Hearing device or system for evaluating and selecting an external audio source

A hearing device adapted for being worn by a user, the hearing device comprising

• a plurality of microphones each providing a respective electric input signal representative of a sound field surrounding said hearing device;
• a beamformer filter providing a beamformed signal from said plurality of electric input signals, the beamformed signal comprising an enhancing beamformer signal (ytgt) and a cancelling beamformer signal (ytgtcncl);
• an output unit configured to provide stimuli perceivable by the user as sound;
• a wireless transceiver configured to receive a signal comprising external electric sound signals from a plurality of external audio transmitters and to transmit a signal comprising data to said plurality of audio transmitters;
• a selector/mixer configured to select one or more of said electric input signals or mix said beamformed signal from the hearing device and said external electric signals from the audio transmitters according to a determined mixing ratio to provide a current input sound signal based thereon, wherein the selector/mixer is configured to be controlled by a source selection control signal;
• and
• a source selection processor configured to determine said source selection control signal in dependence of a comparison of said beamformed signal and said external electric sound signals, said source selection control signal being determined based on respective similarity measures determined to indicate the degree of similarity of the beamformed signal with the respective external electric sound signals,
• wherein the respective similarity measures (sim) of the nth external electric sound signal (xn) comprise a ratio, ρ being a correlation coefficient, of:
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A method of operating a hearing system comprising at least one hearing device adapted for being worn by a user and a plurality of external and spatially separated audio transmitters, said plurality of audio transmitters being individual devices or forming part of respective separate electronic devices providing respective external electric sound signals, the method comprising

• providing a plurality of external electric sound signals comprising audio from said plurality of audio transmitters for transmission via wireless communication;
• establishing the wireless communication between said at least one hearing device and said plurality of external audio transmitters to transmit the respective external electric sound signals from said audio transmitters to said at least one hearing device;
• providing a plurality of electric input signals, each of the plurality of electric input signals being representative of a sound field at said at least one hearing device;
• providing a beamformed signal from said plurality of electric input signals, the beamformed signal comprising an enhancing beamformer signal (ytgt) and a cancelling beamformer signal (ytgtcncl);
• providing stimuli perceivable by the user as sound;
• providing a source selection control signal in dependence of a comparison of said beamformed signal and said plurality of external electric sound signals, said source selection control signal being determined based on respective similarity measures determined to indicate the degree of similarity of the beamformed signal with the plurality of external electric sound signals, wherein the respective similarity measures (sim) of the nth external electric sound signal (xn) comprise a ratio, ρ being a correlation coefficient, of:
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• using the respective similarity measures to select one or more of said electric input signals or mix said beamformed signal from the hearing device and said plurality of external electric signals from the plurality of audio transmitters according to a determined mixing ratio to provide a current input sound signal based thereon in dependence of said source selection control signal.