METHOD FOR OPERATING A HEARING AID, HEARING AID AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

Abstract

A method for operating a hearing aid which has a vent and the vent has a controllable closure for opening and closing the vent. The opening and closing of the vent is linked via a control rule to an environmental parameter, wherein the vent is controlled depending on the environmental parameter. The environmental parameter is ascertained and the vent is opened or closed in accordance with the control rule depending on the environmental parameter. The control rule is configured user-specifically. There are also described a corresponding hearing aid and a computer program product.

Claims

1. A method of operating a hearing aid of a user, the method comprising: providing the hearing aid with a vent and an adjustable closure for selectively opening and closing the vent; linking the opening and closing of the vent to an environmental parameter by a control rule; controlling the vent in dependence on the environmental parameter, by acquiring the environmental parameter and selectively opening or closing the vent in accordance with the control rule in dependence on the environmental parameter; and configuring the control rule user-specifically for the user.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the environmental parameter is an environmental volume or a signal-to-noise ratio of the environment.

3. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adjusting the control rule by the user of the hearing aid, by way of a user interface that is displayed on a supplementary device and that has one or a plurality of graphic control elements for adjusting the control rule.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the supplementary device is a smartphone.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: the control rule is configured to cause the vent to be closed when the environmental parameter exceeds a threshold value and to be opened when the environmental parameter falls below the threshold value, or vice versa; and the threshold value is a user-specifically chosen threshold value.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the threshold value is adjustable by the user of the hearing aid, by way of a user interface that is displayed on a supplementary device which has a control element for adjusting the threshold value.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control rule has an exception rule for at least one environmental situation, and when the at least one environmental situation is recognized, the vent is opened or closed in accordance with the exception rule, rather than depending on the environmental parameter.

8. The method according to claim 7, which comprises displaying the exception rule on a supplementary device having a switch for switching the exception rule on and off, and enabling the user of the hearing aid to selectively switch the exception rule on or off.

9. The method according to claim 1, which comprises providing a digital assistant for user-specifically configuring the control rule, wherein the digital assistant receives answers from the user of the hearing aid to one or more questions, and then configures the control rule based on the answers.

10. The method according to claim 1, which comprises providing a digital assistant for user-specifically configuring the control rule, wherein the digital assistant receives feedback on an operation of the hearing aid from the user of the hearing aid, and then configures the control rule based on the feedback.

11. The method according to claim 1, which comprises: ascertaining a hearing effort of the user; and configuring the control rule of the hearing aid depending on the hearing effort in order to reduce the hearing effort.

12. The method according to claim 11, which comprises ascertaining the hearing effort of the user from an EEG signal or an EMG signal.

13. The method according to claim 1, which comprises dynamically controlling the opening and closing of the vent by way of a learning machine, wherein the learning machine anticipates a hearing effort of the user in a given environmental situation, and then opens or closes the vent in order to reduce a hearing effort by the user.

14. The method according to claim 1, which comprises controlling the opening and closing of the vent depending on a stress level of the user and determining the stress level on a basis of a photoplethysmography signal or of a signal of an acceleration sensor.

15. The method according to claim 1, which comprises configuring the control rule user-specifically by playing to the user a variety of audio data that simulate various environmental situations, and upon receiving an evaluation of the audio data, configuring the control rule based on the evaluation of the audio data.

16. The method according to claim 1, which comprises configuring the control rule user-specifically with an acceptance measurement by playing a test noise to the user with rising intensity, asking the user for feedback upon reaching an acceptance threshold for the intensity, and subsequently ending the acceptance measurement and configuring the control rule in dependence on the intensity then reached.

17. A hearing aid, configured to carry out the method according to claim 1.

18. A computer program product, comprising executable program code which, when installed on a supplementary device, provides a user interface with one or more graphic control elements for configuring a control rule in a hearing aid which is configured to carry out the method according to claim 1.

