KR19990029859A - Custom Hearing Aid Performance Setting Device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a custom hearing aid performance setting apparatus for selecting a hearing aid suitable for a user according to the performance of the hearing aid.

According to the present invention, one slope characteristic among the slope characteristics of the input conversion means 100 and the input conversion means 100 for converting the sound applied to the electric signal according to a plurality of slope characteristics represented by the output change with respect to frequency is obtained. An input selecting means 200 for selecting and outputting a selected electric signal, an amplifying means 400 for amplifying a signal selected and output by the input selecting means 200, and the amplifying means 400 according to a plurality of output characteristics And an output selecting means (500) for converting the output signal of the audio signal into voice, and an output selecting means (500) for selecting one output characteristic among the output characteristics of the output adjusting means (600).

Therefore, the present invention can make the most suitable hearing aids because the user can select the characteristic change of the microphone, the amplifier and the receiver while listening directly, and the user can listen by combining the characteristic change of the microphone, the amplifier and the receiver. The patient's hearing condition and personal characteristics can be well considered by the patient's listening and selection, and the patient's choice of hearing aid can be expanded.

Description

THE PERFORMANCE SETTING APPARATUS FOR ORDERED TYPE HEARING AID

The present invention relates to a custom hearing aid, and more particularly, to a custom hearing aid performance setting apparatus for selecting a hearing aid suitable for a user according to the performance of the hearing aid.

In general, the hearing aid is intended to allow a hearing impaired patient to hear more reliably and comfortably. As shown in FIG. 1, a hearing aid is used to convert a sound or voice signal into an electrical signal, and from the microphone 10. And an amplifier 20 for amplifying the output signal, and a receiver 30 mounted on the ear and converting the electrical signal output from the amplifier 20 into a voice signal.

That is, the microphone 10 converts an input voice signal into an electrical signal, and the amplifier 20 amplifies the electrical signal and outputs the signal to the receiver 30, and the receiver 30 outputs the electrical signal output from the amplifier 20. To convert the voice signal into the eardrum.

Such hearing aids are of various types, including box type hearing aids, eyeglass type hearing aids, ear type hearing aids, CROS (Contralateal Routing of Signal) hearing aids, and eardrum type hearing aids.

The box-type hearing aid is the first hearing aid, which includes a microphone, a battery, and an amplifier, a volume control unit and a trimmer control unit in a case in a pocket, and a receiver and ear mold connected to the case's amplifier are mounted on the ear.

Until recently, many deaf people could easily witness the receiver in their ears.

These box-type hearing aids are easy to handle and operate, have no noise generated by feedback howling, and have the advantage of achieving maximum output, while the case is mounted on the body, which blocks and obstructs the sound coming into the microphone as the body moves. There is a disadvantage to receive. However, it is very useful for severe hearing impaired people because the output is large.

In addition, the earring type hearing aid was introduced to solve the shortcomings of the box type hearing aid, and is equipped with a small case including the components of the hearing aid, that is, a microphone, an amplifier, and a battery, at the rear of the ear and connected through a sound tube to the case. The mold is mounted. Such earring-type hearing aids can cope with most hearing loss because a certain amount of output is possible, but the size of the earring-type hearing aids is smaller than that of box-type hearing aids, which makes it difficult to adjust.

In addition, the hearing aid is equipped with a microphone, an amplifier and a battery of the hearing aid component on the leg of the eyeglass, and hears the sound transmitted to the earmold through the sound tube. However, such a hearing aid is convenient for those who use both glasses and hearing aids, but rather inconvenient for those who need only hearing aids.

In addition, the ear hearing aid is equipped with a case including all components of the hearing aid, that is, a microphone, an amplifier, and a battery, so it is convenient because there is no cord and a sound tube, but it is convenient because of its compactness, and howling is difficult for high hearing loss. There is a problem that may appear.

In addition, the ear hearing aid is mounted on the ear canal part, which is not visible in appearance, but has a high output and a high possibility of howling due to the output, so the output is limited and difficult to handle.

