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EP2164283B1 - Appareil auditif et fonctionnement d'un appareil auditif doté d'une transposition de fréquence - Google Patents

Appareil auditif et fonctionnement d'un appareil auditif doté d'une transposition de fréquence Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2164283B1
EP2164283B1 EP09166193.4A EP09166193A EP2164283B1 EP 2164283 B1 EP2164283 B1 EP 2164283B1 EP 09166193 A EP09166193 A EP 09166193A EP 2164283 B1 EP2164283 B1 EP 2164283B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
signal
frequency
hearing
microphone
directional
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Revoked
Application number
EP09166193.4A
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German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP2164283A2 (fr
EP2164283A3 (fr
Inventor
Andreas Tiefenau
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sivantos Pte Ltd
Original Assignee
Siemens Medical Instruments Pte Ltd
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Filing date
Publication date
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Application filed by Siemens Medical Instruments Pte Ltd filed Critical Siemens Medical Instruments Pte Ltd
Publication of EP2164283A2 publication Critical patent/EP2164283A2/fr
Publication of EP2164283A3 publication Critical patent/EP2164283A3/fr
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Publication of EP2164283B1 publication Critical patent/EP2164283B1/fr
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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/40—Arrangements for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic
    • H04R25/407—Circuits for combining signals of a plurality of transducers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/35—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception using translation techniques
    • H04R25/353—Frequency, e.g. frequency shift or compression
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/45—Prevention of acoustic reaction, i.e. acoustic oscillatory feedback
    • H04R25/453—Prevention of acoustic reaction, i.e. acoustic oscillatory feedback electronically

