KR102133264B1 - Apparatus and method for generating tinnitus rehabilitation sound based on ambient noise - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for generating a tinnitus treatment sound according to an embodiment of the present invention receives an ambient sound and outputs a treatment sound generated to treat tinnitus, a treatment sound in which a tinnitus frequency is removed with a notch filter to treat a user's tinnitus It includes a control unit for controlling to generate and output the generated treatment sound, wherein the control unit removes a sound corresponding to the user's tinnitus frequency from an arbitrary sound source to generate a treatment sound, a notch filtering unit input by the audio processing unit A peripheral sound monitoring unit for measuring a characteristic value of the ambient sound, and a peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit for correcting the characteristic value of the generated treatment sound based on the characteristic value of the ambient sound determined by the ambient sound monitoring unit It is configured, characterized in that the characteristic value includes the sound intensity for each frequency band.

Description

Apparatus and method for generating tinnitus rehabilitation sound based on ambient noise}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating tinnitus treatment sounds based on ambient noise.

Tinnitus (tinnitus) is a name derived from the Latin word'Tinnire', which means subjective perception of sound despite no external sound stimulation. These tinnitus can generally be classified into objective and subjective tinnitus.

Objective tinnitus means that the sound produced by the body is actually heard. Objective tinnitus may occur due to turbulence or muscle contraction in the bloodstream, and the examiner may hear the tinnitus of the patient directly or indirectly.

Subjective tinnitus can only be perceived by a person suffering from tinnitus, and the characteristics of tinnitus sounds can be expressed in various frequency features ranging from high-frequency type tinnitus such as cricket sound to low-frequency tinnitus, and may also appear as persistent tinnitus. And intermittent tinnitus. In contrast to objective tinnitus, in the case of subjective tinnitus, where it is difficult to eliminate the direct cause, patients can cause symptoms such as frustration, irritation, anger, anxiety, depression, hearing loss, irritability, insomnia, and concentration disorder. It appears to have an effect.

The most representative method of treating tinnitus is'sound therapy', which is known as the most effective method. This sound therapy is used to modify the patient's perception or response to tinnitus by shielding the tinnitus using external noise. The sound treatment method may be divided into complete shielding that covers the entire tinnitus sound with stimulation sound and partial shielding where the stimulation sound partially covers the tinnitus sound.

The main method for treating tinnitus as described above is a method of listening to a separate stimulus to weaken the perception of tinnitus, which is usually inevitable for use in daily life because it should be spent about 6 to 8 hours a day. . However, in everyday life, there is a possibility that strong noise is generated in the surroundings, and these ambient noises are synthesized in the stimulation sound (therapeutic sound) used for tinnitus treatment, and may have an adverse effect on hearing.

On the other hand, as a prior art document related to tinnitus rehabilitation treatment, there is Patent Publication No. 10-1754840.

The present invention occurs in a place where a user is located by performing a correction such as adjusting the intensity of the treatment sound based on the ambient sound in the case of performing a rehabilitation treatment to hear the treatment sound for a long time in order to treat tinnitus. The aim is to prevent excessive stimulation from being applied to the user's hearing by combining ambient noise and treatment sound.

An apparatus for generating a tinnitus treatment sound according to an embodiment of the present invention receives an ambient sound and outputs a treatment sound generated to treat tinnitus, a treatment sound in which a tinnitus frequency is removed with a notch filter to treat a user's tinnitus It includes a control unit for controlling to generate and output the generated treatment sound, wherein the control unit removes a sound corresponding to the user's tinnitus frequency from an arbitrary sound source to generate a treatment sound, a notch filtering unit input by the audio processing unit A peripheral sound monitoring unit for measuring a characteristic value of the ambient sound, and a peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit for correcting the characteristic value of the generated treatment sound based on the characteristic value of the ambient sound determined by the ambient sound monitoring unit It is configured, characterized in that the characteristic value includes the sound intensity for each frequency band.

In various embodiments of the present invention, in providing a treatment sound for rehabilitation treatment to a patient suffering from tinnitus, the ambient noise is detected by real-time sensing the degree of ambient noise and modulating the characteristic value of the treatment sound provided in response thereto. It is possible to prevent the problem caused by the overlapping of over-treatment sounds.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a device for generating tinnitus treatment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a treatment sound correction operation according to an embodiment of the present invention is performed.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of location-based treatment sound control operations according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention can be applied to various changes and can have various embodiments, and specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail.

However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing each drawing, similar reference numerals are used for similar components.

When an element is said to be'connected' or'connected' to another component, it is understood that other components may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be'directly connected' or'directly connected' to another component, it should be understood that no other component exists in the middle.

The terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, terms such as'include' or'have' are intended to indicate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, and that one or more other features are present. It should be understood that the existence or addition possibilities of fields or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof are not excluded in advance.

The device for generating tinnitus treatment sound according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a mobile device such as a user's smart phone, tablet, or smart watch.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a device for generating tinnitus treatment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the device 100 for generating tinnitus treatment sound according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, an input unit 130, a display unit 140, an audio processing unit 150, and a control unit 160. In addition, the storage unit 120 may store therapy sound data 121, user personal information 122, and statistical information 123. In addition, the control unit 160 includes a tinnitus frequency inspection unit 161, a notch filtering unit 162, an ambient sound monitoring unit 163, an ambient sound-based treatment sound control unit 164, a location-based treatment sound control unit 165, a customization support unit 166, a tinnitus treatment evaluation unit 167, and a statistical unit 168. It can be configured to include.

First, the communication unit 110 may include, for example, a cellular module, a WiFi module, a Bluetooth module, a GPS module (eg, a GPS module, a Glonass module, a Beidou module, or a Galileo module), an NFC module, and a radio frequency (RF) module. have.

The cellular module may provide, for example, a voice call, a video call, a text service, or an internet service through a communication network. According to an embodiment, the cellular module may perform identification and authentication of an electronic device within a communication network using a subscriber identification module (eg, a SIM card). According to an embodiment, the cellular module may perform at least some of the functions that the processor can provide. According to an embodiment, the cellular module may include a communication processor (CP).

Each of the WiFi module, the Bluetooth module, the GPS module, or the NFC module, for example, may include a processor for processing data transmitted and received through a corresponding module. According to some embodiments, at least some (eg, two or more) of a cellular module, a WiFi module, a Bluetooth module, a GPS module, or an NFC module may be included in one integrated chip (IC) or IC package.

The RF module, for example, may transmit and receive communication signals (eg, RF signals). The RF module may include, for example, a transceiver, a power amp module (PAM), a frequency filter, a low noise amplifier (LNA), or an antenna. According to another embodiment, at least one of a cellular module, a WiFi module, a Bluetooth module, a GPS module, or an NFC module may transmit and receive an RF signal through a separate RF module.

The communication unit 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may collect location information for determining the current location of the tinnitus treatment sound generating device, that is, the user's current location, and transmit it to the controller 160. In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication unit 110 may support Internet communication and short-range communication with another user's tinnitus treatment sound generating device. The communication unit 110 may receive sound source data provided from, for example, a web server providing a sound source, and the control unit 160 may generate a treatment sound for the received sound source file. According to various other embodiments, the communication unit 110 may transmit statistical data generated in the device for generating tinnitus treatment sound and data recording the treatment progress of the user to a separate management server (eg, a medical institution-side server).

The storage unit 120 may include, for example, an internal memory or an external memory. The internal memory includes, for example, volatile memory (eg, dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM)), non-volatile memory (eg, OTPROM (one time programmable ROM (PROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), mask ROM, flash ROM, flash memory (e.g. NAND flash or NOR flash, etc.), hard drives, Or it may include at least one of a solid state drive (SSD).

The external memory may be a flash drive, for example, compact flash (CF), secure digital (SD), micro secure digital (micro-SD), mini secure digital (mini-SD), extreme digital (xD), It may further include a multi-media card (MMC) or a memory stick. The external memory may be functionally and/or physically connected to the electronic device through various interfaces.

The storage unit 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention may store and store treatment sound data 121, user personal information 122, and statistical information 123. In addition, according to various embodiments, the storage unit 120 may store sound source data before the treatment sound is generated. In addition, the storage unit 120 may store reference data for determining whether or not the sound source is suitable for generating a treatment sound for any sound source data.

The treatment sound data 121 may mean treatment sound data generated by the treatment sound generating device. The treatment sound data 121 may be stored for each user account information. This is because tinnitus symptoms (frequency, intensity, duration, and severity of tinnitus) of each user will be different, and thus treatment sounds for treating tinnitus symptoms for each user will be generated differently. Accordingly, the treatment sound data 121 may be classified and stored for each user account. Also, according to various embodiments, the treatment sound data 121 may be generated as data having different characteristic values according to the treatment progress of the tinnitus phenomenon of the user, so a predetermined period may be generated for each period. For example, the treatment sound data 121 may be classified and stored monthly. Accordingly, the user (patient) can receive rehabilitation treatment with a suitable treatment sound corresponding to the treatment progress of the tinnitus phenomenon. Specifically, for example, when it is estimated that the intensity of tinnitus after 2 months of treatment has decreased compared to the intensity of the user's initial tinnitus, the device for generating tinnitus treatment sound is 2 months from the intensity of the initial treatment tone in accordance with the user's current state It is possible to reduce the intensity of the treatment sound after the passage and minimize the side effects such as hearing loss that may occur due to the continuous exposure of the stimulation sound to the patient.

