NL1042358B1 - Hearing aid - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a hearing aid with recording means which enables the wearer to automatically record conversations and to replay a short part of the conversation immediately after it has taken place. The hearing aid according to the invention allows a wearer of that hearing aid to for example replay the past 10 seconds of a conversation. This can prevent that he will have to ask the other person what he just said. In some embodiments of a hearing aid with the record and replay feature according to the present invention, the replay time is wearer settable.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to the field of hearing aids, electronic devices that are worn in or around the ear in order to compensate for hearing deficiencies by amplifying and/or otherwise processing of sound thereby enabling people with hearing deficiencies to hear better.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many varieties and degrees of hearing deficiencies. Often, an individual's hearing ability varies across the range of audible sound frequencies, and many individuals have hearing impairment with respect to only a specific range of acoustic frequencies. For example, an individual's hearing loss may be greater at higher frequencies than at lower frequencies. Individuals may have a hearing loss in both ears or in only one ear. Hearing aids have been developed to alleviate the effects of hearing losses in individuals. Hearing aids range from ear pieces configured to amplify sounds to configurable hearing devices offering adjustable operational parameters that can be configured by a hearing specialist to enhance the performance of the hearing aid. Parameters, such as volume or tone, often can be easily adjusted, and many hearing aids allow the individual users to adjust these parameters.

Over the past years hearing aids have improved further. Nevertheless, even the most advanced modern hearing aids are usually not able to cancel buzz or other background noise sufficiently to enable its user or wearer to for example follow a conversation in a room with a lot of background noise. Therefore, people with hearing deficiencies often tend to avoid gatherings with larger groups, where they can expect a significant buzz volume. If they do find themselves in such a noisy environment, it's almost inevitable that they have to frequently ask people with whom they have a conversation to repeat what they have said. This can be quite frustrating for both the person with the hearing deficiency and the person to whom he is talking. The present invention provides a solution that can prevent or at least minimize such frustrations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a hearing aid with recording means which enables the wearer to automatically record conversations and to replay a short part of the conversation immediately after it has taken place. The hearing aid according to the invention allows a wearer of that hearing aid to for example replay the past 10 seconds of a conversation. This can prevent that he will have to ask the other person what he just said. In some embodiments of a hearing aid with the record and replay feature according to the present invention, the replay time is wearer settable.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In terms of the way in which they are worn, the prior art hearing aids can be classified roughly into two main groups: behind-the-ear hearing aids and in-the-ear hearing aids.

Within each of these two main groups there are various sub-groups, such as for example the RIC (Receiver In Canal) which is a hearing aid pertaining to the behindthe-ear group of hearing aids. Also within the in-the-ear group of hearing aids there are several types, varying from for example the In-The-Canal (ITC) type to the InvisibleIn-The-Canal (IIC) type. The latter, a custom-fitted style hearing aid, is inserted farther into the ear canal than other styles, so it's essentially completely invisible when worn. In this descriptive section and in the claims, elements of hearing aids which are worn behind the hear or in the ear may also be referred to as ear pieces.

In principle, each prior art hearing aid comprises at least a sound input means, hereinafter also simply referred to as a microphone, sound amplification means and sound emitting means, hereinafter also simply referred to as a loudspeaker. Hearing aids, sometimes also referred to as deaf aids, according to the prior art vary from simple amplifiers to sophisticated devices with Bluetooth connectivity that enables wireless transfer of data (e.g. sound) between the hearing aid and for example a mobile phone or a television set through a data streamer. Other important innovations in prior art hearing aids include the use of directional microphones in hearing aids. The inclusion of directional microphones was a significant step forward in improving the understanding of speech in a noisy environment.

In spite of the aforementioned innovations the hearing aids according to the prior art are still far from optimal in helping people with hearing deficiencies in hearing properly in a noisy environment. So, under such circumstances these people either fail to follow 10 a conversation properly or they have to ask others frequently to repeat what they have just said. Both of these situations are essentially undesirable and may leave hearing impaired people with a feeling of isolation.

In essence, the hearing aid according to the present invention comprises a hearing aid with means to automatically record sound input and to enable the wearer of the hearing aid to play a short part of this recorded sound shortly after it is recorded. The term automatically in the previous sentence shall mean that the recording takes place without an explicit recording command having to be entered in order to start the actual recording. Of course, this does not exclude the possibility to provide the hearing aid with an option to switch on or switch off the automatic recording mode when desired or useful for example to save battery power consumption.

The playing of a short part of the recorded sound may hereinafter also be referred to as replaying and, hence, the terms play and replay shall be considered as being interchangeable in this description and in the appended claims. Since it may concern any kind of sound, for example spoken words, that was already received by the hearing 25 aid and transmitted to its wearer but was not properly heard/understood by its wearer, use of the term 'replay' seems logical. In the remainder of this description and in the appended claims the term 'sound' may comprise any sound that may be useful to be replayed to a wearer of a hearing aid including, but not limited to for example: spoken words (speech), songs, animal sounds, etc..

In an embodiment of the hearing aid according to the invention the wearer can play or replay X seconds of the recorded sound, whereby the time period of X seconds may also be referred to as the 'replay time', which replaying can be activated for example by pressing a push button or touching a touch button on the hearing aid or by any other activation means of the replay function of the hearing aid. Activating the replay function may hereinafter also be referred to as entering a replay command. Upon entering a replay command the recordings of the replaytime, i.e. a time period immediately preceding the moment of entering the replay command will be replayed. The possible methods and means of activating the replay function of the hearing aid according to the invention are virtually unlimited and do not impress any limitation on the principle of the present invention.