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a specified in claim 1 method for operating a hearing aid with at least two omnidirectional microphones emitting microphones, which are electrically interconnected to form a signal with directional characteristics. According to the invention, a hearing aid belonging to the method is also claimed in claim 5.
  • Hearing aids are portable hearing aids that are used to care for the hearing impaired.
  • different types of hearing aids are provided, such as behind-the-ear hearing aids, hearing aids with external earphones and in-the-ear hearing aids, e.g. also Concha hearing aids or channel hearing aids, provided.
  • the hearing aids listed by way of example are worn on the outer ear or in the ear canal.
  • bone conduction hearing aids, implantable or vibrotactile hearing aids are also available on the market. The stimulation of the damaged hearing takes place either mechanically or electrically.
  • Hearing aids have in principle as essential components an input transducer, an amplifier and an output transducer.
  • the input transducer is usually a sound receiver, z. As a microphone, and / or an electromagnetic receiver, for. B. an induction coil.
  • the output transducer is usually used as an electroacoustic transducer, z. As miniature speaker, or as an electromechanical transducer, z. B. bone conduction, realized.
  • the amplifier is usually integrated in a signal processing unit. This basic structure is in FIG. 1 shown using the example of a behind-the-ear hearing aid. In a hearing aid housing 1 for carrying behind the ear, one or more microphones 2 for receiving the sound from the environment are installed.
  • a signal processing unit 3 which is also integrated into the hearing aid housing 1, processes the microphone signals and amplifies them.
  • the output signal of the signal processing unit 3 is transmitted to a loudspeaker or earpiece 4, which outputs an acoustic signal.
  • the sound is optionally transmitted via a sound tube, which is fixed with an earmold in the ear canal, to the eardrum of the device carrier.
  • the power supply of the hearing device and in particular the signal processing unit 3 is effected by a likewise integrated into the hearing aid housing 1 battery. 5
  • Hearing loss or hearing loss may be due to different causes and accordingly requires a hearing aid, which is adapted or adapted to the particular cause of hearing loss or hearing loss.
  • a common problem that afflicts many people with hearing loss is high-frequency loss.
  • the high tone loss is physiological.
  • the so-called hair cells convert mechanical vibrations into electrical energy, which is then passed on to the brain for further processing as a nerve impulse. This process is disturbed in the case of high-frequency loss, since the areas in which higher frequencies are converted into electrical energy only have few or no hair cells left. This sometimes leads to so-called “dead zones", which are frequency ranges in which no mechanical energy can be transformed into electrical energy at all.
  • Corresponding hearing aids have a signal processing device, which transposes acoustic waves recorded by a microphone into another frequency range, and outputs them as a lower signal at a receiver. As a result, the high-frequency components of the input signal are shifted into a low-frequency range by means of signal processing so as to address the still active regions of the basilar membrane or of the hair cells.
  • a hearing aid and a method for operating the hearing aid with a frequency transposition of microphone signals are specified.
  • the transposition is determined by a non-linear frequency transposition function.
  • directional microphones are used in hearing aids. They demonstrably improve speech intelligibility in listening situations in which the wanted signal and the interfering signals come from different directions.
  • the directivity is produced by differential processing of two or more adjacent microphones with omnidirectional characteristics.
  • FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of a directional microphone system 1st order with two microphones 11, 12 at a distance of about 10 to 15 mm.
  • This results for sound signals coming from the front V an external delay of T2 between the first and the second microphone, which corresponds for example to the distance of the microphones 11, 12 to each other.
  • the signal R2 of the second microphone 12 is delayed by the time T1 in the delay unit 13, inverted in the inverter 14 and added to the signal R1 of the first microphone 11 in the first adder 5.
  • the sum results in the directional microphone signal RA, which can be supplied to a listener, for example via signal processing.
  • the direction-dependent sensitivity arises essentially from a subtraction of the second microphone signal R2 delayed by the time T2 from the first signal R1.
  • Sound signals from the front V are thus, after appropriate equalization, not attenuated, while, for example, sound signals are extinguished from behind S.
  • Structure and operation of directional microphone systems for hearing aids are for example in the patent DE 103 31 956 B3 described.
  • a disadvantage of directional microphone systems over omnidirectional microphones is that hearing aids generally have a lower stability threshold when the directional microphones are switched on than when operating with only one omnidirectional microphone and the maximum possible signal amplification has to be reduced. As a result, directional microphones can not always be used with the required amplification in the event of severe hearing loss.
  • the stated object is achieved by the method of independent claim 1 and the device of independent claim 5.
  • the invention claims a method for operating a hearing device with at least two omnidirectional, microphone signals emitting microphones, which are electrically interconnected to form a signal with directional characteristics.
  • Signal components of the signal with directional characteristic above a cutoff frequency are transposed into a frequency range below the cutoff frequency and / or compressed. Since the hearing loss is lower at low frequencies for many hearing aid users, a lower amplification of the signal can be used. It is also advantageous that a frequency transposition is only applied to useful signals, since the directional microphone system suppresses noise and thus they are not shifted into a low-frequency range.
  • the transposed and / or compressed signal components may be added to the signal with directivity before its final amplification.
  • the transposed and / or compressed signal components can be added to at least one omnidirectional microphone signal before its final amplification.
  • the cutoff frequency may be that frequency at which the auditory curve of an audiogram achieves the maximum compensatable hearing loss in a directional microphone mode.
  • the invention also provides a hearing aid with at least two omnidirectional microphones emitting microphones, which are electrically interconnected to form a signal having directional characteristics, and with a signal processing unit.
  • the signal processing unit transposes and / or compresses signal components of the signal with directivity above a cutoff frequency into a frequency range below the cutoff frequency.
  • the transposed and / or compressed signal components can be the signal with directional characteristic be added before its final amplification in an adder.
  • the transposed and / or compressed signal components may be admixed to at least one omnidirectional microphone signal before its final amplification in an adder.
  • the cutoff frequency can be determined in the signal processing unit, wherein the cutoff frequency is that frequency at which the auditory curve of an audiogram reaches the maximum compensatable hearing loss in a directional microphone mode.
  • the invention also provides a computer program product with a computer program which has software means for carrying out a method according to the invention when the computer program is executed in a control unit of a hearing device according to the invention.
  • FIG. 3 a block diagram is shown with the essential function blocks of a signal processing according to the invention.
  • Two omnidirectional microphones 11, 12 deliver microphone signals R1, R2.
  • the microphone signals R1, R2 are fed to an input of a directional microphone unit 10.
  • the directional microphone unit 10 forms from the two interconnected microphone signals R1, R2 a signal with directivity RA as shown in FIG FIG. 2 ,
  • the signal with directional characteristics reaches an input of a frequency transposition unit 16 in which signals above a limit frequency GF are transposed to low frequencies or compressed.
  • a transposed signal with directional characteristic RAV is supplied to an input of a second adder 18.
  • the first microphone signal R1 reaches a further input of the adder 18.
  • Both signals R1, RAV are combined in the second adder 18 and pass from an output as a microphone sum signal SU to an input of a Signalaufhneungs- and amplifying unit 17.
  • the microphone sum signal SU is prepared, modified and amplified according to an adjustable gain.
  • the amplified and processed microphone sum signal SUV passes from an input of the signal conditioning and amplification unit 17 to an input of a loudspeaker 4.
  • the loudspeaker 4 outputs the frequency-transposed or -compressed sound signal to the eardrum of a hearing device user.
  • the directional microphone unit 10, the frequency translation unit 16, the second adder 18 and the signal conditioning and amplification unit 17 are part of a signal processing unit 3.
  • FIG. 4 shows the essential functional blocks, consisting of microphones 11, 12 of a signal processing unit 3 and a handset or loudspeaker 4.
  • the microphone signals R1, R2 emitted by the microphones 11, 12 are processed into a signal with directional characteristic RA in a directional microphone unit 10 .
  • the signal with directional characteristic RA is supplied on the one hand to an input of a second adder 18.
  • the signal with directional characteristic RA is transposed or compressed to lower frequencies by means of a frequency transposition unit 16 above a limit frequency GF. From an output of the frequency transposition unit 16, the thus transposed signal RAV reaches a further input of the second adder 18.
  • the signal with directional characteristic RA and the frequency-transposed signal with directional characteristic RAV are summed and made available at an output.
  • a microphone sum signal SU reaches an input of a signal processing and amplification unit 17.
  • the microphone sum signal SU is processed and amplified in accordance with an adjustable gain.
  • the thus amplified microphone sum signal SUV is supplied from an output of the signal conditioning and amplification unit 17 to an input of the receiver 4.
  • the frequency-transposed or frequency-compressed sound signal emitted by the receiver 4 finally reaches the eardrum of a hearing device user.
  • FIG. 5 is a typical audiogram of a person with hearing loss shown.
  • the X axis of the audiogram coordinate system has the frequency in kHz as a unit.
  • the Y-axis indicates the sound pressure level in relation to the normal hearing threshold of a person in dB.
  • the solid line HVD corresponds to a maximum possible hearing loss compensation of a hearing aid with directional microphones, whereas the dashed line HVO shows a maximum possible compensation of the hearing loss when using omnidirectional microphones.
  • the two lines are spaced between 5 and 10 dB apart, depending on the type of hearing aid. This means that with omnidirectional microphones greater amplification is possible than with directional microphones.
  • FIG. 5 In the diagram of FIG. 5 is a typical hearing curve HK of a deaf person.
  • the hearing curve HK intersects the line HVD at a limit frequency GF.
  • the intersection determines the range, from that with directional microphones a balance of hearing loss is no longer possible for stability reasons.
  • the cutoff frequency is approximately 2 kHz.
  • the method described in the exemplary embodiments can be implemented by implementing a corresponding software in a control unit of a hearing device.

