Digital hearing aid system
US5757932A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 12, 1995 |
| Grant date | May 26, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 12, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04R25/554
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A detachable digital binaural processing hearing aid comprised of a digital signal processor (DSP), two microphones, two receivers, a bi-directional communications link between each microphone/receiver and the digital signal processor, an analog-to-digital converter, and a digital-to-analog converter. In one embodiment of the present invention, the user has the option of disabling the digital signal processor by either physically removing an external digital processing unit or by disabling a digital processor to permit an analog processor to provide audio enhancement. The user is also given the option of selecting from a variety of digital filters/compressors that generate binaural signals that are sent to both ears of the user. In a second embodiment, each hearing element comprises a digital signal processor and a communication link to the other hearing element. Two examples of the communication link are an electrical wire connecting the two hearing elements and a electromagnetic transceiving system where each hearing element has a transceiver that transmits a signal representing the sound at one ear of the user and receives a signal representing the sound at the other ear of the …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.