In addition, the CROS hearing aid is designed for use by a person with a severe hearing difference. In other words, a hearing aid used when one ear is normal and the other ear is hard to hear is a CROS hearing aid. Such a CROS hearing aid is used by connecting two hearing aids by installing a wiring at the back of the head to pass the signal from one side to the other side and bypassing the head.

In addition, the tympanic hearing aid is fully inserted into the ear to extend the end of the hearing aid to the bony part of the ear canal, thereby eliminating the feeling of closedness due to the ringing of the voice and improving the sense of position.

However, in order to manufacture such a hearing aid, a hearing test of a user may be simply performed, and a hearing aid having a corresponding output may be manufactured accordingly.

The hearing aid manufactured as described above is worn by a user, and since most hearing aids are manufactured based on average speech recognition and pronunciation, the speech recognition, pronunciation, and characteristics of the user are not considered at all.

That is, the frequency and the magnitude of the output of each sound vary as shown in FIG. In other words, 'ㅁ, ㄷ, ㅂ' is represented by the output of 30 kHz to 40 kHz in the 250 kHz to 500 kHz band, 'b' and 'yes' to the output of 40 kHz to 50 kHz in the 250 kHz to 500 kHz band 'E', 'right' appears at an output of 50 Hz to 60 Hz in the 250 Hz to 500 Hz band. Likewise, 'lo' and 'o, r' are shown as outputs of 30 Hz to 50 Hz in the 500 Hz to 1 Hz band, and 'ct', 'c', ',', ',' '40' in the 1 Hz to 2 Hz band. The output of 60Hz is shown, 'ㅋ' shows 40Hz output in the 2kHz band, and 'fs, ㅎ, ㄸ' shows 30kHz output in the 4kHz band.

In addition, English and French have different frequency and output characteristics than Korean.

Therefore, if a hearing aid based on average speech recognition and pronunciation is produced according to a hearing test result without considering the characteristics of the user, only a hearing aid having a limited characteristic may be inconvenient for the user, even though the ears are sensitive.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a performance setting device of a custom hearing aid for directly experiencing a slope change of various inputs and outputs and a gain change of an amplifier and selecting a hearing aid suitable for a user's hearing.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an input conversion means for converting an applied sound into an electrical signal according to a plurality of slope characteristics represented by a change in output with respect to a frequency, and one slope characteristic among slope characteristics of the input conversion means. Input selection means for selecting and outputting the selected electric signal, amplifying means for amplifying the signal selected and output by the input selecting means, output adjustment for converting the output signal of the amplifying means into voice according to a plurality of output characteristics And an output selecting means for selecting one output characteristic from among the output characteristics of the output adjusting means.

1 is a block diagram of a general hearing aid

2 is a diagram showing the frequency of sound and the magnitude of output;

3 is a block diagram of a custom hearing aid performance setting apparatus according to the present invention

4A and 4B show slope characteristics of frequency and output.

5A and 5B, 6A and 6B, and a and 7B illustrate hearing characteristics of a patient.

Drawing shown

8 is a configuration diagram showing the detailed configuration of the receiver of FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: input conversion unit 101, 102,... , 10n: microphone

110: signal conversion unit 120: signal amplification unit

130: band selection and filtering unit 200: input selection unit

300, 310: amplifier selector 400: amplifier

401, 402,... , 40n: Amplifier 500: Output selector

600: output control unit 601, 602,... , 60n: receiver

R1, R2: resistor TR1: transistor

S1, S2,... , Sn: switch C1, C2,... , Cn: capacitor

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Custom hearing aid performance setting apparatus according to the present invention, as shown in Figure 3, the input converter 100, the input selector 300, the amplifier 400, the output selector 500, and the output control unit 600 It is composed of

The input converter 100 is for converting a sound applied to an electric signal according to a plurality of slope characteristics represented by an output change with respect to frequency, and is applied with a plurality of slope characteristics respectively due to an output change with respect to frequency. It consists of a plurality of microphones 101, 102, ..., 10n for converting sound into an electrical signal.

