A Method and Device for Modifying Audio Signals Based on Hearing Capabilities of the Listener

Abstract

A method and a device are provided for modifying audio signals in accordance with hearing capabilities of a specific individual who is listening to audio signals being played via a set of headphones. The method comprises the steps of: providing results of one or more hearing tests performed to the specific individual; retrieving information that relates to deviations in hearing capabilities of the individual from a pre-defined hearing pattern, based on the results obtained in the one or more hearing tests; and when the set of headphones is used by the individual while listening to input audio signals, modifying the input audio signals based on the retrieved information, thereby enabling the individual to listen to modified audio signals, being the input audio signals after their change into a form that takes into account the individual's hearing capabilities.

Claims

1. A method for modifying audio signals in accordance with hearing capabilities of a specific individual who is listening to audio signals being played via a set of headphones, said method comprises the steps of: providing results of one or more hearing tests performed to the specific individual; retrieving information that relates to deviations in hearing capabilities of the individual from a pre-defined hearing pattern, based on the results obtained in the one or more hearing tests; and when the set of headphones is used by the individual while listening to input audio signals, modifying the input audio signals based on the retrieved information, thereby enabling the individual to listen to modified audio signals, being the input audio signals after their change into a form that takes into account the individual's hearing capabilities.

2. The method of claim 1, where the one or more hearing tests are performed while the individual is using the set of headphones, and said method further comprising a step of storing the retrieved and/or processed information in a memory included within the set of headphones.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of performing one or more hearing tests comprises performing at least two separate hearing tests to determine deviations in the hearing capabilities in each of the individual's ears, from a pre-defined hearing pattern.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said method further comprises a step of determining for at least one of the individual's ears, at least one frequency at which the input audio signals will be modified and the modification that will be carried out to a portion of the audio signals associated with that at least one frequency.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more hearing tests comprises testing the individual's hearing capabilities at frequencies which are above 3000 Hz.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of retrieving information that relates to deviations in the individual's hearing capabilities from a pre-defined hearing pattern further comprises retrieving information that would allow determining a comfortable volume baseline for said individual.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said method further comprising a step of determining for at least one of the user's ears, at least one range of frequencies at which the input audio signal will be modified, and one or more modifications of the input audio signals that will be carried out for that range of frequencies.

8. The method claim 1, further comprising a step of processing the retrieved information that relates to deviations in hearing capabilities of the user, establishing said hearing capabilities at one or more frequencies, and determining at least one frequency at which the input audio signals will be modified, which is different from the one or more frequencies at which the individual's hearing capabilities have been established.

9. A configurable set of headphones comprising an audio signal ingress that enables connecting the set of headphones to a device configured to play audio signals, and at least one processor comprised within that set of headphones and adapted to: receive results of one or more hearing tests performed to a specific individual; retrieve information that relates to deviations in hearing capabilities of the individual from a pre-defined hearing pattern, based on the results obtained in the one or more hearing tests; and modify input audio signals received via the audio signal ingress based on the retrieved information, thereby enabling the individual to listen to modified audio signals being the input audio signals after their modification into a form that takes into account the individual's hearing capabilities.

10. The configurable set of headphones of claim 9, wherein said processor is configured to initiate the one or more hearing tests and to determine from the results of said one or more hearing tests, deviations in the individual's hearing capabilities from a respective pre-defined hearing pattern.

11. The configurable set of headphones of claim 9, further comprising a memory configured to store information associated with deviations in the individual's hearing capabilities from a respective pre-defined hearing pattern, derived from the one or more hearing tests which the individual has undergone.

12. The configurable set of headphones of claim 9, wherein said processor is further operative to determine for at least one of the and one or more modifications's ears, at least one frequency at which the input audio signals will be modified and the modification that will be carried out to a portion of the audio signals associated with said at least one frequency.

13. The configurable set of headphones of claim 9, wherein said processor is further operative to retrieve information to enable determining a comfortable volume baseline for the individual, which will be applied when said input audio signals will be modified.