19. The computer program product according to claim 18, wherein the supplementary device is a smartphone.

20. The computer program product according to claim 18, wherein the program code is stored in a non-transitory file or on a data carrier.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0052] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a hearing aid system with a hearing aid and a supplementary device;

[0053] FIG. 2 is a graph showing a control rule;

[0054] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing various concepts in a method for operation of a hearing aid; and

[0055] FIG. 4 shows a diagram of an acceptance measurement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0056] Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, in particular, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a hearing aid system 2 with a hearing aid 4 and a supplementary device 6. The hearing aid 4 here is an RIC (receiver-in-canal) hearing aid with a housing 8 that is carried behind the ear, and with an earpiece 10 that comprises an earphone 12, and is inserted into the auditory canal of a user, not shown in more detail. A change of user is typically not provided for. The explanations provided here also apply analogously to other types of hearing aid. The hearing aid 4 is used to output an audio signal to the user. The output is made here by means of an output transducer, in this case by means of the earphone 12 already mentioned. In the present case the hearing aid 4 serves particularly to supply sound to a user with a hearing deficit, and for this purpose comprises at least one acoustic input transducer, in the present case a plurality of microphones 14, and a control unit 16. The explanations made here also however apply analogously to hearing aids in general, for example what are known as tinnitus-maskers, headsets, headphones and the like.

[0057] The hearing aid 4 has a vent 18 to avoid occlusion. The vent 18 is a part of the earpiece 10, and in this case is, by way of example, a simple channel or conduit. The earpiece 10 is worn by the user in the auditory canal when used as intended. The purpose of the vent 18 is to establish a connection between the two sides of the earpiece 10, and to reduce an occlusion, i.e., closure, and an occlusion effect caused thereby. An exchange of air between the environment and a partial volume of the auditory canal that is closed by the earpiece 10 is enabled by the vent 18. Sound signals that are output by the output transducer can reach the environment through the vent 18, and can be recorded there by the input transducer.

[0058] The vent 18 comprises an adjustable closure 20 for opening and closing the vent 18, i.e., to set a degree of opening O of the vent 18. The closure 20 is, for example, a valve. If the vent 18 is fully opened, it lets air through and the degree of opening O amounts, for example, to “1”. If the vent 18 is fully closed, it lets no air through and the degree of opening O amounts, for example, to “0”. Without restricting the generality, a vent 18 is assumed below that is either open or closed, and thus has two degrees of opening O; the explanations below nevertheless apply analogously to vents 18 with other and/or more possible states.

[0059] The opening and closing of the vent 18, and in particular the degree of opening O, are linked to an environmental parameter U by a control rule S. The control rule S is thus a function of the environmental parameter U, and specifies an appropriate degree of opening O corresponding to different values of this environmental parameter U. The precise embodiment of the environmental parameter U and of the control rule S is not initially relevant; only the connection between the opening and closing of the vent 18 and the environmental parameter U, so that an active vent 18 is realized that is opened and closed automatically depending on the environmental parameter U, is important at first. A particularly simple, exemplary control rule S is shown in FIG. 2.

[0060] In operation, the vent 18 is now automatically controlled depending on the environmental parameter U, in that the environmental parameter U is ascertained and the vent 18 is opened or closed, i.e., in that the degree of opening O is set, in accordance with the control rule S depending on the environmental parameter U. The environmental parameter U is measured by way of an appropriate sensor 22, for example using a microphone 14 of the hearing aid 4 or by way of another sensor 22.

[0061] An important aspect is, in this case, that the control rule S is configured user-specifically, i.e., that the opening and closing of the vent 18 is adjusted individually to the user.

