EP2217009B1 - Hearing aid with support hook recognition - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a housing (10) comprising a signal processing device and a sound outlet. Support hooks (11) for attachment of the device at an ear or a head are fastened at the sound outlet of the housing such that sound from the sound outlet is guided through the support hooks. A sensor (13) e.g. distance sensor, for detecting types of the support hooks is arranged in or at the housing. The sensor controls the signal processing device depending on the detected type of the support hooks. The distance sensor detects the distance between the support hooks and the housing. The sensor is pressure sensor and magnet sensor.

Description

The present invention relates to a hearing device with a housing, which includes a signal processing device and having a sound outlet, wherein at the sound outlet of the housing, a carrying hook for attaching the hearing device to an ear or head is fastened such that emerging from the sound outlet sound through the support hook is directed. A hearing device is understood to mean any sound-emitting device which can be worn in or on the ear or on the head, in particular a hearing aid, a headset, headphones and the like.

Hearing aids are portable hearing aids that are used to care for the hearing impaired. In order to meet the numerous individual needs, different types of hearing aids such as behind-the-ear hearing aids (BTE), hearing aid with external receiver (RIC: receiver in the canal) and in-the-ear hearing aids (IDO), e.g. Concha hearing aids or canal hearing aids (ITE, CIC). The hearing aids listed by way of example are worn on the outer ear or in the ear canal. In addition, 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 using the example of a behind-the-ear hearing aid shown. 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 in 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

In BTE hearing aids, a carrying hook is usually attached to the hearing aid housing, which serves to hang the hearing aid on an auricle. Through the carrying hook sound, which is produced in the hearing aid housing, passed through to a sound tube, which leads the amplified sound to the ear canal.

In a hearing aid type, the sound tube is placed on the carrying hook at the free end of the carrying hook. The sound tube therefore has a correspondingly large diameter. In another type of hearing aid, a very thin sound tube is used, which can hardly be put on a carrying hook, and therefore are firmly installed in a small carrying hook. Such small carrying hooks and thin sound tubes are optically less conspicuous, which is why they are preferred by many users.

The transmission of sound from the hearing aid housing or loudspeaker to the auditory canal depends essentially on the sound tube and wearing hook used. Therefore, when adjusting the hearing aid to adjust the sound gain depending on the used sound tube or carrying hook. Consequently, before using the hearing aid, the hearing aid wearer must definitely indicate to the acoustician which type of wearing hook or sound tube he will use. A later change of the carrying hook or sound tube makes a completely new adaptation necessary.

From the patent US 7,245,728 B2 a microphone arrangement for hearing aids is known, which can be switched into a directional and in an omnidirectional mode. The microphone assembly has a front and rear sound inlet for this purpose. Moreover, the microphone assembly has a switch which is movable for directional operation between a first position in which the rear sound inlet is closed for omnidirectional operation and a second position in which the rear sound inlet is unlocked. A circuit detects the position of the switch and selects a microphone output based on the detected position.

The document WO2007 / 045254 shows a hearing device with an earplug and a sensor for detecting the type of the earstop, wherein the sensor controls the signal processing device of the hearing device in response to the detected type of Ohrstopsels.

The object of the present invention is to simplify the fitting of a hearing aid, in particular with regard to the choice of the type of a carrying hook.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a hearing device with a housing which contains a signal processing device and which has a sound outlet, wherein a carrying hook for attaching the hearing device to an ear or head can be fastened to the sound outlet of the housing such that sound emerging from the sound outlet the carrying hook is guided, and wherein a sensor for detecting the type of the carrying hook is arranged in or on the housing, and the sensor controls the signal processing device in dependence on the detected type of the carrying hook.

Advantageously, it is thus possible that the hearing device automatically detects the type of carrying hook or a carrying hook sound tube combination and configures the signal processing accordingly. Thus, it is sufficient in the best case, that the hearing with a bestimm th Carrying hook is fitted, once adjusted individually, because it automatically adjusts to the new wearing hook type or sound tube after replacing the carrying hook acoustically.

In a specific embodiment, the sensor may be a distance sensor to detect a distance between a support hook and the housing. If the type of the carrying hook is thus coded by the distance between the housing and the carrying hook, the type of carrying hook can be determined via the distance sensor.

