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US 11,109,167 B2Granted
Binaural hearing aid system comprising a bilateral beamforming signal output and omnidirectional signal output
AssigneeGN Hearing A/S
InventorsChangxue Ma, Andrew Burke Dittberner, Rob Anton Jurjen De Vries
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to methods of performing bilateral processing of respective microphone signals of a left ear hearing aid and a right ear hearing aid of a binaural hearing aid system and to corresponding binaural hearing aid systems.
Claims22
A binaural hearing aid system comprising:
- a first hearing aid for placement at, or in, a first ear of a user, the first hearing aid comprising a first microphone arrangement, a first signal processor, and a first bidirectional data communication interface;
- a second hearing aid for placement at, or in, a second ear of the user, the second hearing aid comprising a second microphone arrangement, a second signal processor, and a second bidirectional data communication interface;
- wherein the first hearing aid is configured to:
- generate a first monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the first monaural directional signal having a first polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in a target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the first hearing aid,
- generate a second monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the second monaural directional signal exhibiting a second polar pattern with substantially equal sensitivity in the target direction and at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid,
- transmit the second monaural directional signal from the first hearing aid to the second hearing aid through the first bidirectional data communication interface,
- receive a third monaural directional signal from the second hearing aid through the first bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate a bilaterally beamformed signal based on the first and third monaural directional signals, the bilaterally beamformed signal having a polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at the contralateral side of the first hearing aid,
- apply the bilaterally beamformed signal for providing a first audible signal for the first ear;
- and
- wherein the second hearing aid is configured to:
- receive the second monaural directional signal from the first hearing aid through the second bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate the third monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the third monaural directional signal having a third polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the second hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the second hearing aid,
- transmit the third monaural directional signal to the first hearing aid through the second bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate a fourth monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the fourth monaural directional signal exhibiting a fourth polar pattern,
- mix the second and fourth monaural directional signals according to a fixed or adjustable ratio to generate a bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal exhibiting a fifth polar pattern in accordance with the second and fourth polar patterns, and
- apply the bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal for providing a second audible signal for the second ear.
14 more elements
A binaural hearing aid system comprising:
- a first hearing aid for placement at, or in, a first ear of a user, the first hearing aid comprising a first microphone arrangement, a first signal processor, and a first bidirectional data communication interface;
- a second hearing aid for placement at, or in, a second ear of the user, the second hearing aid comprising a second microphone arrangement, a second signal processor, and a second bidirectional data communication interface;
- wherein the first hearing aid is configured to:
- generate a first monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the first monaural directional signal having a first polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in a target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the first hearing aid,
- generate a second monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the second monaural directional signal exhibiting a second polar pattern with substantially equal sensitivity in the target direction and at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid,
- transmit the second monaural directional signal from the first hearing aid to the second hearing aid through the first bidirectional data communication interface,
- receive a third monaural directional signal from the second hearing aid through the first bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate a bilaterally beamformed signal based on the first and third monaural directional signals, the bilaterally beamformed signal having a polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at the contralateral side of the first hearing aid, and
- apply the bilaterally beamformed signal for providing a first audible signal for the first ear;
- and
- wherein the second hearing aid is configured to:
- receive the second monaural directional signal from the first hearing aid through the second bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate the third monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the third monaural directional signal having a third polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the second hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the second hearing aid,
- transmit the third monaural directional signal to the first hearing aid through the second bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate a fourth monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the fourth monaural directional signal exhibiting a fourth polar pattern,
- mix the second and fourth monaural directional signals according to a fixed or adjustable ratio to generate a bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal exhibiting a fifth polar pattern in accordance with the second and fourth polar patterns, and
- apply the bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal for providing a second audible signal for the second ear;
- wherein the second hearing aid is configured to generate the bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal according to:
- S=β*dl+(1−β)dre2e(t1);
- wherein:
- S is a time-domain representation of the bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal based on a mixture of the second and fourth monaural directional signals;
- dl is a time-domain representation of the fourth monaural directional signal;
- dre2e(t1) is a time-domain representation of the second monaural directional signal with a relative time delay of (t1);
- and
- β is scaling factor having a scalar value between 0 and 1 setting a mixing ratio of the second and fourth monaural directional signals, or is a filter to set a frequency-dependent mixing ratio of the second and fourth monaural directional signals.