The input selector 200 selects one slope characteristic from the slope characteristics of the input converter 100 and outputs the selected electrical signal. The output of the plurality of microphones 101, 102,..., 10n is output. It is composed of a switch to select one of the output to the first amplifier selector 310 of the amplifier.

The amplifying unit 400 is for amplifying a signal selected and output by the input selecting means 200.

Here, the amplifier 400 is composed of a plurality of amplifiers 401, 402, ..., 40n to amplify the signal selected and output by the input selector 200 with a plurality of gains, respectively. In this case, the amplifier 400 selects one of the outputs of the plurality of amplifiers 401, 402, ..., 40n to select one of the amplifiers 401, 402, ..., 40n. The first amplifier selector 300 for outputting the output of the input selector 200 and the output of the amplifier selected by the first amplifier selector 300 to select and output to the output control unit 600 The second amplifier selection unit 310 is configured to include.

That is, the amplifier 400 is connected to the output terminal of the first amplifier selector 300, the first amplifier selector 300 connected to the output terminal of the input selector 200 and the first amplifier selector ( A plurality of amplifiers 401, 402,..., 40n selected by 300, and the plurality of amplifiers 401, 402,..., 40n and operate in conjunction with the first amplifier selector 300 The second amplifier selector 310 outputs the output of the selected amplifier to the output selector 500.

The output adjusting unit 600 is for converting the output signal of the amplifying unit 400 into voice according to a plurality of output characteristics, each having a plurality of output characteristics and the output characteristics by the output selection unit 500 It is composed of a plurality of receivers (401, 402, ..., 40n) to be selected to convert the signal output from the amplifier 400 to the voice.

Here, the plurality of receivers 401, 402,..., 40n may each have a plurality of slope characteristics due to a change in output with respect to frequency.

The output selector 500 selects one output characteristic from the output characteristics of the output adjuster 600, and selects one of the plurality of receivers 601, 602,. And a switch for outputting an output signal of 400. That is, the output selector 500 includes a switch having an input connected to an output terminal of the second amplifier selector 310 and an output terminal connected to the input terminals of the plurality of receivers 601, 602,..., 60n.

The operation of the performance setting device of the custom hearing aid according to the present invention configured as described above will be described.

Since the plurality of microphones 101, 102,..., And 10n vary in slope characteristics respectively represented by an output change with respect to frequency, each of the microphones 101, 102,..., 10n of the input converter 100 is applied. The sound is converted into different electrical signals and output.

That is, in the case of the microphone having the slope characteristic as shown in FIG. 4A, the low frequency band, that is, the bass portion, has a relatively higher output than the high frequency band, that is, the high-pitched portion. In other words, the sound is converted into an electrical signal with emphasis on the bass rather than the highs.

In addition, in the case of a microphone having a slope characteristic as shown in FIG. 4B, a high frequency band, that is, a high-pitched portion, has a relatively higher output than a low frequency band, that is, a low tone. In other words, the sound is converted into an electrical signal by emphasizing the treble rather than the bass.

Therefore, a microphone having a slope characteristic as shown in FIG. 4A is suitable for a patient whose hearing in the bass portion is weaker than a hearing in a high-pitched portion, and a microphone having a slope characteristic as shown in FIG. It is suitable.

In this manner, the receiver 601 is adjusted while adjusting the switch of the input selector 200 so as to select one of the microphones 101, 102,..., 10n having a slope characteristic that emphasizes a high or low portion according to the hearing characteristics of the patient. , 602, ..., 60n).

This will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 as follows.

First, a patient having a hearing condition according to frequency as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B has a low frequency band, that is, since the remaining hearing of the bass portion is alive, selecting a microphone having a slope characteristic as shown in FIG. do. This can be selected while confirming by listening directly through the receiver.

6A and 6B, a patient having a hearing condition according to frequency as shown in FIG. 4B, which emphasizes a high-pitched part, has a hearing function of a low frequency band. Will have This can be selected while confirming by listening directly through the receiver.