The user personal information 122 may include data on the result of the user's tinnitus frequency test. In addition, the user's personal information 122 may include user's survey information (which may consist of query content such as the degree of discomfort in everyday life).

The statistical information 123 is information generated by the statistical unit 168, and may include statistical information about a peripheral sound and a user location pattern that are periodically repeated, and information about a suitable treatment sound for each time slot. Specifically, for example, the statistical information 123 may include location information of a user moving from 7 am to 8 am in the morning, and data about subway noise, which is an ambient sound inputted in the corresponding time zone.

The input unit 130 may include, for example, a touch panel, a pen sensor, a key, or an ultrasonic input device. At least one of capacitive, pressure-sensitive, infrared, or ultrasonic methods may be used, and the touch panel may further include a control circuit.The touch panel further includes a tactile layer, It can provide a tactile reaction to the user.

The input unit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention may receive information input about the user's personal information (eg, age, residence information, etc.). In addition, the input unit 130 may receive input of user response information performed for tinnitus frequency inspection or the like.

The display unit 140 may include a panel, a hologram device, or a projector. The panel can be implemented, for example, to be flexible, transparent, or wearable. The panel may be composed of a touch panel and one module. The hologram device may show a stereoscopic image in the air using interference of light. The projector can display an image by projecting light on the screen. The screen may be located, for example, inside or outside the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the display unit may further include a control circuit for controlling the panel, the hologram device, or the projector.

The display unit 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform an operation of displaying a sound source list, etc. in order to select a basic sound source to be produced as a treatment sound according to a user's request. In addition, the display 140 may display a screen required for performing an operation for generating a treatment sound and an operation for modulating the treatment sound based on an ambient sound or a user's location. In addition, the private interest display unit 140 may display tinnitus frequency inspection data provided to the user to measure the user's tinnitus status.

The audio processing unit 150 may convert, for example, a sound and an electric signal in both directions. At least some components of the audio processing unit 150 may be included in the input/output interface. The audio processing unit 150 may process sound information input or output through, for example, a speaker, a receiver, an earphone, or a microphone.

The audio processing unit 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a speaker 151 and a microphone 152, and the speaker 161 may perform various basic sound sources and notch filtering to generate a treatment sound, and finally generated treatment sound Can output Furthermore, the speaker 161 may output a treatment sound in a modulated state based on the level of ambient noise and the user's current location.

The microphone 152 may perform an operation of inputting ambient sound to perform ambient sound monitoring.

The controller 160 of the present invention may also be referred to as a processor, a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, or the like. Meanwhile, the control unit may be implemented by hardware or firmware, software, or a combination thereof.

In the case of implementation by firmware or software, an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a module, procedure, function, etc. that performs the functions or operations described above. The software code can be stored in the memory and driven by the control unit. The memory may be located inside or outside the user terminal and the server, and may exchange data with the control unit by various means already known.

The control unit 160 includes a tinnitus frequency inspection unit 161, a notch filtering unit 162, an ambient sound monitoring unit 163, an ambient sound-based treatment sound control unit 164, a location-based treatment sound control unit 165, a customization support unit 166, a tinnitus treatment evaluation unit 167 and a statistical unit 168 Can be configured.

First, the tinnitus frequency inspection unit 161 may acquire tinnitus information, including tinnitus frequency information felt by a user (a tinnitus patient) through examination. Specifically, the tinnitus frequency inspection unit 161 may perform a test for acquiring information related to tinnitus such as the frequency of the tinnitus, the duration of the tinnitus, the intensity of the tinnitus, and the frequency of the tinnitus. In addition, according to various embodiments, the tinnitus frequency test unit 161 may perform a test to determine whether the user has a cause for a pseudo- tinnitus such as noise-induced hearing loss, aging, sclerosis, sudden hearing loss, and Meniere's disease. In addition, the tinnitus frequency test unit 161 may perform a test to determine whether or not it is for a neurological cause such as head trauma, cervical injury, and multiple sclerosis. In addition, the tinnitus frequency inspection unit 161 may conduct a questionnaire for checking the degree of discomfort according to the user's tinnitus.

The user's personal name information collected by the tinnitus frequency inspection unit 161 may be stored in the user's personal information 122. In addition, the user's tinnitus frequency calculated by the tinnitus frequency checking unit 161 is provided to the notch filtering unit 162, and the notch filtering unit 162 may be applied as a frequency to be filtered.

