JPH0670398A - Hearing aid and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow even an old person to identify between a left hearing aid and a right hearing aid at a glance. CONSTITUTION:A couple of left/right ear molds 3, 4 are colored in different colors in a couple of left/right hearing aids comprising a hearing aid main bodies 1, 2 in which a microphone and a receiver are built, the ear molds 3, 4 inserted into an external auditory miatus and locked by part of a concha, sound guide pipes 5, 6 linking the hearing aid main bodies 1, 2 and the ear molds 3, 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hearing aid that amplifies sound collected by a microphone and outputs the sound from a receiver, and a method of manufacturing the hearing aid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when the left and right hearing aids are installed separately, for example, when ultra-compact hearing aids such as ear canal type hearing aids that are inserted into the ear canal and ear hook type hearing aids that are hooked on the auricle are separately mounted, The following measures have been taken to attach it.

As one of them, color stickers with different colors are attached to the left and right sides of the ear mold to be inserted into the ear canal. Alternatively, there is a method such as attaching a discrimination sticker described as R, L or right and left.

However, since it is necessary to attach these seals to the ear mold in a region other than the portion to be inserted into the ear canal, it is difficult to attach a large seal. For this reason, especially for the elderly with poor eyesight,
It is very difficult to distinguish left and right hearing aids with a small seal.

[0005]

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned conventional technical circumstances, and even an elderly person can at a glance see the identification of the left and right hearing aids. An object of the present invention is to provide a hearing aid whose identification is inconspicuous when worn.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a hearing aid that enables manufacturing of a hearing aid that can distinguish left and right hearing aids at a glance by simple steps.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hearing aid body having a microphone and a receiver built-in, and an ear mold which is inserted into the ear canal and locked by a part of the auricle. In the pair of left and right hearing aids, which comprises the hearing aid main body and the sound path pipe connecting the ear molds, the pair of left and right ear molds are colored in different colors.

Further, according to the present invention, a hearing aid main body having a microphone and a receiver built therein, an ear mold inserted into the external ear canal and locked by a part of an auricle, and a sound path connecting the hearing aid main body and the ear mold. A pipe is provided, and at least a portion of the ear mold to be inserted into the ear canal and a portion other than that are colored with different colors.

On the other hand, the method of the present invention comprises the steps of forming a impression by putting a resin into the concha of the ear including the external auditory meatus and taking a mold, and flowing the silicone over the impression to cure the impression, and then applying the impression. A step of removing and forming a matrix, a step of injecting a colored acrylic resin into at least the ear canal portion of the recess from which the impression of the matrix has been removed, and a step of further injecting an acrylic resin colored in a color different from that of the ear canal portion And a step of applying heat and pressure to these acrylic resins to polymerize the acrylic resins, and a step of connecting an ear mold made of a cured acrylic resin to a hearing aid body containing a microphone and a receiver by means of a sound passage pipe. And have.

[0010]

In the hearing aid according to the present invention, since the pair of left and right ear molds are colored in different colors, it is easy to distinguish the left and right at a glance. Therefore, even an elderly person with poor eyesight can identify at a glance.

In the hearing aid according to the present invention,
By coloring the part inserted into the ear canal of the ear mold with a dark color and coloring the other parts with a light color,
In addition to making it easy to identify the left and right sides, the hearing aid becomes less noticeable when worn.

On the other hand, in the method of the present invention, after the acrylic resin colored in the external auditory meatus is injected into the mother mold, an acrylic resin colored in a color different from this is injected over the acrylic resin to polymerize these acrylic resins. , A two-color ear mold is easily produced.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The hearing aid of this embodiment is a so-called ear-hook type hearing aid that is hooked on the auricle, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hearing aid body 1,
2, ear molds 3 and 4 inserted into the external ear canal and locked by a part of the auricle, and sound passage pipes 5 and 6 connecting the hearing aid bodies 1 and 2 and the ear molds 3 and 4. There is.

