Wearable apparatus for monitoring various physiological and environmental factors are provided. Real-time, noninvasive health and environmental monitors include a plurality of compact sensors integrated within small, low-profile devices, such as earpiece modules. Physiological and environmental data is collected and wirelessly transmitted into a wireless network, where the data is stored and/or processed.

An earpiece monitor configured to be worn by a subject includes a battery, an earpiece fitting configured to be inserted within an ear canal of an ear of the subject, a reflective pulse oximeter configured to measure pulse rate and pulse intensity of the subject, a motion sensor configured to monitor footsteps and head motion of the subject, a digital memory for storing at least one algorithm, and a processor configured to process signals from the reflective pulse oximeter and the motion sensor using the at least one algorithm to generate as assessment of a health state of the subject. The earpiece fitting is configured to transmit sound to the inner ear or eardrum of the subject. The assessment of the health state of the subject may include an assessment of subject physiological stress and/or an assessment of overall subject health.

A hearing device, e.g. a hearing aid, comprises a) an input unit comprising a multitude of input transducers for providing respective electric input signals representing sound in an environment of the user; b) an output unit comprising an output transducer for providing stimuli perceivable to the user as sound based on said electric input signals or a processed version thereof; c) first and second spatial filters each connected to said input unit and configured to provide respective first and second spatially filtered signals based on said multitude of electric input signals and configurable beamformer weights. The first spatial filter implements at a given time, a feedback cancelling beamformer, or a target maintaining, noise cancelling, beamformer directed at said environment of the user. The second spatial filter implements at a given time, a feedback cancelling beamformer, or an own voice beamformer directed at the mouth of the user.

A hearing assistance device which is worn by the user and which can suppress the voices produced by the user wearing the hearing assistance device is provided. When the user wears the hearing assistance device 1, a pair of microphones is separated and positioned on both sides of a head of the user and a pair of speakers is separated and positioned on both ears of the user or positioned near the ears and which emits sound. The hearing assistance device includes a noise canceller 96 which subtracts a signal processed by a mouth directivity sound processor 93 from the input signal from at least one of the microphones L and R, in which the mouth directivity sound processor 93 emphasizes voice produced from a sound source positioned at a mouth of the user.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a method for providing an occluded sound effect and an electronic device. The method includes: providing a virtual environment, wherein the virtual environment comprises a first object, and the first object is approximated as a second object; defining an object detection range of a sound source based on a sound ray originated from the sound source; in response to determining that the first object enters the object detection range, defining a reference plane based on a reference point on the second object and the sound ray, wherein the reference plane has an intersection area with the object detection range; projecting the second object onto the reference plane as a first projection; determining a sound occluding factor based on the intersection area and the first projection; and adjusting a sound signal based on the sound occluding factor.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a method for providing an occluded sound effect and an electronic device. The method includes: providing a virtual environment, wherein the virtual environment comprises a first object, and the first object is approximated as a second object; defining an object detection range of a sound source based on a sound ray originated from the sound source; in response to determining that the first object enters the object detection range, defining a reference plane based on a reference point on the second object and the sound ray, wherein the reference plane has an intersection area with the object detection range; projecting the second object onto the reference plane as a first projection; determining a sound occluding factor based on the intersection area and the first projection; and adjusting a sound signal based on the sound occluding factor.

An earpiece module includes a physiological sensor, an external energy sensor, a transceiver, a communication module, a data storage component, and a power source. The communication module includes a microphone, a speaker, and a signal processor. The signal processor processes audio information received from a remote source via the transceiver and communicates the processed audio information to a subject via the speaker. The signal processor processes information in real time from the physiological sensor and the external energy sensor, and the signal processor provides biofeedback to the subject based on signals produced by the physiological sensor. The data storage component includes a plurality of algorithms. At least one algorithm focuses processing resources on extracting physiological information from the physiological sensor, at least one algorithm is configured to be modified or uploaded wirelessly via the transceiver, and at least one algorithm is a compression/decompression (CODEC) algorithm.

In general, in one aspect, a hearing aid has an ANR circuit and an ear tip that acoustically occludes the ear. Such a hearing aid provides greater gain to sounds than would be stable in the same hearing aid with a vented ear tip. The ear tip and the ANR circuit in combination attenuate sounds reaching the ear canal through the hearing aid to a first level. The hearing aid detects sounds arriving at a microphone, amplifies those sounds, and provides the amplified sounds to the ear canal at a second level and later in time than the same sounds arrive at the ear canal through the ear tip. The first level is at least 14 dB greater than the second level, such that the amplified sounds do not interact with the passive sounds to result in spectral combing.

An illustrative hearing device includes a housing configured to be partially inserted into an ear canal; an acoustic transducer having an oscillator element configured to generate sound waves, the housing accommodating the acoustic transducer inside an inner volume of the housing; and a sound outlet provided at the housing and configured to enable propagation of sound waves from the inner volume into the ear canal. The acoustic transducer and the housing are configured such that an output impedance of the hearing device measured at the sound outlet has a value of at most 3.5.Math.10.sup.7 kg/(m.sup.4.Math.sec) within a frequency bandwidth of at least 50 Hz comprised in a frequency range between 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz.

Wearable apparatus for monitoring various physiological and environmental factors are provided. Real-time, noninvasive health and environmental monitors include a plurality of compact sensors integrated within small, low-profile devices, such as earpiece modules. Physiological and environmental data is collected and wirelessly transmitted into a wireless network, where the data is stored and/or processed.