The notch filtering unit 162 may generate a treatment sound for treating a tinnitus phenomenon of a user based on arbitrary sound source data. Specifically, the notch filtering unit 162 may perform a notch filtering operation, which is an operation of removing a sound corresponding to a user's tinnitus frequency from any sound source data through a notch filter. The notch filter means a filter for removing a specific frequency band from a sound source, and may be configured to move the removed frequency band.

For reference, the sound treatment method for treating the tinnitus phenomenon can be roughly divided into two types. The first method is a method in which a stimulus sound having a frequency similar to that of the tinnitus is heard. A sound source in a frequency band similar to the frequency band of tinnitus sounds can still be heard over time, but can be used to desensitize or reduce the stress caused by tinnitus.

On the other hand, the second method of sound therapy uses white noise (a sound source with the same energy distributed over all frequencies) or a music sound source, but the tinnitus frequency (eg, 4 kHz) part is a method in which a sound source removed by filtering is heard. This is not a method of shielding the tinnitus itself, so it is not possible to quickly see the effect of diminishing pain due to tinnitus, but by continuously stimulating the frequency bands other than the tinnitus frequency evenly, the concentration of the subjects concentrated in the tinnitus frequency band is dispersed. According to this flow, the tinnitus sound itself can disappear or decrease.

The notch filtering unit 162 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a notch filtering operation for generating a sound source by removing the tinnitus frequency band used in the second method among the sound treatment methods. The notch filtering unit 162 may receive a tinnitus frequency value according to a user account according to various embodiments. Accordingly, the notch filtering unit 162 performs notch filtering corresponding to an individual user's tinnitus frequency to generate a treatment sound. Can.

The ambient sound monitoring unit 163 may receive an ambient sound generated outside the tinnitus treatment sound generating device 100 and analyze the sound characteristics such as intensity and frequency of the ambient sound. When the treatment sound generated by the notch filtering unit 162 is provided to the user, if ambient noise does not exist or is insignificant, it will be transmitted to the user as intended. Because it can be delivered to, to prevent this. For example, when the treatment sound finally calculated by performing notch filtering is a sound in which the 4 kHz band is removed, the sound in the 5 kHz band of the treatment sound is set to be reproduced with an intensity of 6, but the ambient noise is 5 in the 5 kHz band. Assuming that is generated as, the user may actually experience a problem that the 5 kHz band hears a stimulus synthesized with an intensity of 11. In order to prevent excessive stimulation of the user's hearing according to the synthesis of the ambient sound and the therapeutic sound, the ambient sound monitoring unit 163 checks the intensity of sound by frequency of the ambient sound in real time, and the ambient sound-based therapeutic sound control unit 164 The characteristic value of the treatment sound can be adjusted according to the monitored ambient sound information.

The ambient sound monitoring unit 163 may analyze the intensity (sound level) of the ambient sound, frequency, and sound intensity for each frequency. In addition, the ambient sound monitoring unit 163 may measure information about the presence or absence of repeated sounds present in the ambient sound. In addition, according to various embodiments, the ambient sound monitoring unit 163 may determine whether the user is moving based on current location information detected by the communication unit 110. For example, the ambient sound monitoring unit 163 may determine that the user is not moving, and when ambient noise is not detected for a predetermined time or more, the ambient sound monitoring operation may be temporarily turned off (Sleep function). In addition, when the motion of the user (device) is detected in the temporary OFF operation state, the ambient sound monitoring unit 163 may control to terminate the temporary OFF state (Awake function) and restart the real-time ambient sound monitoring operation.

The peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit 164 may change the characteristic value of the treatment sound (output strength for each frequency, etc.) based on sound characteristic information such as intensity and frequency of the ambient sound measured by the ambient sound monitoring unit 163. The ambient sound-based treatment sound control unit 164 may be controlled to change the characteristic value of the pre-calculated treatment sound based on the characteristic values such as the average intensity and frequency-specific intensity of the ambient noise measured by the ambient sound monitoring unit 163.

For example, the ambient sound-based treatment sound control unit 164 determines whether the average intensity and the sound intensity for each frequency band exceed a preset maximum value when the ambient sound and the treatment sound are synthesized, and accordingly determines a specific frequency in the treatment sound. The sound intensity of the band can be adjusted. Alternatively, the peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit 164 determines whether or not to modulate the treatment sound based on the value of the characteristic values of the ambient sound (eg, average intensity and sound intensity for each frequency band), and the characteristic value of the ambient sound is equal to or greater than a preset value. If it is judged, the treatment sound is modulated to a characteristic numerical value of a predetermined level, or modulated in response to the characteristic numerical value of the ambient sound (eg, a value exceeded from a frequency band and a reference value greater than or equal to a preset intensity of the ambient sound is determined, It is possible to modulate the intensity of the sound in the frequency band in the treatment sound to decrease by the above-mentioned value).