22 more elements
A binaural hearing aid system comprising:
- a first hearing aid for placement at, or in, a first ear of a user, the first hearing aid comprising a first microphone arrangement, a first signal processor, and a first bidirectional data communication interface;
- a second hearing aid for placement at, or in, a second ear of the user, the second hearing aid comprising a second microphone arrangement, a second signal processor, and a second bidirectional data communication interface;
- wherein the first hearing aid is configured to:
- generate a first monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the first monaural directional signal having a first polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in a target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the first hearing aid,
- generate a second monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the second monaural directional signal exhibiting a second polar pattern with substantially equal sensitivity in the target direction and at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid,
- transmit the second monaural directional signal from the first hearing aid to the second hearing aid through the first bidirectional data communication interface,
- receive a third monaural directional signal from the second hearing aid through the first bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate a bilaterally beamformed signal based on the first and third monaural directional signals, the bilaterally beamformed signal having a polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at the contralateral side of the first hearing aid, and
- apply the bilaterally beamformed signal for providing a first audible signal for the first ear;
- and
- wherein the second hearing aid is configured to:
- receive the second monaural directional signal from the first hearing aid through the second bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate the third monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the third monaural directional signal having a third polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the second hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the second hearing aid,
- transmit the third monaural directional signal to the first hearing aid through the second bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate a fourth monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the fourth monaural directional signal exhibiting a fourth polar pattern,
- mix the second and fourth monaural directional signals according to a fixed or adjustable ratio to generate a bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal exhibiting a fifth polar pattern in accordance with the second and fourth polar patterns, and
- apply the bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal for providing a second audible signal for the second ear;
- wherein the first signal processor is further configured to adaptively compute the bilaterally beamformed signal based on a cost function C(α,β) according to:
- C(α,β)={E{(αZl+βZr)·(αZl*+βZr*)}+λ*(α+β−1)+λ(α+β−1)*
- under constraint α+β=1, and wherein:
- E represents statistical expectation,
- dli represents the i-th subband of the first monaural directional signal,
- dri represents the i-th subband of the third monaural directional signal;
- and
- * indicates a conjugation of a complex function.
22 more elements
A binaural hearing aid system comprising:
- a first hearing aid for placement at, or in, a first ear of a user, the first hearing aid comprising a first microphone arrangement, a first signal processor, and a first bidirectional data communication interface;
- a second hearing aid for placement at, or in, a second ear of the user, the second hearing aid comprising a second microphone arrangement, a second signal processor, and a second bidirectional data communication interface;
- wherein the first hearing aid is configured to:
- generate a first monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the first monaural directional signal having a first polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in a target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the first hearing aid,
- generate a second monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the second monaural directional signal exhibiting a second polar pattern with substantially equal sensitivity in the target direction and at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid,
- transmit the second monaural directional signal from the first hearing aid to the second hearing aid through the first bidirectional data communication interface,
- receive a third monaural directional signal from the second hearing aid through the first bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate a bilaterally beamformed signal based on the first and third monaural directional signals, the bilaterally beamformed signal having a polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at the contralateral side of the first hearing aid, and
- apply the bilaterally beamformed signal for providing a first audible signal for the first ear;
- and
- wherein the second hearing aid is configured to:
- receive the second monaural directional signal from the first hearing aid through the second bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate the third monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the third monaural directional signal having a third polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the second hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the second hearing aid,
- transmit the third monaural directional signal to the first hearing aid through the second bidirectional data communication interface,
- generate a fourth monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the fourth monaural directional signal exhibiting a fourth polar pattern,
- mix the second and fourth monaural directional signals according to a fixed or adjustable ratio to generate a bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal exhibiting a fifth polar pattern in accordance with the second and fourth polar patterns, and
