# US 2020/0288252 A1 · Cognitive benefit measure related to hearing-assistance device use > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0288252 A1 - Document ID: US20200288252A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/884,793 - Filed: 2020-05-27 - Published: 2020-09-10 - Earliest claimed: 2017-08-25 - Assignees: Starkey Laboratories, Inc. - Applicants: Starkey Laboratories, Inc. - Inventors: Kyle Walsh; Thomas Scheller; Christopher L. Howes; David A. Fabry - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200288252A1 ## CPC - A61B 5/002: {Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building (A61B5/0017 takes precedence)} - A61B 5/16: Devices for psychotechnics (using teaching or educational appliances G09B1/00 - G09B7/00); Testing reaction times {; Devices for evaluating the psychological state} - A61B 5/4848: {Monitoring or testing the effects of treatment, e.g. of medication} - A61B 5/6803: {Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles} - H04R 25/30: {Monitoring or testing of hearing aids, e.g. functioning, settings, battery power} - H04R 25/407: {Circuits for combining signals of a plurality of transducers} - H04R 25/505: {using digital signal processing} - H04R 25/554: {using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils} - A61B 5/02055: {Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature} - A61B 5/02438: {with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient} - A61B 5/1118: {Determining activity level} - A61B 5/123: {subjective methods} - A61B 5/7475: {User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick} - H04R 25/405: {by combining a plurality of transducers} - H04R 25/507: {implemented by neural network or fuzzy logic} - 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 2225/41: Detection or adaptation of hearing aid parameters or programs to listening situation, e.g. pub, forest - H04R 2225/43: Signal processing in hearing aids to enhance the speech intelligibility - H04R 2225/55: Communication between hearing aids and external devices via a network for data exchange - H04R 2225/61: Aspects relating to mechanical or electronic switches or control elements, e.g. functioning - H04R 2430/01: Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems - H04R 2460/03: Aspects of the reduction of energy consumption in hearing devices - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - 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) ## Abstract A computing system comprising one or more electronic computing devices receives data from a hearing-assistance device. The computing system determines, based on the data received from the hearing-assistance device, a cognitive benefit measure for a wearer of the hearing-assistance device. The cognitive benefit measure being an indication of a change of a cognitive benefit of the wearer of the hearing-assistance device attributable to use of the hearing-assistance device by the wearer of the hearing-assistance device. The computing device outputs an indication of the cognitive benefit measure. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: receiving, by a computing system comprising one or more electronic computing devices, data from a hearing-assistance device; determining, by the computing system, based on the data received from the hearing-assistance device, a cognitive benefit measure for a wearer of the hearing-assistance device, the cognitive benefit measure being an indication of a change of a cognitive benefit of the wearer of the hearing-assistance device attributable to use of the hearing-assistance device by the wearer of the hearing-assistance device; determining, by the computing system, based on the data received from the hearing-assistance device, a body measure for the wearer of the hearing-assistance device, the body measure being an indication of physical activity in which the wearer of the hearing-assistance device engaged while wearing the hearing-assistance device; determining, by the computing system, based on the cognitive benefit measure and the body measure, a wellness measure for the wearer of the hearing-assistance device; and outputting, by the computing system, an indication of the wellness measure. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein determining the cognitive benefit measure comprises: determining, by the computing system, a plurality of sub-components of the cognitive benefit measure; and determining, by the computing system, the cognitive benefit measure based on the plurality of sub-components of the cognitive benefit measure. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein determining the plurality of sub-components comprises one or more of: determining, by the computing system, an audibility sub-component that indicates a measure of an improvement in audibility provided to the wearer by the hearing-assistance device, determining, by the computing system, an intelligibility sub-component that indicates a measure of an improvement in speech understanding provided by the hearing-assistance device, determining, by the computing system, a comfort sub-component that indicates a measure of noise reduction provided by the hearing-assistance device, determining, by the computing system, a focus sub-component that indicates a measure of time the hearing-assistance device spends in directional processing modes, each of the respective directional processing modes selectively attenuating off-axis, unwanted sounds, determining, by the computing system, a sociability sub-component that indicates a measure of time spent in auditory environments involving speech, or determining, by the computing system, a connectivity sub-component that indicates a measure of an amount of time the hearing-assistance device spent streaming media from devices connected wirelessly to the hearing-assistance device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein determining the cognitive benefit measure comprises determining, by the computing system, a weighted average of the plurality of sub-components. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein determining the plurality of sub-components comprises one or more of: determining, by the computing system, a use score sub-component that is based on how much time the wearer of the hearing-assistance device uses the hearing-assistance device during a scoring period, determining, by the computing system, an engagement score sub-component that is a measure of how much the wearer of the hearing-assistance device participates in activities involving aural engagement during the scoring period, or determining, by the computing system, an active listening sub-component based on exposure of the wearer of the hearing-assistance device to a plurality of different acoustic environments during the scoring period. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the computing system, an indication of user input to access a cognitive benefit section of a graphical user interface (GUI) of a software application running on the computing system; and in response to receiving the indication of user input, sending, by the computing system, a request to the hearing-assistance device, wherein the computing system receives the data from the hearing-assistance device in response to the request. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein determining the cognitive benefit measure comprises scaling, by the computing system, the cognitive benefit measure based on an amount of time the wearer spends wearing the hearing-assistance device. