WO2007119505A1

WO2007119505A1 - Hearing function training method and device

Info

Publication number: WO2007119505A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/056046
Authority: WO
Inventors: Seiji Nakagawa
Original assignee: National Institute Of Advanced Industrial Science And Technology
Priority date: 2006-04-17
Filing date: 2007-03-23
Publication date: 2007-10-25
Also published as: JP2007282820A; JP4963035B2

Abstract

A hearing function training device is provided with a training signal generating means (10) for generating a training vibration signal, and a vibration transmitting means (30) for transmitting a mechanical vibration as a bone-conductive sound based on a vibration signal through a bone-conductive vibration element contacted with a user, wherein the training signal generating means (10) is comprised of a hearing test means (12) for acquiring hearing information including hearing levels for a plurality of test frequencies in accordance with a hearing test of the user, a spectrum determining means (14) for determining a frequency spectrum corresponding to the hearing information, an audible signal generating means (16) for generating an audible signal with the frequency spectrum, and a signal modulating means (20) for modulating an ultrasound carrier signal based on the audible signal to generate the vibration signal.

Description

Specification

Auditory function training method and apparatus

Technical field

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a hearing function training method and apparatus for training a user's hearing function, and more particularly to a hearing function training method and apparatus suitable for training a hearing function of a hearing impaired person.

Background art

[0002] When the auditory function is reduced due to side effects of drugs, virus infection, aging, etc., it becomes difficult to hear sound. This reduces the chances of listening to the sound and, as a result, the auditory nervous system (peripheral and central nervous systems) is less activated, resulting in an ever-decreasing function of the auditory nervous system! ヽぅA vicious circle occurs.

[0003] Hearing aids and cochlear implants exist as means for assisting the hearing function of the hearing impaired, but V ずれ displacement does not improve the hearing function, so if severe hearing loss occurs, sound May be difficult to listen to, and the function of the auditory nervous system may rapidly decline. In addition, the methods using drug therapy and surgery can suppress a decrease in auditory function for some deafness, but may have little effect depending on the stage and type of hearing loss.

[0004] For the purpose of improving the auditory function, a training method has been proposed in which a training sound in a specific frequency band is repeatedly heard. For example, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 allows a trainee to hear a sound in which a predetermined frequency region is attenuated with respect to the original sound. However, this method is mainly aimed at enhancing the learning effect of foreign languages, and conventionally, there has been no suitable training method mainly aimed at restoring the hearing function of the hearing impaired. .

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-95652

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an auditory function training method and apparatus that can effectively improve the auditory function regardless of the type of hearing loss. Means for solving the problem

[0006] The object of the present invention is a method for training a user's auditory function, a training signal generating step for generating a vibration signal for training, and a bone-conducting vibrator abutted on the user A vibration transmission step of transmitting mechanical vibration based on the vibration signal as a bone conduction sound via the vibration signal, and the training signal generation step modulates the ultrasonic carrier signal based on the audible sound signal to thereby generate the vibration signal. This is achieved by an auditory function training method including the step of generating

[0007] In this auditory function training method, the training signal generating step corresponds to the hearing information including a step of obtaining hearing information including hearing levels for a plurality of test frequencies by a hearing test of a user. The method may further comprise determining a frequency spectrum and generating the audible sound signal having the frequency vector.

[0008] Further, the object of the present invention is an apparatus for training the auditory function of a user, comprising training signal generation means for generating a vibration signal for training, and a bone guide in contact with the user. A vibration transmission means for transmitting mechanical vibration based on the vibration signal as a bone conduction sound through a vibrator, and the training signal generating means is configured to obtain a hearing level for a plurality of inspection frequencies by a user's hearing test. A hearing test means for obtaining the hearing information, a spectrum determining means for determining a frequency spectrum corresponding to the hearing information, an audible sound signal generating means for generating the audible sound signal having the frequency spectrum; It is achieved by an auditory function training device comprising signal modulation means for generating the vibration signal by modulating a sound wave carrier signal based on the audible sound signal.

The invention's effect

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an auditory function training method and apparatus that can effectively improve the auditory function regardless of the type of hearing loss.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an auditory function training apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of a vibration transmission unit in the auditory function training apparatus shown in FIG.

[Fig. 3] Explains an example of audible signal generation process in the auditory function training device shown in Fig. 1 It is a figure for doing.