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Neurosurgery (AREA)
  • Otolaryngology (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Circuit For Audible Band Transducer (AREA)

Claims (9)

  1. Procédé de fonctionnement d'un appareil auditif avec au moins deux microphones omnidirectionnels (11, 12) émettant des signaux de microphone (R1, R2) et interconnectés électriquement pour former un signal à caractéristique de directivité (RA),
    caractérisé en ce que
    des fractions de signal (RAV) du signal à caractéristique de directivité (RA) au-dessus d'une fréquence limite (GF) sont transposées et/ou comprimées en une gamme de fréquences au-dessous de la fréquence limite (GF).
  2. Procédé selon la revendication 1,
    caractérisé en ce que
    les fractions de signal (RAV) transposées et/ou comprimées sont mélangées au signal à caractéristique de directivité (RA) avant son amplification finale.
  3. Procédé selon la revendication 1 ou 2,
    caractérisé en ce que
    les fractions de signal (RAV) transposées et/ou comprimées sont mélangées à au moins un signal de microphone omnidirectionnel (R1, R2) avant son amplification finale.
  4. Procédé selon l'une des revendications précédentes,
    caractérisé en ce que
    la fréquence limite (GF) est la fréquence à laquelle la courbe auditive (HK) d'un audiogramme atteint la perte auditive maximale (HVD) pouvant être compensée en mode microphone directionnel.
  5. Appareil auditif avec au moins deux microphones omnidirectionnels (11, 12) émettant des signaux de microphone (R1, R2) et interconnectés électriquement pour former un signal à caractéristique de directivité (RA), et avec une unité de traitement de signal (3),
    caractérisé en ce que
    l'unité de traitement de signal (3) est conçue de telle sorte que des fractions de signal (RAV) du signal à caractéristique de directivité (RA) au-dessus d'une fréquence limite (GF) puissent être transposées et/ou comprimées en une gamme de fréquences au-dessous de la fréquence limite (GF).
  6. Appareil auditif selon la revendication 5,
    caractérisé en ce que
    les fractions de signal (RAV) transposées et/ou comprimées peuvent être mélangées au signal à caractéristique de directivité (RA) avant son amplification finale dans un additionneur (18).
  7. Appareil auditif selon la revendication 5,
    caractérisé en ce que
    les fractions de signal (RAV) transposées et/ou comprimées peuvent être mélangées à au moins un signal de microphone omnidirectionnel (R1, R2) avant son amplification finale dans un additionneur (18).
  8. Appareil auditif selon l'une des revendications 5 à 7,
    caractérisé en ce que
    la fréquence limite (GF) peut être détectée dans l'unité de traitement de signal (3), la fréquence limite (GF) étant la fréquence à laquelle la courbe auditive (HK) d'un audiogramme atteint la perte auditive maximale (HVD) pouvant être compensée en mode microphone directionnel.
  9. Produit programme informatique avec un programme informatique comprenant des moyens logiciels pour la mise en oeuvre d'un procédé selon l'une des revendications 1 à 4, lorsque le programme informatique est exécuté dans une unité de commande (3) d'un appareil auditif selon l'une des revendications 5 à 8.
EP09166193.4A 2008-09-12 2009-07-23 Appareil auditif et fonctionnement d'un appareil auditif doté d'une transposition de fréquence Revoked EP2164283B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE102008046966A DE102008046966B3 (de) 2008-09-12 2008-09-12 Hörgerät und Betrieb eines Hörgeräts mit Frequenztransposition

