# US 10,863,930 B2 · Hearing prosthesis efficacy altering and/or forecasting techniques > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,863,930 B2 - Document ID: US10863930B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/188,566 - Filed: 2018-11-13 - Published: 2019-03-14 - Granted: 2020-12-15 - Earliest claimed: 2014-11-18 - Assignees: Cochlear Limited - Applicants: Cochlear Limited - Inventors: Sean Lineaweaver - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10863930B2 ## CPC - A61B 5/123: {subjective methods} - G09B 21/009: {Teaching or communicating with deaf persons (G09B21/04 takes precedence)} - H04R 25/70: {Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G09B: EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS (devices for psychotechnics or for testing reaction times A61B5/16; games, sports, amusements A63; projectors, projector screens G03B) - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) ## Abstract A method of forecasting subjective efficacy of a hearing prosthesis implanted in a recipient, including subjecting a recipient to a plurality of temporally spaced aural training tasks, the aural training tasks evoking hearing percepts with the hearing prosthesis, obtaining first data indicative of the recipient's ability to hear with the hearing prosthesis based on performance by the recipient of the temporally spaced aural training tasks, and forecasting second data based on the first data, wherein the second data are indicative of the recipient's ability to hear with the hearing prosthesis at one or more temporal locations in the future. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A non-transitory computer-readable media having recorded thereon, a computer program for executing at least a portion of a method of evaluating subjective efficacy of a hearing prosthesis implanted in a recipient, the computer program including: code for obtaining first data indicative of the recipient's ability to hear with the hearing prosthesis based on empirical data of performance by the recipient of temporally spaced aural tests that evoked a hearing percept with the hearing prosthesis; code for obtaining a function based on the first data; and code for obtaining second data indicative of the subjective efficacy of the hearing prosthesis based on the function, wherein the empirical data of performance is linked to training type data. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The media of claim 1, wherein: the empirical data of performance is linked to temporal data pertaining to the temporally spaced aural tests. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The media of claim 1, further comprising: code for receiving recipient availability data indicative of future temporal periods in which the recipient will be able to participate in training with the hearing prosthesis; and code for developing a future training scenario based on the recipient availability data and based on the function. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The media of claim 1, further comprising: code for obtaining future hearing prosthesis subjective efficacy target data; and code for developing a future training scenario based on the future hearing prosthesis subjective efficacy target data and the function. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The media of claim 1, further comprising: code for obtaining recipient availability data indicative of temporal periods in which the recipient will be able to participate in training with the hearing prosthesis; code for obtaining future hearing prosthesis subjective efficacy target data; and code for developing a future training scenario based on the future hearing prosthesis subjective efficacy target data, the recipient availability data and the function. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The media of claim 1, wherein the code for obtaining the second data includes code for: opening the second data such that it is also indicative of a plurality of respective hypothetical efficacies of the hearing prosthesis based on the first data and based on respective alternate training scenarios. ### Claim 7 A method of altering a recipient's ability to hear with a hearing prosthesis implanted in a recipient, comprising: subjecting a recipient who has participated in a plurality of respective temporally spaced aural training tasks to a plurality of respective temporally spaced aural tests, the respective aural tests evoking hearing percepts evoked by the hearing prosthesis; and influencing the recipient's commitment to performing subsequent aural training tasks based on first data relating to the aural tests, wherein the action of influencing the recipient's commitment includes presenting second data to the recipient, the second data being indicative of negative and/or positive repercussions to the recipient and being based on the first data. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein: the second data are data indicating the effects of temporal spacing between respective aural training tasks. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein: the second data are data indicating a difference in ability to hear with the prosthesis relative to that which would be the case if different temporal spacing between respective aural training tasks had occurred relative to that which was the case with respect to the participated aural training tasks. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein: the second data are data indicating a difference in ability to hear with the prosthesis relative to that which would be the case if additional aural training tasks had occurred. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein: the second data is indicative of negative repercussions to the recipient and is based on the first data; and the action of influencing the recipient's commitment includes presenting third data to the recipient, the third data being indicative of positive repercussions to the recipient. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising: at least partially fitting the hearing prosthesis to the recipient before subjecting the recipient to the plurality of temporally spaced aural tests. ### Claim 13 A system for managing the subjective efficacy of a hearing prosthesis, comprising: a processor; and an input/output device configured to receive input indicative of the recipient's ability to hear with the hearing prosthesis, wherein the processor is configured to develop performance data based on the received input indicative of the recipient's ability to hear with the hearing prosthesis, the processor is configured to develop hypothetical efficacy data indicative of a subjective hypothetical efficacy of the hearing prosthesis based on the developed performance data, and at least one of: (i) the processor is configured to develop hypothetical efficacy data indicative of the subjective hypothetical efficacy of the hearing prosthesis based on data relating to a qualitative feature and/or a quantitative feature of hypothetical aural tasks accomplished by the recipient; or (ii) the system is configured to link data pertaining to aural training tasks undertaken by the recipient to respective aural tests of the plurality of aural tests provided to the recipient, and the processor is configured to develop the performance data based on the linked data. ### Claim 14 (depends on 6) The media of claim 6, further comprising: code for presenting a comparison between the plurality of hypothetical efficacies. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein: the system is configured to provide the recipient with a plurality of temporally spaced aural training tasks, the aural training tasks evoking hearing percepts evoked by the hearing prosthesis; the system is configured to link data pertaining to respective temporally spaced aural training tasks of the plurality of temporally spaced aural training tasks to respective aural tests of the plurality of aural tests provided to the recipient; and the processor is configured to develop the performance data based on the linked data. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The media of claim 1, further comprising: code for recommending an alternate training scenario from the plurality of alternate training scenarios based on the comparisons of respective efficacies of the hearing prosthesis corresponding to respective alternate training scenarios of the plurality of alternate training scenarios. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The media of claim 1, further comprising: code for obtaining third data indicative of the subjective efficacy of the hearing prosthesis based on only the first data.