The location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may control to change the original sound, which is the basis of the treatment sound, based on the user's current location and movement. Specifically, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may determine whether the user's location corresponds to green space. The location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may determine the user's current location based on the location information of the device received from the communication unit 110. Compared with the map data provided on the web, the user's current location is a park, a mountain, etc. It can be determined whether or not it corresponds to green space. Accordingly, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may select the type of treatment sound according to whether the user's location corresponds to green space. The types of the treatment sounds may be largely divided into sounds based on natural objects and sounds based on artificial objects, but are not limited thereto. According to an embodiment, when it is determined that the user's location corresponds to green space, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may select a sound based on a natural object as a treatment sound to be output, and in other cases, a sound based on an artifact. have.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 sets a type of treatment sound corresponding to green space and a treatment sound corresponding to an area other than green space based on a user's personal preference, and accordingly, the user's location is green. In the case, it is possible to control to select a treatment sound corresponding to the green area, and to select a treatment sound corresponding to an area other than the green area if not located in the green area. More specifically, for example, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 provides a sound source composed of the sound of a classical musical instrument such as a violin as a treatment sound in green space based on user settings, and an electronic piano, drum, etc. in areas other than green space. It is possible to provide the sound of modern practical music performance.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may select a treatment sound corresponding to location information among a plurality of previously produced treatment sound types, or may select a type of original sound that is in a state before being generated as a treatment sound. . Accordingly, the location-based treatment sound controller 165 may select the original sound before the notch filtering in response to the user's location information, and then perform notch filtering according to the user's tinnitus frequency information to support the final treatment sound to be generated.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may perform treatment sound control according to whether a user moves. The location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may determine whether the device is moving based on a sensor (not shown) provided in the device for generating a tinnitus treatment sound according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the location detected by the communication unit 110 Based on the information, it can be determined whether or not the movement. Accordingly, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may select a different type of treatment sound (or the original sound before notch filtering) for each of the user's location being moved and the stationary state. In addition, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may check whether it is melted and whether the user moves, and select a type of treatment sound (or original sound before notch filtering) corresponding thereto. Specifically, for example, when the user is stationary in a green park, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 selects a treatment sound (or original sound before notch filtering) that includes only sparrow sounds, and the user moves within the park If in progress, the location-based treatment sound control unit 165 may control to select a treatment sound including various bird sounds, insects (eg, cricket) sounds other than sparrows.

The customization support unit 166 may perform an operation for generating a treatment sound based on a specific sound source requested by the user. Specifically, the customizing support unit 156 determines whether a condition as a sound source for generating a treatment sound is satisfied for a user's personal sound source file input or generated by a user, and when the condition is satisfied, the user's personal sound source file is renamed The frequency notch filtering may be performed to generate an operation sound. The customizing support unit 166 may evaluate whether a condition as a sound source for generating a therapeutic sound is satisfied for a user registered sound source such as an MP3 downloaded by an individual user or a natural sound recorded directly. At this time, conditions as a sound source for generating a therapeutic sound may include, for example, the reproduction time of the entire sound source, whether or not various frequency bands are distributed. The distribution of the various frequency bands may be included as an evaluation condition in order to prevent problems such as, for example, notch filtering the sound in the 4 kHz band with respect to a sound source composed only of 4 kHz.

The tinnitus treatment evaluation unit 167 periodically presents an evaluation item including the number of tinnitus occurrences, the duration of tinnitus and the intensity of tinnitus, and outputs a treatment sound based on the user's response data and the user's treatment sound output history data A function of calculating a change trend of the tinnitus phenomenon of the user corresponding to the history may be performed.

Specifically, the tinnitus treatment evaluation unit 167 may be controlled to periodically perform a questionnaire conducted by the tinnitus frequency test unit 161 and a test operation for acquiring tinnitus information. At this time, the repetition period may be determined according to user settings. Alternatively, the repetition period may be set based on the tinnitus symptom information of the initially evaluated user. For example, when the tinnitus symptom of the user is a tinnitus symptom accompanied by hearing loss, the test cycle for determining the treatment trend can be set relatively long compared to the case of a tinnitus symptom not accompanied by hearing loss.