14. The configurable set of headphones of claim 9, wherein said processor is further operative to determine for at least one of the individual's ears, at least one range of frequencies wherein input audio signals will be modified, and one or more modifications that will be carried out at that range of frequencies.

15. The configurable set of headphones claim 9, wherein said processor is further operative to process the retrieved information that relates to deviations in hearing capabilities of the individual, to establish said hearing capabilities at one or more frequencies, and to determine at least one frequency at which the input audio signals will be modified, which is different from the one or more frequencies at which the individual's hearing capabilities have been established.

16. A device configured to modify audio signals in accordance with hearing capabilities of a specific individual when said individual is listening to audio signals being played via a set of headphones, said device comprising at least one processor which is adapted to: receive information that relates to deviations in hearing capabilities of a specific individual from a pre-defined hearing pattern derived from results of one or more hearing tests performed to a specific individual; and modify input audio signals received based on the retrieved information, thereby enabling the individual to listen to modified audio signals being the input audio signals after their modification into a form that takes into account the individual's hearing capabilities.

17. A computer program product encoding a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium for executing a set of instructions by one or more computer processors for establishing a process for carrying out the method of claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0053] FIG. 1—is a flow diagram exemplifying a method carried out in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0054] FIG. 2—is an example of the results of hearing tests performed on three different individuals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] In this disclosure, the term “comprising” is intended to have an open-ended meaning so that when a first element is stated as comprising a second element, the first element may also include one or more other elements that are not necessarily identified or described herein, or recited in the claims.

[0056] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present invention by way of examples. It should be apparent, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.

[0057] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of a method carried out in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0058] In step 100 a set of headphones, comprising a DSP component, and an Android/iPhone/iPad/laptop software application was used to prompt three different individuals to go through a comprehensive, custom-made hearing test. This test differs from standard hearing tests as it was designed to test primarily frequencies that pertain to the comprehension and enjoyment of music, and are thus different from conventional tests that focus solely on frequencies that make speech more comprehensible for those experiencing hearing loss.

[0059] The hearing tests were performed for each ear of each of the individuals, generating two distinct audiograms for each individual, one for the individual's left ear and one of the individual's right ear.

[0060] The term “audiogram” as used herein is used to denote a graph that shows the audible threshold for frequencies as measured by an audiometer. The Y axis represents intensity measured in decibels while the X axis represents frequency measured in Hertz. The threshold of hearing is plotted relative to a standardized curve that represents normal hearing, in dB.

[0061] For humans, normal hearing is between −10 dB and 15 dB, although 0 dB from 250 Hz to 8 kHz is deemed to be ‘average’ normal hearing. Typically, hearing thresholds of humans are found by using hearing tests that involve different tones being presented at a specific frequency (pitch) and intensity (loudness). When the person hears the sound they press a button so that the testing means recognizes that they have heard it. The lowest intensity sound they can hear is recorded.

[0062] The actual audiograms that resulted from the hearing tests performed to each of these three individuals' left ears and right ears, are presented in FIG. 2. As may be seen in this Fig., there are substantial differences, for example between the hearing capabilities in both ears of individual No. 3 as compared with the hearing capabilities of individuals 1 and 2, and particularly in the range of 2000 to 8000 Hz.

[0063] The results obtained in these tests were analyzed (step 110) in order to determine for each individual which ranges of frequencies of the audio signals will be modified when that respective individual will listen to music, and what will be the level of compensation (e.g. at how many frequencies (or frequency bands) will the modification be made, the intensity of the modified signal, etc.) at each of these ranges.

