Tinnitus masker for direct drive hearing devices
AssigneeSymphonix Devices, Inc.
InventorsGeoffrey R. Ball, Bob H. Katz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Tinnitus maskers for direct drive hearing devices are provided. A circuit generates signals corresponding to sounds to mask tinnitus a user perceives. A direct drive hearing device which is coupled to a structure in the user vibrates in response to the signals. The vibrating direct drive hearing device stimulates hearing by vibrating the structure to which it is coupled. A user may select the frequency, intensity and phase of a tone generated. Additionally, a second tone or a background sound may be selected.
Claims28
An apparatus for masking tinnitus, comprising:
- a battery;
- a circuit, coupled to the battery, that generates signals;
- and
- a direct drive hearing device that receives the signals from the circuit which correspond to sound a user will perceive in order to mask tinnitus.
An apparatus for masking tinnitus, comprising:
- a battery;
- a circuit, coupled to the battery, that generates signals;
- and
- a direct drive hearing device that receives the signals from the circuit which correspond to sound a user will perceive in order to mask tinnitus, wherein the direct drive hearing device is a floating mass transducer device.
An apparatus for masking tinnitus, comprising:
- a battery;
- a circuit, coupled to the battery, that generates electric signals;
- and
- a direct drive hearing device that receives the electric signals from the circuit which correspond to sound a user will perceive in order to vibrate a structure within a user's body in response to the electric signals to stimulate hearing in order to mask tinnitus.
A method of masking tinnitus, comprising the steps of:
- generating electric signals that correspond to sounds for masking tinnitus;
- and
- directly vibrating a structure of a user by vibrating a device coupled to the structure, the device vibrating in response to the electric signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.