Alternatively, the sensor may be a pressure sensor to detect a pressure exerted by a support hook on a surface of the pressure sensor. This makes it possible to differentiate types of wearing hooks, for example, in that they have pressure surfaces whose distance from the housing varies in a manner similar to that of the aforementioned distance sensor. At a smaller distance is then generated for example by a spring more pressure than at a greater distance.

Furthermore, the sensor may be a magnetic sensor which responds to a magnetic or magnetizable element in a carrying hook. Such a magnetic sensor usually proves to be very robust and durable.

According to a further embodiment, a gain of the signal processing device is controllable with the sensor. Thus, the output signal of the hearing device can be acoustically adjusted exactly to the carrying hook or the sound tube attached thereto.

As already indicated, the hearing device can be designed as a BTE hearing aid. Thus, a hearing aid wearer even after adjusting easily the ability to change its carrying hook, and the hearing aid automatically detects the new type of carrying hook and adjusts the signal processing accordingly.

Thus, a hearing system with a hearing device as described above as well as a first carrying hook of a first type and a second carrying hook of a second type can be provided on the whole. According to a specific embodiment, the first carrying hook cooperates with the sensor, while the second carrying hook does not. Thus, the sensor merely has to decide binary, whether a first or second type of carrying hook is attached to the hearing device.

Preferably, the first carrying hook is a carrying hook onto which a sound tube can be plugged, while the second carrying hook is a carrying hook into which a sound tube is firmly inserted, wherein the sound tube of the second carrying hook is significantly smaller in diameter than that of the first wearing hook. This allows the hearing aid to automatically separate carrier hooks with sonic tubes of different diameters.

FIG 1

den prinzipiellen Aufbau eines Hörgeräts gemäß dem Stand der Technik;

FIG 2

ein HdO-Hörgerät mit einem Tragehaken eines ersten Typs und

FIG 3

ein HdO-Hörgerät mit einem Tragehaken eines zweiten Typs.

The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1

the basic structure of a hearing aid according to the prior art;

FIG. 2

a BTE hearing aid with a carrying hook of a first type and

FIG. 3

a BTE hearing aid with a carrying hook of a second type.

The embodiments described in more detail below represent preferred embodiments of the present invention.

This in FIG. 2 BTE hearing aid shown has a housing 10 to which a carrying hook 11 is attached. In the support hook 11 of the sound channel 12 is indicated, the sound, which is generated by the signal processing device within the hearing aid housing 10, forwarded to the outside. At the free end of the carrying hook 11, a sound tube would be aufzustecken on the conical end of the carrying hook. This sound tube must have a correspondingly large inner diameter, so that the pointed end of the carrying hook can be inserted into the sound tube.

The support hook 11 is typically attached to a fitting (in FIG. 2 not visible), which conducts the sound from the hearing aid housing 10 and thus serves as a sound outlet of the housing. On the front side of the housing 10, to which the carrying hook 11 is fastened, there is a sensor 13. In the present case, this is a pressure sensor with a push button. An outer surface of the carrying hook 11, which is directed in the mounted on the housing 10 state of the carrying hook 11 to the front side of the housing 10, presses against this push button or piston of the pressure sensor 13. The pressure sensor registers the pressing of the piston. This sensor information is interpreted for the signal processing of the hearing device to the effect that a conventional support hook 11 is applied with attachable sound tube to the hearing aid housing 10. The signal processing device thereby switches into a first processing profile, with which the A-kustik of the concrete carrying hook and sound tube is taken into account. In particular, the gain is optionally adapted to the specific channel of the hearing aid (wearing hook with sound tube).

In FIG. 3 is to the hearing aid housing 10 against the carrying hook 11 very small carrying hook 14 infected with a thin sound tube 15. At the free end of the sound tube 15 is an adapter 16 for connecting an ear piece, which is intended to fix the sound tube in the ear canal. The ear piece itself is in FIG. 3 not shown.

