Systems and methods for determining object proximity to a hearing system

A passive acoustic detection system comprising:

• a memory storing instructions;
• a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to:
• determine a first acoustic spectrum of a first signal representative of audio detected and output by a first microphone configured to be positioned at an ear canal entrance of a first ear of a user;
• determine a second acoustic spectrum of a second signal representative of audio detected and output by a second microphone configured to be located away from the ear canal entrance;
• generate, based on a comparison of the first acoustic spectrum and the second acoustic spectrum, a proximity indicator indicative of a proximity of an object to the first microphone, the object including one or more of a mobile device, a telephone handset, a headphone, an earphone, or a hand;
• and
• select, based on the proximity indicator, a signal processing program for execution by a hearing system associated with the user.

A method comprising:

• determining, by a passive acoustic detection system, a first acoustic spectrum of a first signal representative of audio detected and output by a first microphone configured to be positioned at an ear canal entrance of a user;
• determining, by the passive acoustic detection system, a second acoustic spectrum of a second signal representative of audio detected and output by a second microphone configured to be located away from the ear canal entrance;
• generating, by the passive acoustic detection system, a proximity indicator indicative of a proximity of an object to the first microphone based on a comparison of the first acoustic spectrum and the second acoustic spectrum, the object including one or more of a mobile device, a telephone handset, a headphone, an earphone, or a hand;
• and
• selecting, by the passive acoustic detection system based on the proximity indicator, a signal processing program for execution by the passive acoustic detection system.

A hearing system associated with a first ear of a user, the hearing system comprising:

• a first microphone configured to be positioned at an ear canal entrance of the first ear of the user and output a first signal representative of audio detected by the first microphone;
• a second microphone disposed on a component of the hearing system configured to be located away from the ear canal entrance, the second microphone configured to output a second signal representative of audio detected by the second microphone;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the first and second microphones and configured to:
• determine a first acoustic spectrum of the first signal output by the first microphone;
• determine a second acoustic spectrum of the second signal output by the second microphone;
• generate, based on a comparison of the first acoustic spectrum and the second acoustic spectrum, a proximity indicator indicative of a proximity of an object to the first microphone;
• and
• select, based on the proximity indicator, a signal processing program for execution by the processor;
• wherein
• A. the hearing system further comprises a housing configured to house the processor;
• the first microphone is configured to removably attach to the housing;
• and
• the second microphone is disposed on the housing;
• or
• B. the hearing system further comprises:
• a housing configured to house the processor;
• and
• a headpiece separate from the housing and configured to house a coil used by the processor to wirelessly communicate with a cochlear implant;
• wherein the second microphone is disposed on the headpiece;
• or
• C. the processor is implemented by a sound processor in a cochlear implant system;
• or
• D. the processor is implemented by a processor in a hearing device configured to acoustically present the audio to the user;
• or
• E. the generating of the proximity indicator comprises:
• determining a metric representative of a maximum of a ratio of a magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to a magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum;
• and
• determining, based on the metric, the proximity indicator;
• or
• F. the generating of the proximity indicator comprises:
• determining a metric representative of a maximum of a ratio of a magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to a magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum subtracted by a mean of the ratio of the magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to the magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum;
• and
• determining, based on the metric, the proximity indicator;
• or
• G. the generating of the proximity indicator comprises:
• determining a metric representative of a maximum of a ratio of a magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to a magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum subtracted by a minimum of the ratio of the magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to the magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum;
• and
• determining, based on the metric, the proximity indicator;
• or
• H. the generating of the proximity indicator comprises:
• determining a metric representative of a mean of a time delay between the first and second signals;
• and
• determining, based on the metric, the proximity indicator;
• or
• I. the generating of the proximity indicator comprises:
• determining a first metric representative of a maximum of a ratio of a magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to a magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum;
• determining a second metric representative of a maximum of a ratio of a magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to a magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum subtracted by a mean of the ratio of the magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to the magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum;
• determining a third metric representative of a maximum of a ratio of a magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to a magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum subtracted by a minimum of the ratio of the magnitude of the first acoustic spectrum to the magnitude of the second acoustic spectrum;
• determining a fourth metric representative of a mean of a time delay between the first and second signals;
• determining a maximum value of the first through fourth metrics;
• and
• determining, based on the maximum value of the first through fourth metrics, the proximity indicator;
• or
• J. the object includes one or more of a mobile device, a telephone handset, a headphone, an earphone, or a hand;
• or
• K. the object does not emit the audio;
• or
• L. the processor is further configured to compensate for a difference in microphone sensitivity between the first microphone and the second microphone;
• or
• M. the processor is configured to select, if the proximity indicator is above a predetermined threshold, a signal processing program that increases input from the first microphone more than the second microphone;
• or
• N. the processor is configured to select, if the proximity indicator is below a predetermined threshold, a signal processing program that includes beamforming.