The hearing aid bodies 1 and 2 are curved so that they can be fitted and mounted between the outer periphery of the back of the auricle and the head, and the microphones and receivers (not shown) functioning as hearing aids are built into the hearing aid bodies 1 and 2. ing. In addition, the hearing aid bodies 1 and 2 house batteries as a power source and a dial for adjusting the volume.

On the other hand, the ear molds 3 and 4 are integrally formed of acrylic resin or the like according to the shape of the auricle of the wearer, and the tip portions 3a, which are inserted into the ear canal,
4a and base end portions 3b and 4b corresponding to the concha cavity portion. The ear molds 3 and 4 are provided with sound paths 7 and 8 for sending acoustic signals from the receivers incorporated in the hearing aid bodies 1 and 2 to the ear canal. The sound passages 7 and 8 are formed as circular through holes extending from the base end portions 3b and 4b to which the sound passage pipes 5 and 6, which will be described later, are connected to the tip end portions 3a and 4a.

Further, the ear molds 3 and 4 are provided with vent holes 9 and 10 for preventing a tight feeling. The ventilation holes 9 and 10 are formed as circular through holes from the tip portions 3a and 4a of the ear molds 3 and 4 to the outer peripheral edge portions of the base end portions 3b and 4b.

On the other hand, the sound path pipes 5 and 6 function as a connecting member that connects the hearing aid bodies 1 and 2 and the ear molds 3 and 4, and the acoustic signal from the receiver is transmitted to the sound paths 7 and 4 of the ear molds 3 and 4. The role of transmitting to 8. The sound path pipes 5 and 6 are made of, for example, a vinyl pipe having a circular cross section, and have a substantially U-shaped side surface so as to be easily caught by the auricle. The lengths of the sound passage pipes 5 and 6 can be adjusted depending on the shape of the pinna of the wearer.

In particular, in the hearing aid of this embodiment, the left and right ear molds 3 and 4 are colored in different colors in order to identify the left and right hearing aids at a glance.
For example, in this embodiment, the right ear mold 4 is colored in an inconspicuous light color such as pink, and the left ear mold 3 is inserted into the ear canal B of the auricle A as shown in FIG. The portion 3a is colored in a relatively dark color such as blue (shown by diagonal lines), and the base end portion 3b is colored in a light color such as pink.

In this way, by coloring the pair of left and right ear molds 3, 4 in different colors, even the elderly with poor eyesight can identify the left and right hearing aids at a glance. Further, the deeply colored tip portion 3a is inserted into the external auditory meatus B, and the base end portion 3b corresponding to the concha cavity C portion visible from the outside has a pale color, so that it is hardly noticeable in appearance when worn. Will be things.

The colors of the ear molds 3 and 4 are not particularly limited as long as the left and right hearing aids can be distinguished. For example, one may be transparent and the other may be colored. In particular, if the base end portions 3b and 4b of the ear molds 3 and 4 presented in the concha of the ear concha 3 are made to have a color close to the skin color, it becomes more inconspicuous. Further, in the above example, the two colors, but the number of colors is not limited,
There is no problem even if it is colored in three or more colors.

By the way, in order to manufacture the above-mentioned hearing aid,
Follow the procedure below. First, as shown in FIG. 4, a resin such as silicone is put into a concha of the ear including the ear canal of a person wearing a hearing aid, and a mold is formed to form an impression 11 called an impression.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the impression 11 is placed on the base 12, and the outer frame 1 surrounding the four sides around the base 12.
Place 3. The impression 11 is placed in the outer frame 13.
Is covered with silicon 14. Then, the silicone 14 is hardened and the outer frame 13 and the impression 11 are removed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, a mother die 15 is formed in which a recess 16 corresponding to the outer shape of the impression 11 is provided in the portion where the impression 11 was provided. next,
As shown in FIG. 7, a blue acrylic resin 17a is injected into a portion of the recess 16 corresponding to the external auditory meatus portion. Coloring of the acrylic resin is performed by adding a pigment to the monomer.