7A and 7B, a patient having a hearing condition according to frequency may be appropriate to select a microphone having a slope characteristic as shown in FIG. Seemed to However, the patient with this characteristic selected the receiver to emphasize the high-pitched part rather than the low-end part while listening directly through the receiver. This reflects that there is an appropriate receiver depending on the patient's personality and habits.

As such, the patient listens to the output of the plurality of microphones 101, 102,..., 10n, each having various slope characteristics, directly through the output control unit 600, that is, the receivers 601, 602,..., 60n. You can choose. The slope characteristics of the microphones 101, 102, ..., 10n are currently made up of 280.

In this manner, the receivers 601, 602, ..., 60n and the amplifiers 401, 402, ..., 40n can also be selected.

That is, a receiver having a desired output characteristic while directly listening by adjusting the switch of the output selector 500 is selected from a plurality of receivers 601, 602,..., 60n. The output characteristics of the receivers 601, 602, ..., 60n are currently 200.

In this case, the receivers 601, 602, ..., 60n may have slope characteristics similar to the microphones 101, 102, ..., 10n. As described above, when the receivers 601, 602,..., 60n have various slope characteristics, the range for selecting a hearing aid desired by the user is also widened.

In addition, an amplifier having a desired gain characteristic is directly selected by a plurality of amplifiers 401, 402,..., 40n while directly listening by adjusting the switches of the first and second amplifier selection units 300 and 310 that work in conjunction.

As described above, the microphones 101, 102,..., 10n, which have different slope characteristics, are respectively different using the input selector 200, the first and second selectors 300, 310, and the output selector 500. Directly hear the sound generated by the amplifiers 401, 402, ..., 40n having gain characteristics and the receivers 601, 602, ..., 60n having different output characteristics or slope characteristics, respectively. Microphones, amplifiers, and receivers having characteristics, and output characteristics or slope characteristics can be selected.

As described above, the characteristics of the plurality of microphones 101, 102, ..., 10n, the plurality of amplifiers 401, 642, ..., 40n, and the plurality of receivers 601, 602, ..., 60n are combined directly, respectively. As you hear it, you can find the frequency response and output of the sound you want from a variety of sounds.

According to the found characteristics, the combination of the corresponding microphone, amplifier, and receiver makes the most suitable hearing aid for the patient.

On the other hand, the microphone (101, 102, ..., 10n) from the signal converter 110, the signal converter 110 for converting the sound into an electrical signal in accordance with the vibration of the sound applied as shown in FIG. A signal amplification unit 120 for amplifying the output signal, and a band selection and filtering unit 130 for selecting and filtering a specific frequency band as an input of the output signal of the signal amplification unit 120.

Here, the signal converter 110 is composed of a vibration plate for converting the vibration generated by the sound into an electrical signal.

In addition, the signal amplifier 120 includes a transistor TR1 having a base connected to an output terminal of the vibration plate and a collector connected to a power supply Vcc, and a resistor R1 having both ends connected to a base and a ground of the transistor TR1. And an emitter of the transistor TR1 and a resistor R2 connected at both ends of the transistor TR1.

In addition, the band selection and filtering unit 130 selects a plurality of switches (S1, S2, S3, ..., Sn) and capacitors (C1. C2, C3, ... Cn) connected in parallel to select and block a signal of a specific frequency band. It is composed of

That is, the band selecting and filtering unit 130 includes a plurality of switches S1, S2, S3,..., Sn, and capacitors C1. C2 at the emitter and the ground of the transistor TR1 of the signal amplifier 120. , C3, ... Cn are connected in parallel, and the emitter terminal of the transistor TR1 is connected to the input terminal of the amplifier 400.

The operation of the microphone configured as described above will be described.

Depending on the patient's condition, the sound of a certain frequency band is too loud and the sound of tearing is output or the sound of sound is too small.

In this case, by filtering a specific band so that the patient does not have a discomfort due to wearing the hearing aid, the band selection and filtering unit 130 is applied as shown in FIG.

