# US 11,310,609 B2 · Hearing aid user account management

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- Number: US 11,310,609 B2
- Document ID: US11310609B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/697,298
- Filed: 2019-11-27
- Published: 2020-03-26
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2019-11-27
- Assignees: Widex A/S
- Applicants: Widex A/S
- Inventors: Soren Erik Westermann; Svend Vitting Andersen; Anders Westergaard; Niels Erik Boelskift Maretti
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11310609B2

## CPC

- H04R 25/554: {using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils}
- G16H 10/60: for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
- G16H 10/65: stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
- G16H 40/40: for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
- G16H 40/67: for remote operation
- G16H 50/30: for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
- H04R 25/505: {using digital signal processing}
- H04R 25/558: {Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency}
- H04R 25/70: {Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting}
- H04W 4/80: Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
- H04W 12/06: Authentication
- H04W 12/068: {using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications}
- H04W 12/069: using certificates or pre-shared keys
- H04W 48/18: Selecting a network or a communication service
- H04W 76/14: Direct-mode setup
- H04R 2225/39: Aspects relating to automatic logging of sound environment parameters and the performance of the hearing aid during use, e.g. histogram logging, or of user selected programs or settings in the hearing aid, e.g. usage logging
- H04R 2225/55: Communication between hearing aids and external devices via a network for data exchange
- H04R 2225/67: Implantable hearing aids or parts thereof not covered by H04R25/606
- 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)
- G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

A data system for handling user data for a hearing aid user and at least one hearing aid (10, 11) having a memory for storing personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss for the hearing aid user includes a remote server (25) accessible by means of an Internet enabled computer device. A personal communication device (13) is Internet enabled and is able to act as a gateway to the Internet for the at least one hearing aid. The user may create a user account on the remote server, enter personal information into the user account and store the entered personal information on the remote server, and enter the gateway information to the user account. The personal communication device and the at least one hearing aid are provided with respective transceivers for establishing a wireless connection under guidance of said application software. The least one hearing aid uploads the personal settings for alleviating the hearing loss via the gateway to the remote server for storing in the user account.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for programming a hearing aid, the method comprising the steps of:
creating a user account for a hearing aid user on a remote server accessible over the Internet, said hearing aid user having a hearing aid programmed with personal settings to alleviate a hearing loss of said hearing aid user;
the hearing aid user causing said personal settings to be transferred from said hearing aid into a memory associated with the user account of the hearing aid user;
identifying a hearing aid in the user account by means of a unique product ID code;
subsequently connecting the hearing aid to the Internet;
requesting the personal settings to be loaded from the user account on the remote server into the hearing aid;
transferring the personal settings from the user account on the remote server via the internet into the hearing aid, in a programming session during which both the remote server and the hearing aid are connected to the internet in overlapping time periods;
verifying whether the hearing aid has permission to store the received personal settings in the programming session; and
storing and applying the personal settings if the permission permits the programming session.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein prior to causing said personal settings to be transferred, said personal settings are set in an interactive dialogue between an authorized hearing aid professional and the hearing aid user.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification of the hearing aid in the user account comprises identifying the hearing aid user from an internet gateway, and automatically uploading the unique product ID code from the hearing aid via the internet gateway to the user account when the hearing aid is connecting to the Internet via the internet gateway.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the requesting of the personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss of the hearing aid user comprises the hearing aid user requesting reload of historical personal settings as earlier transferred from the hearing aid to said memory.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the requesting of the personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss of the hearing aid user comprises an authorized hearing aid professional requesting updated personal settings to be loaded from the remote server into the hearing aid.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the verifying whether the hearing aid has permission to store the received personal settings to a memory of the hearing aid comprises verifying a trust level of the requested data exchange in a digital certificate stored in the hearing aid.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method according to claim 6, wherein the storing and applying the personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss includes overwriting of the current personal settings stored in a memory of the hearing aid.

### Claim 8

A system for programming a hearing aid, and comprising at least one hearing aid adapted for connecting to the Internet and a remote server accessible over the Internet,
the remote server is adapted for hosting a database including a plurality of user accounts for hearing aid users, a specific user account comprises personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss of the specific hearing aid user, and a hearing aid of the specific hearing aid user is identified in the user account by means of a unique product ID code;
wherein the remote server is adapted to
receive personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss of a specific hearing aid user via the internet from the hearing aid of the specific hearing aid user and storing said settings in the user's specific user account, and
transfer personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss of said specific hearing aid user via the internet from said specific user account to the hearing aid of the specific hearing aid user upon request, in a programming session during which both the remote server and the hearing aid are connected to the internet in overlapping time periods; and
wherein the hearing aid of the specific hearing aid user is adapted for verifying whether the hearing aid has permission to store the received personal settings received in the programming session, and for storing and applying the personal settings if the permission permits the programming session.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The system according to claim 8, wherein the personal settings received from the hearing aid of said specific hearing aid user are settings originating from an interactive dialogue between an authorized hearing aid professional and the hearing aid user.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The system according to claim 8, wherein the database having a plurality of user accounts in the remote server is adapted for receiving the unique product ID code automatically uploaded from the hearing aid via the internet gateway to the user account when the hearing aid is connecting to the Internet via the internet gateway.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The system according to claim 8, wherein the request is from the hearing aid user requesting a reload of historical personal settings as earlier transferred from the hearing aid to said server.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The system according to claim 8, wherein the request is from an authorized hearing aid professional requesting updated personal settings, different from the settings earlier transferred from the hearing aid to the server, to be loaded into the hearing aid.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The system according to claim 8, wherein the hearing aid has a memory for storing a digital certificate for verifying a trust level of a data exchange, and is adapted for verifying whether the hearing aid has permission to store the received personal settings to a memory.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system according to claim 13, wherein the hearing aid is adapted for storing and applying the personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss by overwriting of the current personal settings stored in the memory of the hearing aid.

### Claim 15

A hearing aid adapted to (i) transfer via the internet to a user account on a remote server specific personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss of a specific hearing aid user, and (ii) subsequently receive said personal settings from said user account on said server via the internet upon request in a programming session during which both the remote server and the hearing aid are connected to the internet in overlapping time periods; wherein the hearing aid has a memory for storing a digital certificate for verifying a trust level of a data exchange, and wherein the at least one hearing aid is adapted for verifying whether the hearing aid has permission for storing and applying the personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss of the hearing aid user if the permission permits the programming session.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

The hearing aid according to claim 13, wherein the hearing aid is adapted for storing and applying the personal settings for alleviating a hearing loss by overwriting of the current personal settings stored in the memory of the hearing aid.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein said connecting step comprises connecting the hearing aid to the internet through an internet gateway, and said transferring step comprises transferring the personal settings into the hearing aid while said hearing aid is connected to the internet through said gateway.

### Claim 18 (depends on 8)

The system according to claim 8, wherein said remote server is configured to transfer said specific personal settings to the hearing aid while said hearing aid is connected to the internet through an internet gateway.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The hearing aid according to claim 15, wherein said hearing aid is configured to receive said specific personal settings from said remote server while said hearing aid is connected to the internet through an internet gateway.