WO1984004016A1

WO1984004016A1 - Hearing aid

Info

Publication number: WO1984004016A1
Application number: PCT/FR1984/000087
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jacques Jules Rene Jouve; Rene Utzmann
Original assignee: Cafa Sa
Priority date: 1983-03-30
Filing date: 1984-03-30
Publication date: 1984-10-11
Also published as: EP0138933A1; FR2543431A1

Abstract

Hearing aids of the type comprising a part which has to be permanently arranged in the auricular canal of a user. This part is exposed to the chemical and mechanical actions of natural secretions and, particularly, to the deposit of cerumen. The invention enables to efficiently protect the apparatus against those adverse actions without affecting the passage of sounds. To this effect, the casing (1) intended to be arranged in the auricular canal is provided with a single hole (7) for letting sounds pass through, said hole (7) receiving a mouth piece (2) which is provided with a passage for the sounds comprised of a central conduit (14) and radial passages (15). A cap (2b) having a relatively large diameter shelters and protects the passages (15) and is maintained at a small distance from the casing (1) to a form a continuous annular passage (8) which is hardly vulnerable to obstruction and is favorable to the transmission of sounds.

Description

HEARING AID SUCH AS A PROSTHESIS

There are different hearing aids that include a hollow in-ear shell, the inner end of which should be near the eardrum.

These devices are intended to transmit sounds and, therefore, the hull far from interfering with their transmission must instead favor it. This is why the shells of these devices have a passage at that of their ends which must be close to the eardrum.

However, the ear is the seat of natural secretions, which are aggressive agents for in-ear devices.

Earwax, in particular, has the effect of blocking the passage of the hulls.

When the shell contains electrical or electronic components, simple cleaning is impossible without risking damage to these components.

In addition, secretions other than earwax have acidic compounds which are very harmful to circuits and their components.

We understand that we tried to protect them by placing on the passage of the hull a piece forming a barrier. Unfortunately, to date, such a part has not been able to be produced successfully, because it must at the same time have good efficiency, be of convenient use, be able to adapt to all types of prostheses and be economic. The patent FR-A-t.466.647 describes a prosthesis which comprises a part called "hat" which surrounds a bulky part of the receiver and which is removable with a view, in particular, to cleaning the openings through which the sound must pass. However, this solution is not satisfactory because, in practice, it cannot be accepted to allow the user the possibility of updating the electrical and electronic components. However, this patent does not allow any other possibility because the "tip" is fixed irremovably on the hat. The latter is equivalent to the shell shaped according to the auditory canal of each user and that includes prostheses of the type known commercially as "all in the ear". However, it is a condition of the present invention to prohibit the removal of this essential protective element by a user who, by nature, is not qualified to access the internal components of the prosthesis. Patent DE-B-1,259,951 also describes a prosthesis whose sound passages can only be cleaned by dismantling an essential element for the protection of the internal components of the prosthesis.

The present invention, on the contrary, provides for the irremovability, for the simple user, of the part which envelops and protects the components (a shaped shell, for example), thus guaranteeing the robustness and sealing of the part which surrounds and protects the internal components of the prosthesis.

The invention therefore solves the apparently insoluble problem of reconciling two contradictory necessities: if one wants the sound to go well, the passage must be as clear as possible and if one wants to effectively prevent the entry of secretions as well as the deposit of earwax, the passage must be as restricted as possible. To this end, the subject of the invention is a hearing aid such as a prosthesis of the type comprising a hollow in-ear shell, characterized in that the end of this shell which must be close to the eardrum has a single hole intended for passage sounds and with which must cooperate an elastically deformable and removable tip comprising a central body intended to be engaged in the hole of the shell and a wide head constituting a non-injurious convex cap intended to remain at a small distance from the shell for protect at least one passage from the sounds located near its center and to determine a continuous annular passage.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

- The nozzle has a groove whose section is substantially equal to that of the hole and which is located between two larger parts, one being formed by an ovoid protuberance of maximum section greater than that of the hole in the shell to be forcibly engaged in this hole and retained there by the internal edges of said hole, while the other is formed by the cap which must remain outside the shell;

the passage of the sounds is constituted by at least one space which remains between the hole in the shell and the central body of the end piece, this hole and this central body having, in their facing parts, shapes and / or dimensions different; - The hole is square and the body of the tip has a circular section of diameter less than the length of the diagonal of the square hole;