- apply the bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal for providing a second audible signal for the second ear;
- wherein the first signal processor is configured to generate the second monaural directional signal dl (f, Ø), according to:
- dl(f,Ø)=Ffl(f,b)*Hfl(f,Ø)+Fbl(f,a)*Hbl(f,Ø);
- wherein the second signal processor is configured to generate the fourth monaural directional signal dr (f, Ø) according to:
- dr(f,Ø)=Ffr(f,d)*Hfr(f,Ø)+Fbr(f,c)*Hbr(f,Ø);
- wherein Ø represents an angle with respect to a sound source, with Ø=0 representing the target direction;
- wherein Hfl(f, Ø) represents a head related transfer function of a first microphone of the second hearing aid;
- wherein Hbl(f, Ø) represents a head related transfer function of a second microphone of the second hearing aid;
- wherein Hfr(f, Ø) represents a head related transfer function of a first microphone of the first hearing aid;
- wherein Hbr(f, Ø) represents a head related transfer function of a second microphone of the first hearing aid;
- wherein Ffl (f, b) represents a frequency response of a first discrete time filter of the first hearing aid;
- wherein Fbl(f, a) represents a frequency response of a second discrete time filter of the first hearing aid;
- wherein Ffr(f, d) represents a frequency response of a first discrete time filter of the second hearing aid;
- wherein Fbr (f, c) represents a frequency response of a second discrete time filter of the second hearing aid;
- wherein respective sets of filter coefficients a, b, c and d are determined by minimizing a cost function:
- ARGmin
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- wherein trueOmniTarget(f, θ) is a selected target function of the fifth polar pattern;
- wherein Pl is a frequency response of the second monaural directional signal;
- wherein Pr is a frequency response of the fourth monaural directional signal;
- and
- wherein wo, wzeroL and wzeroR are respective weight functions.
195 more elements
A method performed by a binaural hearing aid system comprising:
- generating, by a first hearing aid, a first monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by a first microphone arrangement of the first hearing aid, the first monaural directional signal having a first polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in a target direction, a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at a contralateral side of the first hearing aid;
- generating, by the first hearing aid, a second monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the first microphone arrangement, the second monaural directional signal exhibiting a second polar pattern with substantially equal sensitivity in the target direction and at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid;
- transmitting the second monaural directional signal by the first hearing aid for reception by the second hearing aid;
- receiving, by the second hearing aid, the second monaural directional signal;
- generating, by the second hearing aid, a third monaural directional signal based on one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the third monaural directional signal having a third polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction and a reduced sensitivity at an ipsilateral side of the second hearing aid;
- transmitting, by the second hearing aid, the third monaural directional signal for reception by the first hearing aid;
- receiving, by the first hearing aid, the third monaural directional signal;
- generating, by the first hearing aid, a bilaterally beamformed signal based on the first and third monaural directional signals, the bilaterally beamformed signal having a polar pattern with a maximum sensitivity in the target direction, a reduced sensitivity at the ipsilateral side of the first hearing aid, and a reduced sensitivity at the contralateral side of the first hearing aid;
- generating, by the second hearing aid, a fourth monaural directional signal based on the one or more microphone signals supplied by the second microphone arrangement, the fourth monaural directional signal exhibiting a fourth polar pattern with substantially equal sensitivity in the target direction and at the ipsilateral side of the second hearing aid;
- mixing, by the second hearing aid, the second and fourth monaural directional signals in a fixed or adjustable ratio to generate a bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal exhibiting a fifth polar pattern;
- converting, by the first hearing aid, the bilaterally beamformed signal into a first audible signal for the first ear;
- and
- converting, by the second hearing aid, the bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal into a second audible signal for the second ear.
10 more elements
A binaural hearing aid system comprising:
- a first hearing aid for placement at, or in, a user's left or right ear, said first hearing aid comprising a first microphone arrangement, a first signal processor, a first bidirectional data communication interface, and a first receiver;
- a second hearing aid for placement at, or in, the user's opposite ear, said second hearing aid comprising a second microphone arrangement, a second signal processor, a second bidirectional data communication interface, and a second receiver;
- wherein the binaural hearing aid system is configured to:
- generate a beamformed signal based having a polar pattern with maximum sensitivity in a direction;
- output a first audible signal that is generated by the first receiver of the first hearing aid based on the beamformed signal;
- generate a bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal exhibiting a polar pattern with substantially equal sensitivity for multiple azimuth angles;
- and
- output a second audible signal that is generated by the second receiver of the second hearing aid based on the bilateral omnidirectional microphone signal.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.