4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a vibration signal generation method used in the auditory function training apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a hearing function training device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the auditory function training apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an improvement result of auditory function according to an example of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

[0011] 1 Auditory function training device

10 Training signal generator

12 Hearing test department

14 Spectrum determination unit

16 Audible signal generator

161 Aiming microphone

18 Carrier signal generator

20 Signal modulation section

30 Vibration transmitter

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, actual forms of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an auditory function training apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this auditory function training device 1 includes a training signal generation unit 10 that generates a vibration signal for training, and mechanical vibrations based on the vibration signal generated by the training signal generation unit 10. Is provided with a vibration transmitting portion 30 for transmitting it as a bone conduction sound.

[0013] The training signal generation unit 10 has determined the hearing test unit 12 that acquires the hearing information by the user's hearing test, and the spectrum determination unit 14 that determines the frequency spectrum based on the acquired hearing information. An audible sound signal generator 16 that generates an audible sound signal having a frequency spectrum, a carrier signal generator 18 that generates an ultrasonic carrier signal, and a vibration signal by modulating the ultrasonic carrier signal based on the audible signal. And a signal modulator 20 for generating It is.

[0014] The hearing test unit 12 can also be configured as a known audiometer, and a plurality of test frequencies (for example, 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, lkHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, and 8kHz) in a preset audible range 7 For each type, increase the sound pressure level of the inspection sound consisting of pure tone, band noise, etc., and the minimum sound pressure at which the user perceived the inspection sound based on the confirmation switch input by the user The hearing level, which is the level, is acquired for each examination frequency. The hearing test unit 12 is configured to be able to store the hearing information thus obtained in a memory.

[0015] The spectrum determination unit 14 determines a frequency spectrum corresponding to the hearing information. In other words, from the hearing level for each test frequency included in the hearing information, the power level increases as the frequency at which the hearing level is lower, and the power level increases as the frequency at which the hearing level is higher. Is calculated.

[0016] The audible sound signal generation unit 16 is configured to be able to generate a plurality of sound source signals corresponding to pure tones and band noise at each inspection frequency, and synthesizes each sound source signal at a single level for each inspection frequency. By doing so, an audible sound signal is generated.

[0017] The carrier wave signal generation unit 18 generates an ultrasonic carrier wave signal in which vibration is satisfactorily transmitted to the auditory function of the brain via human skin, muscles or bones. Examples of the ultrasonic carrier signal include sine waves, rectangular waves, and triangular waves with a frequency of 20 kHz to 300 kHz, as well as band noise or uniform noise with a center frequency of 2 OkHz to 300 kHz.

[0018] The vibration transmitting unit 30 includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that transmit mechanical vibrations based on the vibration signal generated by the signal modulating unit 20 to the outside. As shown in FIG. 2, the vibration transfer section 30 includes a plurality of cylindrical cases 32 in which ultrasonic transducers 31 are accommodated, and a suction cup 34 is attached to the opening edge of the case 32. Yes.

[0019] The vibrator 31 is supported by a gimbal mechanism so as to be swingable about two axes orthogonal to each other. That is, the vibrator 31 is fixed to the first frame body 40 so that the vibration surface is exposed, and the first frame body 40 is attached to the second frame body 44 via the first support shaft 42. It is swingably supported. The second frame body 44 is swingably supported inside the case 32 via a second support shaft 46 orthogonal to the first support shaft 42. The vibrating surface of the vibrator 31 It protrudes slightly from the opening of the screw 32, and when the suction cup 34 is adsorbed to a predetermined attachment site, the vibration surface of the vibrator 31 is in contact with and pressed against the adsorbed surface. A communication hole 32a is formed at the center of the bottom (upper part of the figure) of the case 32, and a spherical bag 48 is joined to the communication hole 32a. The bag-like body 48 is made of an elastic material such as a rubber material, and is configured to be elastically deformable by pressing. The internal space of the bag-like body 48 communicates with the inside of the case 32 through the communication hole 32a.

[0020] Next, the operation of the above-described auditory function training device 1 will be described. First, the hearing test unit 12 performs a hearing test on the left or right ear of the user. The hearing test method in the hearing test unit 12 is the same as that of a known audiometer, and detailed description is omitted. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. Hearing information that can create an ozogram in which is plotted is acquired.