- the passage of sounds is constituted by a blind conduit which opens at the end of the body of the endpiece to be engaged in the hole in the shell and which communicates with at least one radial passage opening out of the endpiece , above the active part of at least one stop located under the cap and having to be applied to the shell to retain the cap at a short distance from the shell;

- The radial passage is formed by at least one channel; - The radial passage is formed by a lateral slot substantially perpendicular to the axis of the nozzle;

- The or each radial passage is constituted by the end of a longitudinal slot which divides the body of the end piece into at least two elastically deformable elements and preferably each provided with a bulge;

- The end of the tip to be introduced into the hole in the shell is adapted to cover a prominent end of an earpiece placed in the shell;

- the hat has an oval shape. The invention will be better understood from the detailed description below made with reference to the accompanying drawing. Of course, the description and the drawing are given only by way of an indicative and nonlimiting example. Figure 1 is a schematic overview showing a hearing aid placed in the ear canal of a user.

Figures 2 to 8 are partial schematic sectional views of different embodiments of the invention. Referring to Figure 1, we see a hearing aid of the type known as "everything in the ear".

The different parts necessary for its operation (microphone, circuits, earpiece) are housed in a shell 1 whose external shape is adapted to the morphology of the user, so that the prosthesis is fully placed in the ear canal to be as discreet as possible.

On the face of this shell 1 which is accessible from the outside, there is a button 3 for adjusting the sound level, a small flap 4 pivoting about an axis 5 to allow access to a battery compartment and a orifice 6 for sound recording.

In Figures 2 and 3, we see that the end of the shell 1 to be close to the eardrum has a single hole 7 and is provided with a removable protective tip 2 which must leave a passage for sounds between the interior and the outside of the shell 1, although it is engaged in the hole 7, which can be achieved in different ways as we will see now.

The end piece 2 has a central body 2a and a cap 2b which must remain outside the shell 1, at a small distance from it. To this end, it is necessary to limit the insertion of the nozzle 2 into the hole 7.

This is obtained by means of a stop 10 provided under the cap 2b at an extent greater than that of the hole 7, so that this stop 10 is supported on the shell 1. Here, the hole 7 and the body 2a of the end piece 2 do not have the same shape. In fact, the hole 7 is square while the body 2a has a circular section of diameter less than the length of the diagonal of the square hole 7.

In this way, when the end piece 2 is put in place, the body 2a is engaged in the square hole 7, it is retained there by the sides of the hole 7 but it leaves the four corners of the spaces 7a which constitute the passage for the sounds, according to the arrows F1. The cap 2b protects the spaces 7a located near its center and determines a continuous annular space 8. The stop 10 limits the insertion of the nozzle 2 into the hole 7 so that the cap 2b does not come to close the spaces 7a by contact with the shell 1. It is understood that the spaces 7a are kept sheltered from the deposits of cerumen by the cap 2b, so that they remain clear and allow sounds to pass through well.

If earwax was deposited, it would be on the cap 2b itself or, if need be, under its periphery, at the edge of the space 8 which subsists between the shell 1 and the cap 2b.

In reality, the nozzle 2 being simply engaged elastically in the hole 7 and being removable by a small pull of the fingers, without tools, the user himself can as often as he wishes remove the nozzle 2, clean it and put it back in place, which prevents the formation of cerumen deposits.

The withdrawal of the end piece 2 clears the hole 7 and this end piece 2 carries with it the undesirable deposits or authorizes their formation only far enough from the hole 7, on the shell 1.

Consequently, the user has no reason to introduce any cleaning instrument into the hole 7 of the shell 1. Thus, the user can be left with the initiative of cleaning, firstly because the removal of the nozzle 2 does not require any tool or delicate operation and then because the user is neither obliged nor attempted to intervene on the shell 1, except for a light wiping. Referring now to Figures 4 to 8, we see other variants of the embodiment according to which the passage of sounds is provided in the nozzle 2 itself.

In FIG. 4, this passage consists of a blind conduit 14 which opens at the end of the body 2a of the end piece 2 engaged in the shell 1 and which communicates with a radial passage formed by channels 15, in the constituent material end piece 2 or by tubes placed as inserts. Naturally, it is possible to provide only one radial passage.