Also, according to various embodiments, the tinnitus treatment evaluation unit 167 may perform additional modulation of the treatment sound based on the user's tinnitus treatment trend. Specifically, the tinnitus treatment evaluation unit 167 checks the test results periodically performed, and when it is determined that the user's tinnitus phenomenon is improved, reduces the sound intensity of the provided treatment sound by a preset value, A second treatment sound may be generated by additionally notching filtering the sound of a specific frequency band. The above operation may be performed to prevent a problem that may increase the side effects of noiseless hearing loss as it is continuously exposed to noise regardless of whether the tinnitus phenomenon is improved.

The statistical unit 168 may perform statistics on the surrounding sound and user location patterns that are periodically repeated, and derive suitable treatment sounds for each time zone.

Specifically, the statistical unit 168 may calculate data on location noise that the user moves from 7 to 8 in the morning and subway noise, which is an ambient sound input in the corresponding time zone. The statistical information 123, which is information calculated through the statistical unit 168, may be stored in the storage unit 120. Thereafter, the statistical information 123 may be referred to during the modulation of the treatment sound by the peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit 164 and the location-based treatment sound control unit 165.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a treatment sound correction operation according to an embodiment of the present invention is performed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller 160 may perform operation 205 of checking the user's tinnitus frequency. The operation of checking the tinnitus frequency may refer to a test for acquiring information related to tinnitus such as frequency and intensity of tinnitus for each user, the frequency of occurrence of tinnitus, and duration of tinnitus. In addition, the operation 205 may perform a test operation for determining the degree of inconvenience caused by the tinnitus phenomenon and the cause of the tinnitus phenomenon. According to various embodiments, the operation 205 may be performed by a user inputting examination data received from a medical institution.

Thereafter, the controller 160 may perform operation 210 of generating a treatment sound by removing the sound in the tinnitus frequency band. In this case, a filter that removes the sound of a specific frequency band is called a notch filter, and the frequency band filtered by the notch filter may be set according to the user's tinnitus frequency information calculated in step 205.

Thereafter, the controller 160 may perform operation 215 for monitoring the ambient sound. The controller 160 may perform operation 220 to determine whether the characteristic values (eg, average intensity, intensity for each frequency band, etc.) of the ambient sound are greater than or equal to a preset value according to the ambient sound monitoring.

Thereafter, if it is determined that the characteristic value of the ambient sound is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the controller 160 may perform operation 225 to correct the characteristic value of the treatment sound based on the ambient sound characteristic value. In this case, the control unit 160 may remove, for example, a sound of an additional specific frequency band from the treatment sound, or may adjust the output intensity of the sound of a specific frequency band downward. The control unit 160 may correct the treatment sound in real time in response to the type and intensity of the monitored ambient sound.

Thereafter, the controller 160 may perform operation 230 of outputting the corrected treatment sound.

Meanwhile, if it is determined in step 220 that the characteristic value of the ambient sound is not equal to or greater than a preset value, the controller 160 may perform operation 240 of outputting the basic treatment sound.

After the operations 230 and 240, the control unit 160 performs operation 235 to determine whether the treatment sound output operation according to an embodiment of the present invention is requested to be terminated. At this time, if the termination request is not confirmed, operation 215 or less is repeated. It can be done. On the other hand, when the termination request by the user is confirmed, the control unit 160 may terminate the process of FIG. 2.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of location-based treatment sound control operations according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the controller 160 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a treatment sound control operation based on a user's location. First, the control unit 160 may perform operation 305 for monitoring a user's location. At this time, the controller 160 may determine the current location of the user based on the location information of the tinnitus treatment sound generating device 100. Thereafter, the controller 160 may perform operation 310 to determine whether the user is located in the green area. According to the determination result in operation 310, if it is determined that the user is located in the green area, the controller 160 performs operation 315 to generate a treatment sound based on a sound source related to a natural product, whereas when it is determined that the user is not located in the green area, Based on the artifact-related sound source, operation 320 for generating a treatment sound may be performed.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the control unit 160 performs ambient sound monitoring after the operations 315 and 320, and performs a peripheral sound-based treatment sound control operation based on the ambient sound monitoring results as shown in operation 215 of FIG. 2 or less. can do.