With respect to the abovementioned replay time of X seconds, the invention comprises both embodiments of the hearing aid which have a preset replay time, wherein X seconds comprises for example 10 seconds or 15 seconds, of the recorded 15 sound that will be replayed when the replay function is activated and embodiments wherein the wearer can select and set any length of time within a certain range, for example a range from 5 to 30 seconds or from 10 to 30 seconds or from 3 to 100 seconds. The aforementioned examples of the length of the preset replay time or of the width of the time ranges from which a wearer can select and set a replay time 20 period are just examples and shall not be construed as limiting the possible choices and claims.

With respect to selecting and setting the replay time, also referred to as programming the replay settings of a hearing aid according to the invention for example by the wearer of the hearing aid or by a hearing aid professional the invention is not restricted to any particular form of programming and may comprise any suitable existing or future method and means of achieving this. For example, if an embodiment of a hearing aid according to the invention is used in combination with a data streamer the programming may be effectuated through the data streamer. In certain embodiments of the hearing aid according to the invention the programming can be done on a computer that is connected directly to the hearing aid through Bluetooth connectivity.

Although the invention also includes embodiments of the sound recording and replaying means which may comprise moving parts, the preferred embodiments of the 5 recording and replaying means according to the invention comprise a microprocessor, also referred to as a chip. Not only does the latter facilitate miniaturization of the system, but it may also help in minimizing the risk of defects. The invention also envisages the use of any future technological developments that will be suitable for creating sound recording and replaying means which can be integrated in or combined 10 with a hearing aid.

The recording and replaying means of a hearing aid according to the invention will need to be supplied with electric power. This may be done by the same battery that powers the remainder of the relevant components of the hearing aid or through a separate, dedicated, battery or other form of power supply for the record/replay 15 means.

While the primary goal of the hearing aid according to the invention is enabling the wearer to replay a short most recent part of for example a conversation, the record/replay means incorporated in a hearing aid according to the invention potentially also could allow a wearer to record an entire conversation in the case of 20 embodiments with sufficient memory to allow the recording and replaying of longer conversations. When applying the hearing aid according to the invention for its primary goal, the required memory for storage of the recordings can be small and for example every few minutes or tens of seconds the recordings can be deleted. If an embodiment of the hearing aid according to the invention is to be used to record 25 longer conversations in their entirety, it will need a larger memory.

The record/replay means can normally be built into the hearing aid itself, for example either only in one hearing aid ear piece or in two hearing aid ear pieces. In the latter case the wearer can choose whether he wants to replay the sound recorded by the ear piece of the left ear or by the ear piece of the right ear, depending for example on the 30 location of the person to whom he is or just has been talking. The invention also envisages that the record/replay means can be built into a data streamer with data transfer connectivity with the hearing aid. Such a data streamer, if available, is often worn by a wearer of a hearing aid, for example cord around the neck, and offers more physical space for the incorporation of the record/reply means and for a possible additional or larger battery.

In addition to comprising record/replay means the hearing aid according to the invention may comprise embodiments with a wide variety of other prior art functions and/or components/elements that are common to or desirable for hearing aids, such as for example one or more directional microphones.

Hereinafter, the hearing aid according to the invention may be referred to as a 'hearing assistance system', wherein the system is configured to supply sound to both ears or to just one ear of its user and, wherein the actual record/replay means and replay activation means may be located in any of the elements of the hearing assistance system, including but not limited to for example a behind-the-ear ear piece, an in-the-ear ear piece or a datastreamer when applicable.

As described above, the invention may especially be embodied in the following embodiments:

1. A hearing assistance system, wherein the hearing assistance system comprises means for automatically recording sound that is captured by the hearing assistance system and for replaying the recorded sound.

2. The hearing assistance system according to embodiment 1, wherein the hearing assistance system comprises means for selecting and setting a replay time.

3. The hearing assistance system according to embodiment 2, wherein the hearing aid assistance system comprises means that allow the user of the hearing assistance system to select and set the replay time.

4. The hearing assistance system according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the hearing assistance system comprises means for entering a replay 30 command.

5. The hearing aid according to embodiment 4, wherein the means for entering a replay command comprise a push button or a touch button.

In this descriptive section and in the claims the term comprising in general refers to containing at least the defined species and optionally one or more other species. While only certain features of the invention have been described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

It should be noted that the embodiments briefly discussed or mentioned above, illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to devise or design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Use of the verb to comprise and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim. The article a or an preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

The various aspects discussed in this application can be combined in order to provide additional advantages. Further, the person skilled in the art will understand that embodiments can be combined, and that also more than two embodiments can be combined.

Claims (5)

CONCLUSIONS A hearing support system, characterized in that the hearing support system comprises means for automatically recording sound 5 that is picked up by this system and for playing back the recorded sound. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the system comprises means for selecting and recording a playback time. 3. System as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the system comprises means with which the user can select and record the playback time. System according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system comprises means for entering a playback command. System according to claim 4, characterized in that the means for entering the playback command comprise a push button or a touch button.