An instrument comprising an ear probe for insertion into an ear canal of a test subject is provided. The ear probe comprising an acoustic output unit comprising at least one speaker, the acoustic output unit being configured to provide at least one stimulus into the ear canal of the test subject via said speaker, an acoustic input unit comprising at least one microphone, the acoustic input unit being configured to receive a reflected part of said stimulus via said microphone and provide an electrical input signal, where the instrument further comprises a signal-processing unit connected to the acoustic output unit and to the acoustic input unit, where the signal-processing unit is configured to generate at least a first and a second stimulus and to provide said at least first stimulus and second stimulus to said acoustic output unit, and where the acoustic input unit is configured to receive a reflected part of said at least first stimulus and second stimulus.

Presented herein are techniques for monitoring the insertion of an intra-cochlear stimulating assembly for the occurrence of one or more insertion stop conditions. The insertion stop conditions are detectable events indicating that movement of the stimulating assembly into a recipient's cochlea should be at least temporarily stopped. The insertion monitoring is based on objectively measured inner ear potentials, such as acoustically-evoked potentials.

A micromachined mechanism for a sensing tool includes a support, a probe pivotally mounted with respect to the support, and a beam connected to the support and the probe. The probe is configured to apply a load (F.sub.tool) on a body and to be subjected to a counter-reaction contact force exerted by the body in reaction to the load. The beam is configured to shift from an undeformed position to a deformed position when the contact force of the body is greater than a predetermined threshold force (F.sub.crit) for which the beam buckles.

The present disclosure describes systems and methods to evaluate auditory efferent function by exposing a patient to short-duration acoustic click stimuli to generate a click-evoked otoacoustic emission (CEOAE) occurring in each ear of the patient, and in response to exposing the patient to click stimuli, concurrently sampling outer hair cell activity (OHC) and medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR; efferents) in each ear of the patient, monitoring the middle ear muscle reflex (MEMR) in each ear of the patient, and measuring a change in cochlear activity in the patient based on the CEOAE, MOCR, and MEMR of each ear of the patient.

Embodiments generally relate to a method of assessing the hearing of a patient using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The method comprises receiving at least one response signal from an optode placed on a scalp of the patient, the response signal comprising fNIRS data generated by the optode and relating to an aural stimulation received by the patient; comparing at least one parameter of the at least one response signal to a predetermined parameter value; and determining an auditory response of a patient based on the at least one parameter of the at least one response signal.

Example portable devices, systems, and methods for monitoring hearing sensitivity are described herein. An example device includes a wearable member, a stimulator, and a sensor that includes a plurality of electrodes. The stimulator and the sensor are integrated into the wearable member. Additionally, the device includes a controller operably coupled to the stimulator and the sensor, and the controller is configured to deliver a stimulation signal to a subject's ear using the stimulator, and receive an electrophysiological response signal of the subject in response to the stimulation signal. The electrophysiological response signal is recorded by the sensor. Optionally, the controller is integrated into the wearable member.

A cochlear implant hearing aid system is disclosed. The cochlear implant hearing aid system comprises an external part. The external part includes a sound pickup unit configured to pick up sound from the environment and a sound processing unit configured to process said sound. The cochlear implant hearing aid system further comprises an implant part. The implant part includes an implant processing unit and a plurality of cochlea stimulation electrodes for stimulation of a cochlea of a user. The cochlear implant hearing aid system further comprises a near-infrared transmitter configured to transmit a near-infrared wave. The cochlear implant hearing aid system further comprises a near-infrared receiver configured to receive said near-infrared wave.

A configurable system is used to evaluate stimulus sensitivity of a subject. An action channel provides a stimulus to the subject and a reaction channel receives a response from the subject. A signal pathway is connected to the action channel and to the reaction channel. A controller establishes loops within the signal pathway. Loop types include a transduction loop including the action channel and forming a path terminating in the signal pathway, and a channel loop including the action channel and terminating at a reference unit. Other possible loop types include an interface loop including the action channel, the reaction channel and the reference unit having an initial parameter value, and an adaptive loop including the action channel, the reaction channel and the reference unit whose parameter value is adapted based on the response from the subject. A method using the system is also described.

An audiologic test apparatus includes: a pump device configured to apply a first pressure to the ear canal; and a processing module for communicatively coupling to the pump device and to a signal generator, wherein the processing module is configured to obtain first acoustic parameter values indicative of an acoustic parameter at the first pressure based on a first broadband signal generated using the signal generator; wherein the pump device is configured to change the first pressure to a changed pressure, and wherein the pump device is also configured to apply a second pressure to the ear canal; and wherein the processing module is also configured to obtain second acoustic parameter values indicative of the acoustic parameter at the second pressure based on a second broadband signal generated using the signal generator, and determine a middle ear resonance frequency based on the first and second acoustic parameter values.

An auditory device assembly (1) comprises an earpiece (3) having an audio output device (7) for an ear (9) of a user and an audio processing unit (11, 33). The audio processing unit (11, 33) has a hearing-test mode and an audio streaming mode. In the hearing test mode the audio processing unit (11, 33) is arranged to determine at least one ear characteristic of the ear of the user based on at least one hearing test. In the audio streaming mode the audio processing unit (11, 33) is arranged to output an audio stream via the audio output device (7). The audio processing unit (11, 33) is arranged to adjust the output of the audio stream in the audio streaming mode based on the at least one ear characteristic determined in the hearing-test mode.