A method (400) of operating an ear level audio system, comprises the steps of applying (401) a first frequency dependent gain to an input signal in order to provide a first processed input signal adapted to at least one of compensating a hearing loss and suppressing noise, determining (402) a noise floor level of the first processed input signal, applying (403) a second frequency dependent gain to the first processed input signal and hereby providing an output signal such that for at least one frequency range the noise floor level of the output signal is positioned at a selected position above or below a hearing threshold.

A personalized sound management system for an acoustic space includes at least one transducer, a data communication system, one or more processors operatively coupled to the data communication system and the at least one transducer, and a medium coupled to the one or more processors. The processors access a database of sonic signatures and display a plurality of personalized sound management applications that perform at least one or more tasks among identifying a sonic signature, calculating a sound pressure level, storing metadata related to a sonic signature, monitoring sound pressure level dosage levels, switching to an ear canal microphone in a noisy environment, recording a user's voice, storing the user's voice in a memory of an earpiece device, or storing the user's voice in a memory of a server system, or converting received text received in texts or emails to voice using text to speech conversion. Other embodiments are disclosed.

A personalized sound management system for an acoustic space includes at least one transducer, a data communication system, one or more processors operatively coupled to the data communication system and the at least one transducer, and a medium coupled to the one or more processors. The processors access a database of sonic signatures and display a plurality of personalized sound management applications that perform at least one or more tasks among identifying a sonic signature, calculating a sound pressure level, storing metadata related to a sonic signature, monitoring sound pressure level dosage levels, switching to an ear canal microphone in a noisy environment, recording a user's voice, storing the user's voice in a memory of an earpiece device, or storing the user's voice in a memory of a server system, or converting received text received in texts or emails to voice using text to speech conversion. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums are provided for information processing. The method may be applied to an electronic equipment. The electronic equipment may collect environmental audio information when the electronic equipment plays multimedia. The electronic equipment may also perform noise detection on the environmental audio information to determine whether the environmental audio information represents a target noise scenario. The electronic equipment may also process a parameter of the multimedia played by the electronic equipment when the environmental audio information represents the target noise scenario.

Example techniques described herein involve a media playback system of one or more playback devices that are operable in a plurality of modes. Operating in a given mode may enhance a use case corresponding to the mode. For instance, the plurality of modes may include a foreground mode, which may enhance active listening to the playback device. The plurality of modes may also include a background mode, which may enhance passive listening to the playback device by facilitating other activities during passive listening. In some example implementations, the plurality of modes are non-contemporary; when operating in one mode, the playback device will not be operating in the other modes, and vice versa.

A volume adjustment method includes performing analysis on the collected sound signal surrounding a user terminal to obtain composition information, where the composition information includes sound types included in the sound signal and proportions of sounds of the various types, and the sound types include blank sound, human sound, and noise, determining a current scene mode of the user terminal according to the composition information, and adjusting volume of the user terminal according to the determined scene mode.

A volume adjustment method includes performing analysis on the collected sound signal surrounding a user terminal to obtain composition information, where the composition information includes sound types included in the sound signal and proportions of sounds of the various types, and the sound types include blank sound, human sound, and noise, determining a current scene mode of the user terminal according to the composition information, and adjusting volume of the user terminal according to the determined scene mode.

Systems and methods are provided herein for responding to a voice command at a volume level based on a volume level of the voice command. For example, a media guidance application may detect, through a first voice-operated user device of a plurality of voice-operated user devices, a voice command spoken by a user. The media guidance application may determine a first volume level of the voice command. Based on the volume level of the voice command, the media guidance application may determine that a second voice-operated user device of the plurality of voice-operated user devices is closer to the user than any of the other voice-operated user devices. The media guidance application may generate an audible response, through the second voice-operated user device, at a second volume level that is set based on the first volume level of the voice command.

Systems and methods are provided herein for responding to a voice command at a volume level based on a volume level of the voice command. For example, a media guidance application may detect, through a first voice-operated user device of a plurality of voice-operated user devices, a voice command spoken by a user. The media guidance application may determine a first volume level of the voice command. Based on the volume level of the voice command, the media guidance application may determine that a second voice-operated user device of the plurality of voice-operated user devices is closer to the user than any of the other voice-operated user devices. The media guidance application may generate an audible response, through the second voice-operated user device, at a second volume level that is set based on the first volume level of the voice command.

Method and apparatus for automatic gain control utilizing sound source position information in a shared space having a plurality of microphones and a plurality of sound sources. Sound signals are received from the microphones. One or more processors locate position information corresponding to each of the sound sources. The processor(s) determine the distance to each of the sound sources from each of the microphones. The processor(s) define a predetermined gain weight adjustment for each of the microphones. The processor(s) apply the defined weight adjustments to the microphones to achieve a consistent volume of the desired plurality of sound sources. The processor(s) maintain a consistent ambient sound level regardless of the position of the sound sources and the applied gain weight adjustments. The processor(s) output a summed signal of the sound sources at a consistent volume with a constant ambient sound level across the plurality of sound source positions.