing program executed by the PU 6 in the RAM 5, further rewriting the hearing aid processing program stored in the RAM 5, and the CPU 6
Memory rewriting means 2 having the function of a CPU control section 2c for outputting a control signal to the CPU.
The procedure of the hearing aid processing of No. 6 can be changed.

As a rewriting procedure, first, the memory rewriting means 2 is operated to supply power from the power supply unit 2a to the main body 1 of the digital hearing aid. Next, the CPU 6
Sends a CPU off signal from the CPU control unit 2c to the CPU
After electrically releasing the address bus and the data bus of No. 6, the program of the RAM 5 is rewritten. After that, when a CPU ON signal is sent from the CPU control unit 2c to the CPU 6, the CPU 6 is activated and performs hearing aid processing according to the rewritten program. When the hearing aid sound is not appropriate, the hearing aid sound processed by the hearing aid processing program created based on a different algorithm can be previewed one after another in the same procedure.

Therefore, when the degree of hearing loss of the hearing aid wearer progresses, it is possible to set a processing procedure according to the degree in a short time by selecting a hearing aid processing program. This makes it possible to always obtain a digital hearing aid device having optimal hearing aid characteristics without replacing hearing aids. In addition, even if an algorithm for hearing aid processing having excellent characteristics is developed with the development of audiology, it is possible to quickly cope with the algorithm.

In the above embodiment, the earphone 8 is used as means for transmitting the processing result to the user's hearing.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be a device for directly stimulating hearing electrically, or a device for driving an ossicle or the like such as a vibrator.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the microphone 3 is used as a means for taking in an external sound. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sound of another audio device such as a television, a radio, a telephone, etc. The output of the signal output terminal may be directly input. By doing so, a hearing-impaired person can directly listen to the signal output from the above-described device.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the central processing unit (CPU) 6 is used as the processing unit, but a digital circuit which can be programmed by a memory may be used.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the hearing aid processing program for determining the hearing aid processing procedure is stored in the rewritable memory, the hearing aid processing program can be easily changed without replacing the memory. it can.

Also, if the contents of the rewritable memory are rewritten by using the memory rewriting means, the hearing aid processing procedure of the arithmetic processing unit can be easily changed. The benefit of the latest hearing aid processing function can be enjoyed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital hearing aid according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional digital hearing aid.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Digital hearing aid main body 2. Memory rewriting means
2a: power supply unit, 2b: memory rewriting unit, 2c: C
PU control unit, 3 microphone, 4 A / D converter, 5
... a rewritable memory (RAM), 6 ... an arithmetic processing unit (CPU), 7 ... a D / A converter, 8 ... a signal supply means (earphone).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A microphone for outputting an output signal corresponding to an external sound, an A / D converter for converting an analog output signal of the microphone into a digital signal, and a hearing aid processing program for determining a hearing aid processing procedure are stored. A rewritable memory, an arithmetic processing unit for processing the output signal of the A / D converter in accordance with a hearing aid processing program stored in the rewritable memory, and a D for converting a digital output signal of the arithmetic processing unit into an analog signal. A digital hearing aid comprising: an A / A converter; and signal supply means for supplying an output signal of the D / A converter to a user's hearing. 2. The digital hearing aid according to claim 1, further comprising a memory rewriting means for rewriting a hearing aid processing program stored in said rewritable memory.