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing, by the computing system, the cognitive benefit measure in a database of historical cognitive benefit measures for the wearer; and outputting, by the computing system, an indication of the historical cognitive benefit measures. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein: the method further comprises sending, by the computing system, timestamps to the hearing-assistance device, receiving the data from the hearing-assistance device comprises receiving, by the computing system, a plurality of log data items, each of the log data items comprising log data and one of the timestamps, and determining the cognitive benefit measure comprises determining, by the computing system, the cognitive benefit measure based on the timestamps and the log data in the log data items. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the wellness measure for the wearer of the hearing-assistance device is an indication of an overall wellness of the wearer of the hearing-assistance device. ### Claim 11 A computing system comprising: a radio configured to receive data from a hearing-assistance device; and one or more processors configured to: determine, based on the data received from the hearing-assistance device, a cognitive benefit measure for a wearer of the hearing-assistance device, the cognitive benefit measure being an indication of a change of a cognitive benefit of the wearer of the hearing-assistance device attributable to use of the hearing-assistance device by the wearer of the hearing-assistance device; determine, based on the data received from the hearing-assistance device, a body measure for the wearer of the hearing-assistance device, the body measure being an indication of physical activity in which the wearer of the hearing-assistance device engaged while wearing the hearing-assistance device; determine, based on the cognitive benefit measure and the body measure, a wellness measure for the wearer of the hearing-assistance device; and output an indication of the wellness measure ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The computing system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: determine a plurality of sub-components of the cognitive benefit measure; and determine the cognitive benefit measure based on the plurality of sub-components of the cognitive benefit measure. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The computing system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are configured such that, as part of determining the plurality of sub-components, the one or more processors determine one or more of: an audibility sub-component that indicates a measure of an improvement in audibility provided to the wearer by the hearing-assistance device, an intelligibility sub-component that indicates a measure of an improvement in speech understanding provided by the hearing-assistance device, a comfort sub-component that indicates a measure of noise reduction provided by the hearing-assistance device, a focus sub-component that indicates a measure of time the hearing-assistance device spends in directional processing modes, each of the respective directional processing modes selectively attenuating off-axis, unwanted sounds, a sociability sub-component that indicates a measure of time spent in auditory environments involving speech, or a connectivity sub-component that indicates a measure of an amount of time the hearing-assistance device spent streaming media from devices connected wirelessly to the hearing-assistance device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The computing system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are configured such that, as part of determining the cognitive benefit measure, the one or more processors determine a weighted average of the plurality of sub-components. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The computing system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are configured such that, as part of determining the plurality of sub-components, the one or more processors determine one or more of: a use score sub-component that is based on how much time the wearer of the hearing-assistance device uses the hearing-assistance device during a scoring period, an engagement score sub-component that is a measure of how much the wearer of hearing-assistance device participates in activities involving aural engagement during the scoring period, or an active listening sub-component based on exposure of the wearer of the hearing-assistance device to a plurality of different acoustic environments during the scoring period. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The computing system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive an indication of user input to access a cognitive benefit section of a graphical user interface (GUI) of a software application running on the computing system; and in response to receiving the indication of user input, send a request to the hearing-assistance device, wherein the computing system receives the data from the hearing-assistance device in response to the request. ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The computing system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are configured such that, as part of determining the cognitive benefit measure, the one or more processors scale the cognitive benefit measure based on an amount of time the wearer spends wearing the hearing-assistance device. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The computing system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: store the cognitive benefit measure in a database of historical cognitive benefit measures for the wearer; and output an indication of the historical cognitive benefit measures. ### Claim 19 (depends on 13) The computing system of claim 13, wherein: the one or more processors are configured to cause the computing system to send timestamps to the hearing-assistance device, the computing system is configured to receive a plurality of log data items from the hearing-assistance device, each of the log data items comprising log data and one of the timestamps, and the one or more processors are configured to determine the cognitive benefit measure based on the timestamps and the log data in the log data items. ### Claim 20 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a computing system to: receive data from a hearing-assistance device; determine, based on the data received from the hearing-assistance device, a cognitive benefit measure for a wearer of the hearing-assistance device, the cognitive benefit measure being an indication of a change of a cognitive benefit of the wearer of the hearing-assistance device attributable to use of the hearing-assistance device by the wearer of the hearing-assistance device; determine, based on the data received from the hearing-assistance device, a body measure for the wearer of the hearing-assistance device, the body measure being an indication of physical activity in which the wearer of the hearing-assistance device engaged while wearing the hearing-assistance device; determine, based on the cognitive benefit measure and the body measure, a wellness measure for the wearer of the hearing-assistance device; and output an indication of the wellness measure.