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2164283A2 EP2164283A2 (fr) 2010-03-17
EP2164283A3 EP2164283A3 (fr) 2013-03-27
EP2164283B1 true EP2164283B1 (fr) 2013-12-04

Family

ID=41064598

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP09166193.4A Revoked EP2164283B1 (fr) 2008-09-12 2009-07-23 Appareil auditif et fonctionnement d'un appareil auditif doté d'une transposition de fréquence

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US20100067721A1 (fr)
EP (1) EP2164283B1 (fr)
DE (1) DE102008046966B3 (fr)
DK (1) DK2164283T3 (fr)

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102011083736B4 (de) 2011-09-29 2014-11-20 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. Verstärkungseinstellung bei einem Hörhilfegerät
CN103546849B (zh) * 2011-12-30 2017-04-26 Gn瑞声达A/S 具有频率无掩蔽的双耳助听器
US9185499B2 (en) 2012-07-06 2015-11-10 Gn Resound A/S Binaural hearing aid with frequency unmasking
EP2683179B1 (fr) * 2012-07-06 2015-01-14 GN Resound A/S Aide auditive avec démasquage de la fréquence
US9167366B2 (en) * 2012-10-31 2015-10-20 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. Threshold-derived fitting method for frequency translation in hearing assistance devices
EP2744226A1 (fr) * 2012-12-17 2014-06-18 Oticon A/s Instrument auditif
US10575103B2 (en) 2015-04-10 2020-02-25 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. Neural network-driven frequency translation
US9843875B2 (en) 2015-09-25 2017-12-12 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. Binaurally coordinated frequency translation in hearing assistance devices
US10085099B2 (en) 2015-11-03 2018-09-25 Bernafon Ag Hearing aid system, a hearing aid device and a method of operating a hearing aid system
US9980053B2 (en) 2015-11-03 2018-05-22 Oticon A/S Hearing aid system and a method of programming a hearing aid device

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6577739B1 (en) * 1997-09-19 2003-06-10 University Of Iowa Research Foundation Apparatus and methods for proportional audio compression and frequency shifting
US20040175010A1 (en) * 2003-03-06 2004-09-09 Silvia Allegro Method for frequency transposition in a hearing device and a hearing device
DE10331956C5 (de) * 2003-07-16 2010-11-18 Siemens Audiologische Technik Gmbh Hörhilfegerät sowie Verfahren zum Betrieb eines Hörhilfegerätes mit einem Mikrofonsystem, bei dem unterschiedliche Richtcharakteistiken einstellbar sind
AU2003904207A0 (en) * 2003-08-11 2003-08-21 Vast Audio Pty Ltd Enhancement of sound externalization and separation for hearing-impaired listeners: a spatial hearing-aid
DK1841281T3 (en) * 2006-03-28 2015-10-26 Oticon As System and method for generating auditory spatial information
DE102006019728A1 (de) * 2006-04-27 2007-11-15 Siemens Audiologische Technik Gmbh Zeit-adaptives Einstellen einer Hörhilfevorrichtung und entsprechendes Verfahren
DE102006020832B4 (de) * 2006-05-04 2016-10-27 Sivantos Gmbh Verfahren zum Unterdrücken von Rückkopplungen bei Hörvorrichtungen

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US20100067721A1 (en) 2010-03-18
DE102008046966B3 (de) 2010-05-06
DK2164283T3 (en) 2014-03-10
EP2164283A2 (fr) 2010-03-17
EP2164283A3 (fr) 2013-03-27

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