The sounds emitted by the earpiece 11 pass through the conduit 14 then through the channel or the radial channels 15, and exit through the annular passage 8 according to the arrows F2.

To limit the insertion of the nozzle 2 into the shell 1, so ensuring the output of sounds through the radial channel or channels 15 and the annular passage 8, the end piece again has a stop 16 there.

The outlet of the channel or radial channels 15 must be located above the useful part of the stop 16, that is to say above its face which must come into contact with the shell 1.

In practice, it can be said that the radial channels 15 are provided "in" the stop 16.

If two opposite radial channels 15 are formed by a small tube, the latter can serve as a stop if it is given a length greater than the diameter of the hole 7.

As in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 4, it is necessary to protect the outlet of the radial channels 15, in particular with regard to the deposits of cerumen. For this purpose, the cap 2b has an extent such that the outlet of each radial channel 15 is set back relative to the corresponding part of the cap 2b.

The number of radial channels 15 can be any, including one. But even in this case, such an arrangement can lead to manufacturing difficulties and / or to high costs.

In FIGS. 5 to 8, variants that are simpler to manufacture and more economical are shown, which remedy these drawbacks while ensuring proper operation:

In FIGS. 5 and 6, the blind conduit 14 no longer communicates with a channel or several channels, but with a lateral slot 18 which extends in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis x of the end piece 2.

This slot 18 is located to the right of the cap 2b which is attached to the body of the end piece 2 by the unsplit side part 2c.

Here again, it is necessary to limit the insertion of the endpiece 2 into the shell 1 so that the slot 18 is out of the shell 1 and that the annular space 8 is well cleared. A stop 19 is used similar to the stop 16 and the useful part of which is below the slot 18.

The sounds emitted by the earpiece 11 pass through the conduit 14, then through the slot 18 according to the arrows F3.

Referring to FIG. 7, we see another variant providing for passage through the end piece 2. This passage is formed by a blind conduit 20 provided in the center of the body 2a of the nozzle 2 and limited by the cap 2b.

To ensure the lateral outlet of the longitudinal duct 20 under the cap 2b, there is provided a stop 22 and radial passages 23 which extend from the duct 20 to the outside.

These passages 23 are formed by the end of radial slots

24 which divide the body of the end piece 2 into as many elements 25. Here, there are shown four slots 24 determining four passages 23 and four cross elements 25. In addition to the ease of obtaining radial passages 23 during the molding of the end piece 2, this variant makes it possible to obtain that the deformability of the end piece 2, necessary for its installation and its removal, comes from the elasticity of the elements 25 due to their shape and not only to the elasticity of the material of which they are made. They each have a bulge 26 which forms a ramp when the end piece 2 is introduced into the hole 7 of the shell 1 and which causes the elements 25 to fold back towards the center. As soon as the end piece of the end piece 2 is sufficient, the elements 25 resume their original position elastically and ensure the locking of the end piece 2 in the hole 7.

The elastic immobilization of the nozzle 2 in the hole 7 of the shell 1 means that the nozzle 2 or the shell 1 (considered around the hole 7) must be elastic.

The most frequent case, and preferred for the invention, has been shown here, according to which the shell 1 is inelastic as a whole so as in particular to constitute a rigid protection of the circuits and functional components.

The end piece 2 is then advantageously obtained by molding in a single piece of a synthetic material. It has a groove 2d, the cross section of which can be less than that of the hole 7. It can also be a little larger but without excess to avoid any difficulty in fitting and removing the end piece 2 in the hole 7.

The groove 2d is located between two wider parts. One must be engaged in the shell 1, thanks to its own elasticity (due to its constituent material or its shapes). In the case of FIGS. 2 to 6, this part is an ovoid protuberance 2e whose maximum section there is greater than that of the hole 7 so as to be retained by the internal edges of said hole 7. In the case of FIG. 7, the elasticity may come only from the shapes of the end piece 2 (elements 25).

The other is formed by the cap 2b, convex and not injurious. This hat 2b plays the role which is specifically assigned to it, as explained above, without however constituting a possibility of discomfort or injury, because it has no sharp edges or other aggressive element. The surface should be as smooth and uniform as possible, which is easy to obtain by molding a synthetic material. FIG. 8 shows an embodiment according to which the end piece 2 has a tubular central body 2f whose inner end 2g is adapted to cover a prominent cylindrical end 11a of the earpiece 11.