[0062] It is helpful in some environments to open the vent 18 initially, while in other environments it is more helpful to close the vent 18. This is taken into consideration by the controller depending on the environmental parameter U, wherein the environmental parameter U characterizes the environment and thus supplies an indication as to which degree of opening O is most helpful at the moment. This is realized by the control rule S. It is, moreover, also recognized in the present case that the assessment as to whether the vent 18 would be better open or closed in a given environment also has a subjective aspect that depends on the user. This is now taken into consideration, in that the control rule S is configured user-specifically. As a result it is possible that a different degree of opening O is chosen for the vent 18 for different users in the same environment with the same environmental parameter U; in an extreme case the vent 18 is fully opened for one user and fully closed for a different user in the same environment, i.e., with the same environmental parameter U. In the example of FIG. 2, the step of the step function shown there would be accordingly moved to the left or right for a different user.

[0063] Basically, the vent 18 is in the present case opened if the environmental parameter U indicates a quiet environment, i.e., an environment with little disturbing noise. Conversely, the vent 18 is closed if the environmental parameter U indicates a loud environment, i.e., an environment with strong disturbing noise. A closed vent 18 is also generally used when the noises from the environment are not significant, in particular when audio streaming with the hearing aid 4 or when telephoning with the hearing aid 4. It will be clear from what has just been said that a balance is reached as to when the vent 18 is opened and when it is closed. In the present case the preferences of the respective user are taken into consideration in achieving this balance through the control rule S being configured user-specifically, so that the opening and closing of the vent 18 is matched to the needs of the user. Whereas some users react very sensitively to disturbing noises, and reach a high level of stress quickly in their presence, other users are rather more sensitive to the perception of their own voice. For the first users, the vent 18 is therefore closed early or aggressively, i.e., for example, as soon as disturbing noises are detected in the environment, whereas for the latter users the vent 18 is closed particularly late or defensively, in order to avoid the occlusion effect in as many environmental situations as possible. Precisely how the control rule S is configured for this purpose, and then represents the corresponding behavior, depends on the respective user, and can accordingly differ greatly. The key point is that a degree of opening O for the vent 18 is assigned to a respective value of the environmental parameter U.

[0064] In the present case the environmental parameter U is an environmental volume (i.e., an ambient volume or ambient noise). The environmental volume is, in particular, a measure for the presence of disturbing noises; the greater the environmental volume is, the stronger, i.e., the louder, the disturbing noises in the environment are. The environmental volume is, for example, measured with a microphone 14 that is present in any case in combination with a level-measuring device, not shown explicitly, in the control unit 16 of the hearing aid 4. Depending on the environmental volume, the vent 18 is then opened or closed, wherein the precise values or intervals of the environmental volume U for which an opening or closing results are user-specific, so that in spite of the same environmental volume it may occur that different degrees of opening O are set for two different users. In the present case, the vent 18 is closed at a first value W1 of the environmental volume and opened at a second value W2 that is lower than the first value W1. This behavior is also illustrated in FIG. 2. The vent 18 is thereby opened at a low environmental volume and closed at a high environmental volume.

[0065] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, the control rule S is configured so that the vent 18 is closed above a threshold value T for the environmental parameter U and is opened below the threshold value T. The threshold value is chosen here user-specifically, whereby the control rule S is configured user-specifically. In the simplest case, the control rule S, as shown in FIG. 2, is a step function that assigns a first value, here “1”, to the degree of opening O below the threshold value T and a different, second value, here “0”, above the threshold value T. It is significant here that the threshold value T is decidedly not a value that is the same for all users, but that the threshold value T is chosen user-specifically in order in this way to adjust the opening and closing of the vent 18 to the needs of the particular user. Depending on the user, the vent 18 is then opened earlier or later along the dimension of the environmental parameter U (i.e., along the horizontal axis in FIG. 2) (and analogously closed earlier or later in the other direction). In the case in which the environmental volume is the environmental parameter U, the vent 18 is accordingly closed earlier or later, depending on the user, as the environmental volume rises. The more aggressively the control rule S is configured for a particular user, the earlier the vent 18 is closed. Conversely, the vent 18 is opened earlier or later, depending on the user, as the environmental volume falls. The more aggressively the control rule S is configured for a particular user, the later the vent 18 is opened.

