System and method for multiplexed ultrasound hearing

A hearing system for stimulating an auditory system for sound perception by activating a particular region of a cochlea of a user using ultrasound signals, the particular region corresponding to a target frequency range, the system comprising:

• an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver an ultrasound signal via an interface medium;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the processor configured to:
• obtain an audio signal,
• apply at least one filter to the audio signal to extract at least one frequency band,
• extract at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the at least one frequency band of the audio signal,
• generate a modified audio signal based on the extracted at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal,
• perform at least one of onset or offset ramping on the modified audio signal to control at least one of temporal or frequency activation effects,
• generate a modulated ultrasound signal based on modifying a carrier signal by the ramped modified audio signal, and
• provide the modulated ultrasound signal to the ultrasonic transducer for delivery via an interface medium.

A hearing system for stimulating an auditory system for sound perception by activating a particular region of a cochlea of a user using ultrasound signals, the particular region corresponding to a target frequency range, the system comprising:

• an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver an ultrasound signal via an interface medium;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the processor configured to:
• obtain an audio signal,
• extract at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal,
• adjust the audio signal for audiological conditions based on extracting the at least one of the temporal feature or the spectral feature from the audio signal,
• perform at least one of onset or offset ramping on the adjusted audio signal to control at least one of temporal or frequency activation effects,
• generate a modulated ultrasound signal based on modifying a carrier signal by the ramped adjusted audio signal, and
• provide the modulated ultrasound signal to the ultrasonic transducer for delivery via an interface medium.