According to various embodiments, the controller 160 may determine whether a specific location has been reached instead of the 310 operation, and select an initial sound source (meaning sound data prior to being processed as a treatment sound) or a treatment sound corresponding thereto. For example, according to various embodiments, the controller 160 determines whether the user's current location is the user's residence, whether it is located on a commuting line, whether it is on a transportation vehicle, and responds to the initial sound source or treatment sound corresponding thereto. You can choose

In short, the tinnitus treatment sound generating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives an ambient sound and outputs a treatment sound generated to treat tinnitus, and removes the tinnitus frequency with a notch filter to treat the user's tinnitus It may include a control unit for generating a treatment sound and controlling to output the generated treatment sound. In addition, the control unit removes a sound corresponding to a user's tinnitus frequency from an arbitrary sound source, a notch filtering unit generating a treatment sound, a peripheral sound monitoring unit measuring a characteristic value of the ambient sound input by the audio processing unit, and the surroundings It may be configured to include a peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit for correcting the characteristic value of the generated treatment sound based on the characteristic value of the ambient sound determined by the sound monitoring unit. In this case, the characteristic value may be a concept including sound intensity for each frequency band.

The ambient sound-based treatment sound control unit is configured to generate a sound in a frequency band that causes the intensity of the synthesized value to be greater than or equal to a reference value when the synthesized value of the sound intensity of the input ambient sound and the sound intensity of the treatment sound is greater than a preset reference value. Notch filtering may be performed to remove the treatment sound.

In addition, the controller may include a tinnitus frequency inspection unit that checks the frequency and intensity of tinnitus for each user and provides frequency information of the tinnitus calculated as a result of the inspection to the notch filtering unit.

The tinnitus treatment sound generating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a communication unit performing a communication function required to determine a user's current location. And accordingly, the control unit determines whether or not the user's current location is an area including green space, based on the user's current location information determined by the communication unit, and determines whether the user's current location is an area including green area. Depending on whether or not it can be configured to include a location-based treatment sound control unit to select any one of the natural-related sound source and an artifact-related sound source as a sound source for generating the treatment sound.

In addition, the controller determines whether a condition as a sound source for generating a treatment sound is satisfied for a user's personal sound source file input or generated by the user, and if the condition is satisfied, the tinnitus frequency notch is filtered for the user's personal sound source file It may include a customizing support for generating a treatment sound by performing.

In addition, the controller periodically presents to the user an evaluation item including the number of tinnitus occurrences, the duration of the tinnitus and the intensity of the tinnitus, and responds to the treatment sound output history based on the user's response data and the user's treatment sound output history data. The user may further include a tinnitus treatment evaluation unit for calculating a change in tinnitus phenomenon, statistics for periodically repeating surrounding sounds and user location patterns, and deriving suitable treatment sounds for each time period.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above-mentioned examples, those skilled in the art can make modifications, alterations, and modifications to the examples without departing from the scope of the present invention. In short, in order to achieve the desired effect of the present invention, it is not necessary to separately include all the functional blocks shown in the drawings or to follow all the order shown in the drawings in the order shown, and even if not, any number of technical aspects of the present invention described in the claims Note that it can fall within the scope.

100: tinnitus treatment sound generating device
110: communication unit
120: storage unit
121: treatment sound data
122: user's personal information
123: statistical information
130: input unit
140: display unit
150: audio processing unit
160: control unit
161: tinnitus frequency inspection unit
162: notch filtering unit
163: ambient sound monitoring unit
164: peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit
165: location-based treatment sound control
166: Customizing Support Department
167: tinnitus treatment evaluation department
168: Statistics Department

Claims (9)

