Differential hearing aid with programmable frequency response
AssigneeIn Tech Systems Corp.
InventorMartin J. Slavin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A differential input hearing aid with a programmable frequency response provides the hard of hearing with the capability to listen to individual conversations in the midst of high ambient background noise, and to have the frequency response of the hearing aid tailored to the individual user by programming the desired response characteristics into the hearing aid by digital signals. The audio inputs of two microphones are applied to a subtractive circuit with the balance of the inputs being controllable. Digitally controlled band pass filters with selectable band and selectable level of amplification are provided.
Claims27
A hearing aid comprising a first microphone having an input oriented in a first direction;
- a second microphone having an input oriented in a second direction different from said first direction;
- subtractive circuit means for receiving the audio outputs of said first and second microphones and subtracting one of said audio signals from the other to produce a net audio signal, balance control means for electrically adjusting the input ratio of the audio signals from said first microphone and said second microphone, and an electro-acoustic transducer positioned to apply an acoustic signal to the user of the hearing aid in response to said net audio signal.
A hearing aid comprising a first microphone having an input oriented in a first direction;
- a second microphone having an input oriented in a second direction different from said first direction;
- subtractive circuit means for receiving the audio outputs of said first and second microphones and subtracting one of said audio signals from the other to produce a net audio signal, and electro-acoustic transducer means positioned to apply an acoustic signal to the user of the hearing aid in response to said net audio signal, band pass filter means coupled intermediate said subtractive circuit means and said electro-acoustic transducer means for dividing said net audio signal into a plurality of frequency bands, means for amplifying each said band by a selected amount representative of the correction appropriate for the user of the hearing aid, means for selectively setting the center frequency and band width of at least one of said frequency bands, and means for joining the outputs of said amplifying means to a corrected audio signal.
A hearing aid comprising microphone means for receiving an audio signal;
- band pass filter means for dividing said audio signal into a plurality of frequency bands, means for amplifying each said band by a selected amount representative of the correction appropriate for the user of the hearing aid;
- means for selectively setting the center frequency of at least one of said frequency bands to one of a plurality of desired values representative of the correction appropriate for the user of the hearing aid, means for joining the outputs of said amplifying means to a corrected audio signal;
- and an electro-acoustic transducer positioned to apply an acoustic signal to the user of the hearing aid in response to said net audio signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.