Hearing aid with improved compression
AssigneeGN ReSound A/S
InventorJames M. Kates
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hearing aid includes a microphone for conversion of acoustic sound into an input audio signal, a signal processor for processing the input audio signal for generation of an output audio signal; and a transducer for conversion of the output audio signal into a signal to be received by a human, wherein the signal processor includes a compressor with a compressor input/output rule that is variable in response to a signal level of the input audio signal.
Claims15
A hearing aid, comprising:
- a microphone for conversion of acoustic sound into an input audio signal;
- a signal processor for processing the input audio signal for generation of an output audio signal;
- a transducer for conversion of the output audio signal into a signal to be received by a human;
- and
- a valley detector for determination of a minimum value of the input audio signal;
- wherein the signal processor includes a compressor with a compressor input/output rule that is variable in response to a signal level of the input audio signal, and wherein a gain value of the compressor is variable based at least in part on an evaluation of a parameter derived using the determined minimum value against a threshold.
A hearing aid comprising:
- a microphone for conversion of acoustic sound into an input audio signal;
- a signal processor for processing the input audio signal for generation of an output audio signal;
- and
- a transducer for conversion of the output audio signal into a signal to be received by a human;
- wherein the signal processor includes a compressor with a compressor input/output rule that is variable in response to a signal level of the input audio signal;
- and
- wherein the hearing aid further comprises a valley detector for determination of a minimum value of the input audio signal, wherein a first gain value of the compressor for a first signal level is increased if the determined minimum value times a compressor gain at the determined minimum value is less than a threshold.
A method of hearing loss compensation with a hearing aid comprising a microphone for conversion of acoustic sound into an input audio signal, a signal processor for processing the input audio signal for generation of an output audio signal, the signal processor including a compressor, a transducer for conversion of the output audio signal into a signal to be received by a human, and a valley detector for determination of a minimum value of the input audio signal, the method comprising:
- fitting the compressor input/output rule in accordance with a hearing loss of a user;
- and
- varying the compressor input/output rule in response to a signal level of the input audio signal;
- wherein a gain value of the compressor is increased if the determined minimum value times a compressor gain is less than a threshold.
A hearing aid, comprising:
- a microphone for conversion of acoustic sound into an input audio signal;
- a signal processor for processing the input audio signal for generation of an output audio signal;
- a transducer for conversion of the output audio signal into a signal to be received by a human;
- and
- a detector for determination of a minimum value of the input audio signal;
- wherein the signal processor includes a compressor, and wherein a gain value of the compressor increases or decreases based on whether a parameter exceeds a threshold or not, the parameter being based on the minimum value of the input audio signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.