[0066] The threshold value T for the user is, for example, selected from an interval between 60 dB and 90 dB, as shown in FIG. 2. Other intervals are also possible. A configuration range K of 30 dB accordingly results for the control rule S, from which, depending on the user, a respectively suitable threshold value T is chosen and set. If the threshold value T is chosen higher, then the vent 18 is closed later for this user, and conversely opened earlier, than for a different user for which a relatively low threshold value T is chosen.

[0067] Generally speaking in the present case, the control rule S, and in particular the threshold value T already mentioned, can be adjusted by the user of the hearing aid 4, namely by means of a user interface 24 that is displayed on the supplementary device 6 and which, for example, has a slide controller 26 as a control element for setting the threshold value T. This is shown in FIG. 1. The slide controller 26 is, for example, an elongated bar along which a slider 28 can be moved in order to choose the threshold value T. The bar shown here has a length that indicates the configuration range K mentioned above. In the example of the environmental volume with a configuration range K from 60 dB to 90 dB, a left-hand end of the bar marks, for example, 90 dB, and a right-hand end 60 dB, and the slider 28 can be moved between them over the configuration range K of 30 dB (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1), in order to choose a value between 60 dB and 90 dB.

[0068] The supplementary device 6 shown here by way of example is a smartphone. It is connected to the hearing aid 4 for its control, in the present case via a wireless connection 30. A program is executed on the supplementary device 6 which, when installed on the supplementary device 6, generally makes a user interface 24 available and, in the present case, also displays it. The user interface 24 has one or a plurality of graphic control elements for configuration of the control rule S. The slide controller 26 is accordingly a graphic control element. The program here is an app for the smartphone. Alternatively or in addition, mechanical control elements are, however, in principle also suitable.

[0069] In some environmental situations it is expedient to ignore the degree of opening O that is specified by the control rule S, and to enable an exception. The exception is also user-specific in order to address further special needs of the respective user specifically. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the control rule S has an exception rule 32 for at least one environmental situation, so that when this environmental situation is recognized, the vent 18 is opened or closed in accordance with the exception rule 32, rather than depending on the environmental parameter U. The environmental situation is, for example, a car journey, using a TV, a telephone call, a movement of the user in the open, in particular walking or running. The exception rule 32 is accordingly “vent always opened on car journeys”, “vent always closed when watching television”, “vent always closed when telephoning” or “vent always opened when walking outside”. A random text is shown in FIG. 1 as a placeholder for these exception rules 32 for illustration purposes. The environmental situation is recognized, for example, by means of a classifier, not shown explicitly, in the control unit 16 to which the input signal of the input transducer is fed. Alternatively or in addition, the environmental situation is recognized by means of another sensor 22.

[0070] In the present case, the exception rule 32 can be switched on and off by the user of the hearing aid 4, namely by means of the user interface 24 which has a switch 34 for switching the exception rule 32 on and off. The switch 34 is here a graphic control element, and in particular what is known as a “checkbox”. If multiple exception rules 32 are present, as shown in FIG. 1, the user interface 24 accordingly has a separate switch 34 for each exception rule 32.

[0071] FIG. 3 shows a number of concepts related to the configuration of the control rule S, including also the concept, already described, in which a user-specific configuration takes place by means of the user interface 24.

[0072] Basically, the hearing aid 4 is delivered or given to the user in step S1. In the second step S2 the hearing aid 4 is then adjusted for the first time to the user with the help of specialist staff. The specialist staff is, for example, an audiologist who configures the control rule S user-specifically for the first time by means of an adjustment software 36 in a third step S3. The adjustment software 36 comprises, for example, a user interface with at least the same functions as the user interface 24 already mentioned above, for which reason a renewed illustration is omitted. The adjustment of the hearing aid 4 is then finalized in a fourth step S4. The adjustment sitting is thus completed, and the user can make everyday use of the hearing aid 4 as intended. The step S5 then indicates that the control rule S can also be further configured at a later time point, i.e., during the use as intended, in order to be further optimized. The steps S6-S9 each contain a concept in this connection. The adjustment by the user themselves by means of a user interface 24 on a supplementary device 6 is illustrated by the step S6, and was already described above.