When the blue acrylic resin 17a is allowed to stand naturally and solidifies into a dough-like shape, as shown in FIG. 8, a pink acrylic resin 17b colored in a different color is further injected. Then, when both the blue and pink acrylic resins 17a and 17b become rice cake-like, heating and pressurization are performed to completely polymerize the acrylic resins 17a and 17b.

The heating is performed by the acrylic resin 17a,
This is to solidify 17b quickly. On the other hand, pressurization is to reduce the generated bubbles with pressure.

Then, the cured acrylic resin 17a,
By removing 17b from the mother die 15 and performing perforating processing and deburring processing such as sound paths and ventilation holes, as shown in FIG. 9, the tip portion 18a is blue and the base portion 18b is pink. The ear mold 18 is obtained. By connecting the hearing aid main body to the obtained ear mold 18 via a sound pipe, the hearing aid according to the present embodiment is manufactured.

[0027]

As is apparent from the above description, in the hearing aid of the present invention, the pair of left and right ear molds, which have the same shape on the left and right sides, are colored in different colors. The hearing aid can be identified. Therefore, even an elderly person who has poor eyesight can easily discriminate and it is possible to prevent erroneous recognition and mounting.

Further, in the hearing aid of the present invention, the visible portion is colored in a light color and the portion inserted into the external auditory meatus is colored in a dark color, so that the left and right hearing aids can be easily distinguished. At the same time, it can be installed inconspicuously.

On the other hand, in the method for manufacturing a hearing aid of the present invention, a colored acrylic resin is injected into a portion corresponding to the external auditory meatus portion of the mother die, and then an acrylic resin colored in a different color is injected from above. It is possible to manufacture a two-color ear mold that can be easily distinguished from each other at a glance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pair of left and right hearing aids.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of a pair of left and right hearing aids.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which the hearing aid is attached to the auricle with a part thereof broken away.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an impression making step, showing a step of sequentially making ear molds.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of sequentially producing ear molds, showing a mother die production step.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of sequentially producing ear molds and showing a step of removing an impression.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of sequentially producing ear molds and showing a step of injecting a blue-colored acrylic resin.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of sequentially producing ear molds and showing a step of injecting a pink acrylic resin.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a completed ear mold, showing a step of sequentially manufacturing ear molds.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 ... Hearing aid body 3, 4, 18 ... Ear mold 3a, 4a ... Tip part 3b, 4b ... Base end part 5, 6 ... Sound path pipe 7, 8 ... Sound path 9,10 ... Vent hole 11 ... Impression 14 ... Silicon 15 ... Mother mold 16 ... Recess 17 ... Acrylic resin

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hearing aid body comprising a microphone and a receiver, an ear mold which is inserted into the external ear canal and locked by a part of an auricle, and a sound path pipe connecting the hearing aid body and the ear mold. A pair of left and right hearing aids, wherein the pair of left and right ear molds are colored in different colors. 2. A hearing aid body including a microphone and a receiver, an ear mold which is inserted into an external ear canal and locked by a part of an auricle, and a sound path pipe connecting the hearing aid body and the ear mold. A hearing aid characterized in that at least a portion of the ear mold to be inserted into the ear canal and a portion other than that are colored with different colors. 3. A step of forming a impression by putting a resin into the concha of the ear including the external auditory meatus to form a mold, and after casting the silicone to flow and cure it, the impression is removed to form a mother mold. And a step of injecting a colored acrylic resin into at least the ear canal portion of the recess from which the impression of the master mold has been removed, a step of further injecting an acrylic resin colored in a color different from the ear canal portion, and these acrylic resins The method comprises the steps of applying heat and pressure to polymerize the acrylic resin, and connecting a hardened acrylic resin ear mold to a hearing aid body containing a microphone and a receiver by means of a sound passage pipe. Hearing aid manufacturing method.