That is, when the applied signal hits the tremor plate and tremors are generated, it is converted into an electrical signal by the signal converter 110.

This signal is applied to the base of the transistor TR1, amplified, and then applied to the band selection and filtering unit 130. At this time, the band selection and filtering unit 130 is formed by connecting a plurality of switches (S1, S2, ..., Sn) connected in series and a plurality of capacitors (C1, C2, ..., Cn) in parallel.

Therefore, when the switches S1, S2, ..., Sn are turned on / off, the operation of the capacitors C1, C2, ..., Cn is controlled to determine the frequency band for filtering. Therefore, by filtering the signal of the desired frequency band, the hearing aid can be prevented from ripping or ringing.

As described above, the custom hearing aid performance setting apparatus according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, the user can select the characteristic change of the microphone, amplifier, and receiver while listening directly, thereby making the most suitable hearing aid.

Second, the combination of the characteristics of the microphone, amplifier and receiver can be combined to allow the user to listen, thus providing a wide range of user choice.

Third, since the patient listens and selects directly, the hearing condition and personal characteristics of the patient can be well considered.

Fourth, since the frequency band can be emphasized in consideration of the hearing condition of the patient, a hearing aid having a small output can be worn, and thus, even in a patient who has used a box hearing aid, the selection range of the hearing aid can be widened.

Claims (9)

Input converting means (100) for converting an applied sound into an electrical signal according to a plurality of slope characteristics represented by a change in output with respect to frequency; Input selection means (200) for outputting a selected electrical signal by selecting one slope characteristic from the slope characteristics of the input conversion means (100); Amplifying means (400) for amplifying a signal selected and output by the input selecting means (200); Output adjusting means (600) for converting the output signal of the amplifying means (400) into voice according to a plurality of output characteristics; And And an output selection means (500) for selecting one output characteristic among the output characteristics of the output adjusting means (600). The method of claim 1, wherein the input conversion means 100 And a plurality of microphones (101, 102, ..., 10n) for changing the applied sound into electrical signals, each having a plurality of slope characteristics due to a change in output with respect to frequency. The method of claim 1, wherein the amplifying means 400 A plurality of amplifiers (401, 402, ..., 40n) for amplifying the signals selected and output by the input selecting means (200) with a plurality of gains and outputting the signals; A first amplifier selector (300) for selecting one of the plurality of amplifiers (401, 402, ..., 40n) and outputting the output of the input selecting means (200); And And a second amplifier selector (310) for selecting the output of the amplifier selected by the first amplifier selector (300) and outputting the output to the output adjusting means (600). According to claim 1, The output control means 600 A plurality of receivers 401, 402, ..., 40n each having a plurality of output characteristics and having an output characteristic selected by the output selecting means 500 to convert a signal output from the amplifying means 400 into speech. Performance setting device of the custom hearing aid, characterized in that configured. 3. The microphone according to claim 2, wherein the microphones (101, 102, ..., 10n) A signal converting unit 110 converting the sound into an electric signal according to the shaking of the applied sound; A signal amplifier 120 for amplifying the signal output from the signal converter 110; And Performance setting device of the custom hearing aid, characterized in that consisting of a band selection and filtering unit 130 for selecting and filtering a specific frequency band as an input of the output signal of the signal amplifier 120. The method of claim 2, wherein the input selection means 200 And a switch for selecting one of the outputs of the plurality of microphones (101, 102, ..., 10n). The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of receivers (401, 402, ..., 40n) Performance setting device of a custom hearing aid, characterized in that each having a plurality of slope characteristics by the output change with respect to frequency. The method of claim 4, wherein the output selection means 500 And a switch for selecting one of the plurality of receivers (601, 602, ..., 60n). The method of claim 5, wherein the band selection and filtering unit 130 Performance setting of custom hearing aids characterized by consisting of a plurality of switches (S1, S2, S3, ..., Sn) and capacitors (C1. C2, C3, ... Cn) connected in parallel to select and block signals of a specific frequency band Device.