Next, the spectrum determination unit 14 determines a frequency spectrum corresponding to the hearing information. For example, if the hearing information is represented by the graph shown in Fig. 3 (a), the power level at the lowest test frequency (1kHz) is the highest and the hearing level is the highest, as shown in Fig. 3 (b). The power level for each inspection frequency is required so that the power level at the inspection frequency (4 kHz) is minimized. As a result, the audible sound signal generation unit 16 generates an audible sound signal that is emphasized for a frequency that is inaudible based on the determined frequency spectrum, and the signal modulation unit 20 can generate a vibration signal. In the generation of the frequency vector, correction processing such as slightly lowering the power level in the low frequency range (for example, 125 Hz or 250 Hz) may be performed as necessary!

[0022] The ultrasonic transducer 31 pressed the suction cup 34 against a predetermined part (for example, near the mastoid protrusion) corresponding to the ear subjected to the auditory examination while the bag-like body 48 was picked by hand. Then, by releasing the hand that has been picked, the inside of the case 32 becomes negative pressure due to the shape restoring force of the bag-like body 48. As a result, a sufficient adsorption force acts on the predetermined part, and the ultrasonic transducer 31 can be securely attached to a desired position.

[0023] When the training signal generator 10 is operated with the ultrasonic transducer 31 attached to a predetermined part of the user, mechanical vibration based on the vibration signal is transmitted to the user's auditory function as a bone conduction sound. Is done. In this embodiment, the vibration signal turns the ultrasonic carrier signal into an audible sound signal. For example, even a cochlear or hair cell whose function is greatly reduced can be reliably activated. Therefore, it is effective for all types of conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss (eg, senile deafness, viral deafness, hereditary deafness, drug-induced deafness, etc.) with hearing loss. It is effective as a training for severely hearing-impaired deaf people who cannot hear sound even if they are used. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the hearing ability of a normal hearing person who is not alone with the hearing impaired.

[0024] In addition, according to the present embodiment, the audible sound signal that modulates the ultrasonic carrier signal is assumed to have an enhanced frequency because it is difficult for the user to hear and the frequency is emphasized. The bone conduction sound that is obtained only becomes sensuously flat, which can reduce discomfort during training.

[0025] After performing auditory function training for one ear for a predetermined time, the auditory function training device 1 is used to perform an auditory test for the other ear, and the generated audible sound signal is used for the same. Conduct auditory function training. This allows optimal training for both ears.

[0026] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, a specific aspect of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the present embodiment, an audible sound signal is generated based on the hearing information acquired by the hearing test unit 12, but the audible sound signal is a sine wave or rectangular wave in the audible sound region. It is also possible to use a preset one such as a triangular wave, noise, and voice, and in this case, the activity of the auditory nervous system can be promoted. Furthermore, an audible sound signal can be generated by attaching a microphone to the auditory function training apparatus 1 and amplifying an input signal of an external force to the microphone.

[0027] When an audible sound signal used for amplitude modulation is generated based on a voice (language sound) set in advance or input to a microphone force, auditory ability such as phoneme separation is required for this listening. Therefore, it is possible to effectively train auditory temporal resolution. Further, as schematically shown in FIG. 4, an inverse filter is generated from the audiogram obtained by the hearing test unit 12, and based on the training speech obtained by applying the inverse filter to the speech (language sound), An audible signal can also be generated, which requires training Can focus on specific frequency bands.

[0028] Although the auditory function training device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to include a single ultrasonic transducer 31, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are provided, and based on the configuration of the present embodiment, each ultrasonic transducer 31 is provided. Ultrasonic transducer force It can be configured to output different vibrations. In this case, the generation of the audible signal is also

In addition, it is possible to use the hearing information, the information set individually for both ears, or the input signal of the microphone.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of directional microphones 161 and 161 to which external sounds are input can be attached to the auditory function training apparatus 1. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0030] The plurality of directional microphones 161 and 161 are respectively attached to a case 10a in which the training signal generation unit 10 is accommodated. The directional microphones 161 and 161 are fixed so that the main axis directions of the directivities are different in the present embodiment, but each main axis direction may be attached so as to be adjustable. The external sound input to each of the directional microphones 161 and 161 can be amplified to generate an audible sound signal, and the audible sound signal is input to the signal modulation unit 20.

[0031] On the other hand, the frequency, amplitude, timing (phase), and modulation method of the ultrasonic carrier signals generated by the carrier signal generators 18 and 18 are individually adjusted by the input operation of the input units 50 and 50. Can do. As a result, a vibration signal can be individually generated for each input sound of each directional microphone 161, 161.

