Apparatus and Method For The Adjustment of A Hearing Instrument

A method of tuning a hearing instrument, the method comprising:

• (a) presenting the patient with a first phoneme-rich audio sound;
• (b) on a visual display, presenting the patient with first multiple visual options as to the identity of the first sound;
• (c) receiving a first response to the multiple options and sound from the patient via a first interface, the first response indicating a first choice of the patient as to the identity of the first sound;
• (d) subsequently and based upon the response from the patient, performing an adjustment of the hearing instrument, the adjustment effective to adjust the first sound;
• (e) re-presenting the sound to the patient with the adjustment;
• (f) repeating steps (a)-(e) until the response of the patient indicates an acceptable perception of the first sound.

A system for tuning a hearing instrument, the apparatus including:

• a speaker, the speaker configured to presenting the patient with an audio sound;
• a visual display, the visual display configured to present the patient with a visual representation of the sound;
• an interface, the interface configured to receive a response to the audio sound and the visual representation from the patient, the response from the patient indicating a perception of the sound of the patient;
• a controller coupled to the speaker, the visual display, and the interface, the controller configured to, based upon the response from the patient, send a first signal to the hearing instrument that adjusts at least one parameter of the hearing instrument and cause an adjustment of the sound, the controller further configured to cause the adjusted audio sound to be presented to the patient at the speaker, the controller further configured to subsequently receive fine-tuning commands from the patient via the interface, the fine-tuning commands effective to cause the controller to transmit a signal to the hearing instrument that makes a fine-tuning adjustment to the hearing instrument.