[0073] In a seventh step S7, the control rule S is configured user-specifically by means of a digital assistant, in that said assistant receives answers A from the user of the hearing aid 4 to one or more questions F, and then configures the control rule S on the basis of these answers A. A random text is shown in FIG. 3 as a placeholder for these questions F and answers A for illustration purposes. The digital assistant is implemented here on the supplementary device 6 already described, and is appropriately a part of the program already referred to. The questions F and answers A are shown here on a screen; the digital assistant can, however, alternatively or in addition, also be operated entirely under voice control. The questions F are, for example, chosen in such a way that the user is asked what kind of behavior they expect in specific environmental situations, or the extent to which the user feels disturbed by, on the one hand, their own voice and, on the other hand, disturbing noises or an environmental volume made loud by said noises.

[0074] In one embodiment, the satisfaction with the former behavior of the hearing aid 4 in environmental situations that have already been experienced is also used in the seventh step S7 for configuration of the control rule S. The digital assistant is again used for this purpose, in that it receives feedback on the operation of the hearing aid 4 from the user of the hearing aid 4, and then configures the control rule S on the basis of this feedback. The procedure is fundamentally similar to that in connection with the questions F and answers A, wherein the feedback is essentially equivalent to an answer A, and is therefore not explicitly illustrated in the figures. The feedback, for example, simply expresses dissatisfaction with the operation in a specific environmental situation, whereupon the control rule S is adjusted in order to avoid repeated dissatisfaction. If, for example, a very high threshold value T is chosen and the user provides negative feedback in this respect, the threshold value T is then reduced. The feedback can also be specific, for example in that the user perceives their own voice too strongly, whereupon, for example, the threshold value T is correspondingly raised in order to keep the vent 18 open as often as possible and to avoid occlusion. Another specific feedback is, for example, that the user feels that environmental noises are too loud, whereupon, for example, the threshold value T is correspondingly lowered, in order to keep the vent 18 closed as often as possible and to attenuate environmental noises or to enable directional hearing.

[0075] A renewed configuration of the control rule S by means of the adjustment software 36 already described takes place in the eighth step S8 in the context of a new sitting for adjusting the hearing aid 4.

[0076] A combination of the active vent 18 with a measurement of a hearing effort or of a stress level of the user is also possible in a ninth step S9 by means of a suitable sensor 38, for example for performing an EEG or EMG. In FIG. 1 the sensor 38 is shown, by way of example, as a part of the earpiece 10, but can however in principle also be placed at another location of the hearing aid, or even separately therefrom, for example as part of the supplementary device 6, depending on what the sensor 38 measures. In the present case, a hearing effort of the user is ascertained from an EEG signal in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, or from an EMG signal that is generated with the sensor 38, which accordingly is designed as an electrode. The control rule S is then configured, depending on the hearing effort, in the course of intended use in such a way that this is reduced. As soon as an increase in the hearing effort is ascertained during operation, a measure is taken to reduce the hearing effort. A suitable measure is an optimization of the control rule S in order to adjust the control of the vent 18 to the specific needs of the user. In one embodiment, the threshold value T is reduced here, so that the vent 18 is thus closed at a lower environmental volume, i.e., earlier, and the SNR is thus improved in loud environments. In one embodiment the threshold value T is analogously increased, i.e., the vent 18 is closed later, as soon as it is then detected that the hearing effort falls once more.

[0077] In a further embodiment, the hearing aid 4, the supplementary device 6, or both in combination, are designed in such a way that they learn in which environmental situations the hearing effort reliably rises, so that the control rule S is then accordingly configured predictively, or the vent 18 is correspondingly opened or closed predictively. In FIG. 1 the opening and closing of the vent 18 is repeatedly dynamically controlled by means of a learning machine 40, in that it anticipates—on the basis of previous measurements—the hearing effort of the user in a given environmental situation, and then opens or closes the vent 18 in order to reduce the hearing effort. The learning machine 40 here is a part of the control unit 16, while in another embodiment the learning machine 40 is arranged outside the hearing aid 4, for example as part of the supplementary device 6.