In this case, the sound is conducted without dispersion, by direct coupling, from the earpiece 11, through the tubular body 2f and through radial passages 30 to the outside of the shell 1, in the auditory canal, near of the eardrum, according to arrows F4.

As in the previous examples, the cap 2b is kept a short distance from the shell 1 by means of stops 31, guaranteeing the free outlet of the radial passages 30 and the perfect transmission of sounds by these radial passages 30 and by the annular passage 8.

If the engagement of the body 2f on the end 11a is strong enough to hold the end piece 2 in place, the central body 2f may have a shape which is reduced to that of a small pipe, as shown.

If the engagement of the tip 2 on the end 11a is soft, or if one wants to take additional precautions, one can provide for the part of the tip 2 located near the shell 1 an ovoid shape like that shown in FIGS. 2 to 6. The cap 2b here facilitates the removal of the end piece 2.

It should be noted that in plan the hat 2b can have an oval shape

(Fig. 6) so that its parts furthest from the center better protect, like a visor, the passage of sounds. This shape also facilitates the removal of the hat by inserting a nail or a small blade under one of the two elongated parts of the oval.

In addition, the cap 2b may have a curved underside, substantially parallel to the end of the shell 1, as seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8. It emerges from the above description that the passages of the sounds, whether longitudinal (in the case of FIGS. 2 and 3) or radial (in the case of FIGS. 4 to 8), are always located under the cap 2b and that the latter leaves an annular radial passage 8 of great extent (even in the case of FIGS. 5 and 6) which the earwax cannot easily block and which, on the other hand, lets sounds pass through perfectly.

The location of the end piece 2 in the single hole 7 protects it from all contamination, which can only occur significantly above the edge of the cap 2b, the diameter may be large relative to the end of the shell 1 to minimize, correlatively, the consequences of soiling, in particular by deposit of earwax.

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Claims

REV END I CAT I ONS

1- Hearing aid such as a prosthesis of the type comprising a hollow intra-auricular shell (1), characterized in that the end of this shell (1) which must be close to the eardrum has a single hole (7) intended for passage sounds and with which must cooperate an elastically deformable and removable tip (2) comprising a central body (2a) intended to be engaged in the hole (7) of the shell (1) and a large head constituting a non-injurious convex cap ( 2b) intended to remain a short distance from the shell (1) to protect at least one passage from the sounds (7a-15-18-23-30) located (s) near its center and to determine a continuous annular passage ( 8).

2- Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the end piece (2) has a groove (2d) whose section is substantially equal to that of the hole (7) and which is located between two wider parts, one being formed by an ovoid protuberance (2e) of maximum section (y) greater than that of the hole (7) of the shell (1) so as to be forcibly engaged in the hole (7) and to be retained there by the internal edges of said hole (7), while the other is formed by the cap (2b) which must remain outside the shell (1). 3- Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the passage of sounds consists of at least one space (7a) which remains between the hole (7) of the shell (1) and the central body (2a) of the end piece (2), this hole (7) and this central body (2a) having, in their facing parts, different shapes and / or dimensions. 4- Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the hole (7) is square and that the body (2a) of the nozzle (2) has a circular section of diameter less than the length of the diagonal of the square hole ( 7).

5- Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the passage of sounds is constituted by a blind conduit (14-2f) which opens at the end of the body (2a) of the nozzle (2) to be engaged in the hole (7) of the shell (1) and which communicates with at least one radial passage (15-18-30) opening outside the end piece (2), above the active part of at least a stop (16-19-31) located under the cap (2b) and having to be applied to the shell (1) to retain the cap (2b) at a short distance from the shell (1). 6- Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the radial passage is formed by at least one channel (15).

7- Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the radial passage is formed by a lateral slot (18) substantially perpendicular to the axis (x) of the nozzle (2).

8- Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the or each radial passage is constituted by the end (23) of a longitudinal slot (24) which divides the body (2a) of the nozzle (2) in au at least two elastically deformable elements (25) and preferably each provided with a bulge (26).

9- Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the end of the nozzle (2) to be introduced into the hole (7) of the shell. (1) is adapted to cover a prominent end (11a) of an earpiece (11) placed in the shell (1). 10- Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the cap (2b) has an oval shape.

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