The sound tube 15 has a relatively small outside diameter (smaller than the tip of the carrying hook 11 from FIG. 2 ) and is here firmly inserted into the small carrying hook 14, glued or poured. Because of its small inner diameter, it can not be plugged onto the large carrying hook 11. This small carrying hook / tube combination 14, 15 is preferred by many hearing aid users because of the optically low conspicuousness.

Out FIG. 3 It can be seen that the small carrying hook 14 does not touch the pressure sensor and in particular its push button or piston. There is thus no pressure exerted on the pressure sensor 13, so that a corresponding sensor signal is used by the signal processing device that a matched for the support hook-hose combination 14, 15 gain (second processing profile) is performed in the hearing aid. Based on the sensor signal, the hearing aid signal processing can thus automatically distinguish which sound output signal is to be generated in order to achieve optimum acoustic matching.

In the example of FIGS. 2 and 3 only a closer distinction between two types of tethers takes place. The fact is exploited that the carrying hook interacts once with the sensor and in the other case not.

If more than two different types of wearing hooks (in the present document synonymous with types of wearing hook sound-tube combinations) are to be automatically recognized by the hearing aid signal processing, the various wearing hooks must be coded accordingly. In the example of a pressure sensor, for example, the distance of the pressure surface of the support hook to the end face of the hearing aid housing can be used for the coding. In the concrete example analogous to the FIGS. 2 and 3 For example, a third type of wearing hook could be characterized in that the pressure surface of the carrying hook directly comes into contact with the front side of the hearing aid housing 10 when the carrying hook is attached to the hearing aid housing. The piston or push button of the pressure sensor 13 would then be completely depressed. The pressure sensor would then have to be able to distinguish the fully depressed state from the half depressed state and the uninjected state.

The sensor for detecting the carrying hook or the carrying hook-hose combination can also be based on other physical principles than on the pressure. For example, a magnetic, an electrical, an optical or other type of sensor can be used. The coding of the Tragehakentyps can then be done in a corresponding manner. Also, these sensors may be designed to distinguish more than two types of tethers.

The hearing aid manufacturer thus obtains the advantage that he can pre-set a hearing aid without knowing which wearing hook type the hearing aid wearer will use. In addition, there are also advantages for mass production concepts, since the hearing aid wearer can subsequently also select, for example, between a conventional carrying hook and a carrying hook with reduced size and the hearing aid then automatically changes the signal processing depending on the attached carrying hook. Not only can the gain be changed automatically, but also, for example, feedback reduction algorithms and other functions.

Claims (10)

1. Hearing device with

   - a housing (10) which contains a signal processing unit and has a sound outlet, wherein

   - a supporting hook (11, 14) for attaching the hearing device to an ear or a head can be fixed on the sound outlet of the housing (10) such that sound emanating from the sound outlet is guided through the supporting hook (11, 14),

   characterized in that

   - a sensor (13) for detecting the type of supporting hook (11, 14) is arranged in or on the housing (10), and

   - the sensor (13) controls the signal processing unit as a function of the detected type of supporting hook (11, 14).
2. Hearing device according to Claim 1, wherein the sensor (13) is a distance sensor for detecting a distance between a supporting hook (11, 14) and the housing (10).
3. Hearing device according to Claim 1, wherein the sensor (13) is a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure which a supporting hook (11, 14) exerts on a surface of the pressure sensor.
4. Hearing device according to Claim 1, wherein the sensor (13) is a magnetic sensor which reacts to a magnetic or magnetizable element in a supporting hook (11, 14).
5. Hearing device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein amplification of the signal processing unit can be controlled by the sensor (13).
6. Hearing device according to one of the preceding claims which is designed as a behind-the-ear hearing aid.
7. Hearing system with a hearing device according to one of Claims 1 to 5 and a first supporting hook (11) of a first type and a second supporting hook (14) of a second type.
8. Hearing system according to Claim 7, wherein the first supporting hook (11) interacts with the sensor (13) and the second supporting hook (14) does not interact with the sensor.
9. Hearing system according to Claim 7 or 8, wherein a sound tube can be fitted to the first supporting hook (11).
10. Hearing device according to one of Claims 7 to 9, wherein a sound tube (15) is fixedly inserted into the second supporting hook (14).

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