[0078] In the ninth step S9, the said concept of the control of the vent 18 and/or the configuration of the control rule S on the basis of the individual hearing effort of the user can also be combined with other sensors 22, 38, or transferred to embodiments with other sensors 38 and/or other individual indicators apart from the hearing effort. What is essential is that the individual needs of the user are recognized in a given environmental situation, and on that basis the opening and closing of the vent 18 is adjusted in order to address these needs. In a corresponding embodiment, the opening and closing of the vent 18 is also controlled depending on a stress level of the user, wherein the stress level is determined on the basis of a photoplethysmography signal (abbreviated to PPG signal), e.g. measured with the correspondingly designed sensor 38, or of a signal of an acceleration sensor 38.

[0079] The hearing aid 4, and thereby also the vent 18 and the control rule S, are typically configured with a factory setting at the time of manufacture and before the first step S1, and are then later adjusted to a specific user, as described above in connection with steps S1-S4. A first user-specific configuration of the control rule S is also then specified as a starting point during this adjustment, and is user-specifically optimized during the further use of the hearing aid 4 as intended.

[0080] In a possible embodiment, the control rule S is user-specifically configured in that a variety of audio files D that simulate various environmental situations are played to the user, and in that an evaluation of these is received, on the basis of which the control rule S is then configured. The audio files D are output in FIG. 1 via the output transducer of the hearing aid 4. The user, for example, evaluates each audio file D either as comfortable or uncomfortable, and the control rule S is then configured depending on the feedback. The feedback is, for example, given by voice input or via the user interface 24. The audio files D are stored in FIG. 1 in the hearing aid 4, but can also equally well be stored in the supplementary device 6 or somewhere else.

[0081] In a further suitable embodiment, the control rule S is configured user-specifically in that in the context of an acceptance measurement a test noise is played to the user with rising intensity 42, and the user is asked for negative feedback 46 on reaching an acceptance threshold 44 for the intensity 42, whereupon the acceptance measurement is ended and the control rule S is configured depending on the intensity 42 then reached. The intensity 42 corresponds, for example, to the environmental parameter U in the case in which this indicates the environmental volume. The rule therefore is that the higher the acceptance threshold 44, the higher the selected threshold value T. In the simplest case, the threshold value T corresponds to the acceptance threshold 44. The procedure is illustrated schematically in FIG. 4. The test noise is played in step P1, and the feedback 46 of the user is checked in step P2. If the feedback 46 is positive or is not provided, the intensity 42 is increased in step P3, and the step P1 is carried out again; if the feedback is negative, the acceptance measurement is interrupted and the intensity 42 is defined in step P4 as the acceptance threshold 44. The control rule S is configured on this basis in step P5.

[0082] The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention: [0083] 2 Hearing aid system [0084] 4 Hearing aid [0085] 6 Supplementary device [0086] 7 Housing [0087] 10 Earpiece [0088] 12 Earphone [0089] 14 Microphone [0090] 16 Control unit [0091] 18 Vent [0092] 20 Closure [0093] 22 Sensor (for environmental parameter) [0094] 24 User interface [0095] 26 Slide controller [0096] 28 Slider [0097] 30 Wireless connection [0098] 34 Exception rule [0099] 34 Switch [0100] 36 Adjustment software [0101] 38 Sensor [0102] 40 Learning machine [0103] 42 Intensity [0104] 44 Acceptance threshold [0105] 46 Feedback [0106] A Answer [0107] D Audio file [0108] F Question [0109] K Configuration range [0110] Degree of opening [0111] P1-P5 First to fifth steps [0112] S Control rule [0113] S1-S9 First to ninth steps [0114] T Threshold value [0115] U Environmental parameter [0116] W1 First value [0117] W2 Second value