[0032] The input unit 50 includes a volume switch 50a that can be individually adjusted so that the frequency, amplitude, and phase of the carrier signal can be continuously changed. Further, the input unit 50 further selects a modulation method. Comes with a dial switch 50b. Examples of modulation methods that can be selected include frequency modulation, amplitude modulation, and phase modulation. Further, types of amplitude modulation include, for example, double sideband (DSB) and single sideband (suppressed carrier) (SSB). Etc. can be selected.

When external sound is input to the directional microphones 161 and 161, sound signals are input from the directional microphones 161 and 161 to the signal modulation units 20 and 20. Each directional microphone 1 61 and 161 have different directivity main axis directions, so input sensitivities to the same sound source are different.

[0034] The signal modulators 20 and 20 have different modulation conditions via the input units 50 and 50 so that each input sound to the directional microphones 161 and 161 has its own modulation. Enter it. For example, the carrier signal frequency is set to be different for each of the directional microphones 161 and 161, and the modulation method is the same double-sideband amplitude modulation, and each modulation can be performed. Alternatively, the carrier signals may have the same frequency, and the modulation methods may be different from each other (for example, one is a double sideband amplitude modulation and the other is a suppressed carrier amplitude modulation), and each may be subjected to a specific modulation. . The vibration signals generated in this way are output to the corresponding vibration transmission units 30 and 30, respectively.

According to the auditory function training device configured as described above, each external sound input from each of the directional microphones 161 and 161 is subjected to modulation specific to each of the corresponding vibration transmission units 30 and 30. Since each is configured to transmit mechanical vibration, training conditions can be optimized for each ear and training can be performed for both ears simultaneously.

[0036] In addition, each modulation condition is set in advance so that the difference in "hearing (timbre)" of ultrasonic vibration transmitted from each vibration transmitting unit 30, 30 can be recognized, and the directivity corresponding to each "hearing" is set. By grasping the microphones 10 and 10, the user can train auditory functions related to sound source direction identification (sound source localization). For example, when the modulation method is double-sideband amplitude modulation, both the carrier wave pitch and the demodulated signal wave pitch are detected simultaneously, while when the modulation method is suppressed carrier amplitude modulation, The pitch of the carrier wave is not perceived, and only a pitch equivalent to twice the frequency of the original signal wave is perceived. The recognition ability can be improved.

(Example)

In order to confirm the training effect of the auditory function training method of the present invention, auditory function training was actually performed on three subjects, and changes in hearing ability were examined.

[0037] Three test subjects were healthy hearing aged 22 to 25 years (both male and right-handed). The mechanical vibration based on the vibration signal modulated by the signal was presented with a presentation strength of about 15 dBSL. Mechanical vibrations were presented daily for 30 minutes for both ears, and hearing tests were performed immediately after presentation.

Figures 7 (a) to 7 (c) show average data for each week based on the hearing test results for the left ear of each of the three subjects, and show this for 5 weeks. It can be seen that each subject has improved hearing, particularly near the center frequency of the audible sound signal.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A method for training a user's auditory function,

A training signal generating step for generating a vibration signal for training;

A vibration transmission step for transmitting mechanical vibration based on the vibration signal as a bone conduction sound via a bone conduction vibrator brought into contact with the user,

The training signal generation step includes a step of generating the vibration signal by modulating an ultrasonic carrier wave signal based on an audible sound signal.

[2] The training signal generation step includes obtaining hearing information including hearing levels for a plurality of examination frequencies by a user's hearing examination;

Determining a frequency spectrum corresponding to the hearing information;

The auditory function training method according to claim 1, further comprising: generating the audible sound signal having the frequency spectrum.

[3] A device for training the auditory function of a user,

Training signal generating means for generating vibration signals for training;

Vibration transmitting means for transmitting mechanical vibration based on the vibration signal as bone-conducted sound via a bone-conducting vibrator brought into contact with the user,

The training signal generating means includes hearing test means for acquiring hearing information including hearing levels for a plurality of test frequencies by a user's hearing test;

Spectrum determining means for determining a frequency spectrum corresponding to the hearing information; audible sound signal generating means for generating the audible sound signal having the frequency spectrum; and modulating an ultrasonic carrier signal based on the audible sound signal. An auditory function training device comprising signal modulation means for generating the vibration signal.