[0064] At first, the analysis results were compared (step 120) by executing a compensation algorithm with a pre-defined pattern (e.g. a straight line having a volume equal to zero throughout the whole frequency spectrum that was checked in the test), and then the compensating algorithm, which may include equalization process, determines the frequency ranges at which the audio signals will be modified by applying the appropriate compensation for the respective individual. In other words, the compensating algorithm uses predetermined equalizing (EQ) bands and curves to determine the compensation that will be provided to each of the individual's ears. Typically, the compensation (e.g. the frequency ranges in which the modification will be carried out and/or the intensity of compensation) that will be provided to the audio signals reaching the individual's left ear will be different from the compensation that will be provided to the audio signals reaching the individual's right ear, based on the resulting audiograms.

[0065] It should be noted that determining the required compensation is a complex process, one which takes into account different frequencies and bands (in terms of the range of frequencies affected) and does not create a simple “mirror” image of the users' audiogram. Instead, it is preferably used to generate a smooth and enjoyable equalized curve for each ear. For example, if an individual has a 3 db drop at around 500 Hz, it might be more musically pleasing to increase the intensity of signals of frequencies around 500 Hz by 2.5 db through a broadband curve extending from say 450 Hz to 570 Hz, rather than just increasing the 500 Hz signals by 3 db. Another example could be to reduce the level of few frequencies around the 500 Hz frequency instead of increasing the intensity of the signal at the 500 Hz frequency.

[0066] Next, in step 130, data resulting from the determination made by the compensation algorithm, are stored (e.g. as a firmware at the DSP comprised within the headphones), and when the individual decides to use the headphones to listen to music, the data resulting from the compensation algorithm that has been stored, is provided to two customized equalizers (step 140) (for the L/R ears) in such a way that the audio signals may be modified in each of the two channels, accordingly.

[0067] Optionally, but not necessarily, after completing the compensation process described above for both ears of the individual, the individual is able to carry out a test where he/she listens to a musical creation with and without applying the modification, and then to indicate whether a different compensation should be applied. After the individual has indicated that the compensation results are satisfactory, the equalization data (i.e. frequency, volume and “Q” value are forwarded to the DSP comprised within the headphones themselves, with or without changing the firmware embedded at the DSP, for storing the customized equalization data in the headphones.

[0068] The value of parameter “Q” referred to above, relates to the angle and scope of the gain given for each frequency band. It may be very sharp and bell shaped, thus affecting only a rather narrow range of frequencies, or on the other hand it may be quite flat and large, thus affecting a larger range of frequencies.

[0069] Forwarding the data to the DSP may be done by using a USB, wireless communication (e.g. WiFi, Bluetooth etc.), audio input encoded as audio signal or any other applicable technology, or any combination thereof.

[0070] When the individual decides to listen to music (step 150) through his/here own headphones, the audio signals are modified in conformity with the compensation determined for each of the individual's ears, regardless of the device being used as the source of the music.

[0071] Although the compensation process described in this example relates to compensating each ear separately, it should be clear that the present invention also encompasses cases where the compensation is made for one ear only, or where there is essentially the same compensation for both ears of the individual. At the latter case, the hearing test may be one test where both ears are tested simultaneously to receive a combined result, or that the ears are tested separately and the results obtained for each of the two ears are combined while determining the compensation that will be applied while modifying the audio signals.

[0072] In the description and claims of the present application, each of the verbs, “comprise” “include” and “have”, and conjugates thereof, are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are not necessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements or parts of the subject or subjects of the verb.

[0073] The present invention has been described using detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. The described embodiments comprise different features, not all of which are required in all embodiments of the invention. Some embodiments of the present invention utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features. For example, although the description above relates to carrying out the method provided by components comprised within the set of headphones, still, it should be appreciated that the method may be exercised by having an intermediate device comprising the DSP described above which will be fitted between any headphone jack and the headphones themselves (any set of headphones). This will allow users to improve their sound listening experience by implementing the method described herein, without having to change their set of headphones, or without having to buy any particular set of headphones.

[0074] Variations of embodiments of the present invention that are described and embodiments of the present invention comprising different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons of the art. The scope of the invention is limited only by the following claims.