An audio processing unit that receives ambient sound and outputs a generated treatment sound to treat tinnitus;
In order to treat the tinnitus of the user, a control unit for generating a treatment sound by removing the tinnitus frequency with a notch filter and controlling to output the generated treatment sound; includes,
The control unit
A notch filtering unit generating a treatment sound by removing a sound corresponding to a user's tinnitus frequency from an arbitrary sound source;
An ambient sound monitoring unit for measuring a characteristic value of the ambient sound input by the audio processing unit;
It is configured to include; a peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit for correcting the characteristic value of the generated treatment sound based on the characteristic value of the ambient sound determined by the ambient sound monitoring unit,
The peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit
When the synthesized value of the sound intensity of the input ambient sound and the sound intensity of the treatment sound is greater than or equal to a preset reference value, notch filtering for removing the sound in the frequency band that causes the intensity of the synthesized value to be greater than or equal to the reference value And
The tinnitus treatment sound generation device, characterized in that the characteristic value includes the sound intensity for each frequency band. delete According to claim 1,
The control unit
And a tinnitus frequency test unit that checks the frequency and intensity of tinnitus for each user and provides frequency information of the tinnitus calculated as a result of the test to the notch filtering unit. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a communication unit for performing a communication function required to determine the current location of the user,
The control unit
Based on the user's current location information determined by the communication unit, it is determined whether or not the user's current location is an area including greenery, and a natural sound source related to the user according to whether the user's current location is an area including greenery. And a location-based treatment sound control unit that selects any one of a sound source related to an artifact and a artifact as a sound source for generating a treatment sound. According to claim 1,
The control unit
It is determined whether a condition as a sound source for generating a treatment sound is satisfied for a user's personal sound source file input or generated by a user, and if the condition is satisfied, treatment is performed by performing tinnitus frequency notch filtering on the user's personal sound source file A customization support unit for generating sound; Tinnitus treatment sound generating device comprising a. According to claim 1,
The control unit
The user periodically presents an evaluation item including the number of tinnitus occurrences, the duration of the tinnitus, and the intensity of the tinnitus, and the user's tinnitus corresponding to the treatment sound output history based on the user's response data and the user's treatment sound output history data Tinnitus treatment evaluation unit to calculate the change trend of the phenomenon; And
And a statistical unit that performs statistics on periodically repeated ambient sounds and user location patterns, and derives suitable treatment sounds for each time period. An audio processing unit that receives ambient sound and outputs a generated treatment sound to treat tinnitus;
In order to treat the tinnitus of the user, a control unit for generating a treatment sound by removing the tinnitus frequency with a notch filter and controlling to output the generated treatment sound; includes,
The control unit
A notch filtering unit generating a treatment sound by removing a sound corresponding to a user's tinnitus frequency from an arbitrary sound source;
An ambient sound monitoring unit for measuring a characteristic value of the ambient sound input by the audio processing unit;
A peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit for correcting the characteristic value of the generated treatment sound based on the characteristic value of the ambient sound determined by the ambient sound monitoring unit;
A tinnitus frequency checking unit that checks the frequency and intensity of tinnitus for each user and provides frequency information of the tinnitus calculated as a result of the test to the notch filtering unit; And
It is determined whether a condition as a sound source for generating a treatment sound is satisfied for a user's personal sound source file input or generated by a user, and if the condition is satisfied, treatment is performed by performing tinnitus frequency notch filtering on the user's personal sound source file A customization support unit for generating sound; It consists of,
The peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit
When the synthesized value of the sound intensity of the input ambient sound and the sound intensity of the treatment sound is greater than or equal to a preset reference value, notch filtering for removing the sound in the frequency band that causes the intensity of the synthesized value to be greater than or equal to the reference value And
The tinnitus treatment sound generation device, characterized in that the characteristic value includes the sound intensity for each frequency band. An audio processing unit that receives ambient sound and outputs a generated treatment sound to treat tinnitus;
A communication unit performing a communication function required to determine a user's current location;
In order to treat the tinnitus of the user, a control unit for generating a treatment sound by removing the tinnitus frequency with a notch filter and controlling to output the generated treatment sound; includes,
The control unit
A notch filtering unit generating a treatment sound by removing a sound corresponding to a user's tinnitus frequency from an arbitrary sound source;
An ambient sound monitoring unit for measuring a characteristic value of the ambient sound input by the audio processing unit;
A peripheral sound-based treatment sound control unit for correcting the characteristic value of the generated treatment sound based on the characteristic value of the ambient sound determined by the ambient sound monitoring unit;
Based on the user's current location information determined by the communication unit, it is determined whether or not the user's current location is an area including greenery, and a natural sound source related to the user according to whether the user's current location is an area including greenery. A location-based treatment sound control unit that selects any one of a sound source related to an artifact and an artifact as a sound source for generating a treatment sound;
A tinnitus frequency checking unit that checks the frequency and intensity of tinnitus for each user and provides frequency information of the tinnitus calculated as a result of the test to the notch filtering unit; And
It is determined whether a condition as a sound source for generating a treatment sound is satisfied for a user's personal sound source file input or generated by a user, and if the condition is satisfied, treatment is performed by performing tinnitus frequency notch filtering on the user's personal sound source file It is configured to include; customizing support for generating sound;
The tinnitus treatment sound generation device, characterized in that the characteristic value includes the sound intensity for each frequency band. In the method of generating a tinnitus treatment sound generated by the tinnitus treatment sound generating device,
Performing a tinnitus frequency test to detect a user's tinnitus frequency;
Generating a treatment sound by removing a sound corresponding to the detected tinnitus frequency from an arbitrary officer;
Receiving the ambient sound and correcting the characteristic value of the generated treatment sound based on the characteristic value of the ambient sound; And
And outputting a treatment sound whose characteristic value is corrected.
The step of outputting the treatment sound
When the synthesized value of the sound intensity of the input ambient sound and the sound intensity of the treatment sound is greater than or equal to a preset reference value, notch filtering for removing the sound in the frequency band that causes the intensity of the synthesized value to be greater than or equal to the reference value Tinnitus treatment sound generating method comprising the step of performing.

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