Hearing device for binaural supply and method for its operation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9942669-B2
Application number	US-201615015498-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 4, 2016
Priority date	Feb 4, 2015
Publication date	Apr 10, 2018
Grant date	Apr 10, 2018

Abstract

A binaural hearing device has first and second hearing aids and a control device. Each hearing aid has a communication unit, an audio receiver and an earphone. The communication units are configured for reciprocal data transmission by inductive coupling. The audio receivers receive and process stereophonic audio data. The control device switches one of the hearing aids to an inactive audio reception state and the other to an active audio reception state, swaps the audio reception states of the hearing aids within an operating period based on a signal strength of the audio signal of one hearing aid at a time, and drives the hearing aid with the active audio reception state to transmit audio data to the hearing aid with the inactive audio reception state via the communication units.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A hearing device, comprising:
a first hearing aid for a first ear of a user, said first hearing aid having a first communication unit, a first audio receiver and a first earphone;
a second hearing aid for a second ear of the user, said second hearing aid having a second communication unit, a second audio receiver and a second earphone;
said first communication unit and said second communication unit being configured for reciprocal data transmission by dint of inductive coupling, and said first and second audio receivers being configured for receiving and processing stereophonic audio data;
a control device configured for controlling said first hearing aid and said second hearing aid, said control device being configured to switch one of said first and second hearing aids to an inactive audio reception state and switching the other of said first and second hearing aids to an active audio reception state, to swap the audio reception states of said first and second hearing aids within an operating period on a basis of a parameter that characterizes a signal strength of the audio signal and that is based on one of said first and second hearing aids at a time, and to cause the respective said hearing aid with the active audio reception state to transmit audio data to the respective said hearing aid with the inactive audio reception state by dint of inductive coupling by way of said communication units;
wherein when said first hearing aid is switched to the inactive audio reception state by said control device, said first audio receiver is deactivated or shut down and further processing of external audio data is deactivated or shut down in said first hearing aid; and
wherein when said second hearing aid is switched to the inactive audio reception state by said control device, said second audio receiver is deactivated or shut down and further processing of external audio data is deactivated or shut down in said second hearing aid.

2. The hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein said control device is configured to actuate said hearing aid with the active audio reception state to transmit audio data only from a stereo channel associated with said hearing aid with inactive audio reception.

3. The hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein said first audio receiver and said second audio receiver are configured for reception and decoding of stereophonic audio data coded by dint of a channel coupling process.

4. The hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein said control device comprises a first control unit in said first hearing aid and a second control unit in said second hearing aid, and said first and second control units are configured to communicate by dint of transmission of data between the communication devices.

5. The hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein said control device is configured to periodically swap the audio reception states of said hearing aids within an operating period.

6. The hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein said control device is configured to detect respective signal strengths of audio data received in said first hearing aid and in said second hearing aid at prescribable intervals of time, to compare the detected signal strengths with one another and to switch the respective said hearing aid with a currently lower signal strength to the inactive audio reception state.

7. The hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein said control device is configured to identify an audio signal by switching one of said first and second hearing aids at a time to the active audio reception state and otherwise both first and second hearing aids each to the inactive audio reception state at prescribable intervals of time.

8. The hearing device according to claim 1 , which further comprises an audio transmitter configured for wireless transmission of stereophonic audio data.

9. The hearing device according to claim 1 , which further comprises an audio transmitter configured for wireless transmission of stereophonic audio data coded by way of a channel coupling process.

10. A method for operating a hearing device, the hearing device having:
a first hearing aid for the first ear and a second hearing aid for the second ear of a user, the first hearing aid having a first communication unit, a first audio receiver and a first earphone, the second hearing aid having a second communication unit, a second audio receiver and a second earphone, and wherein the first communication unit and the second communication unit are designed for reciprocal data transmission by dint of inductive coupling, and a control device configured to control the first hearing aid and the second hearing aid;
the method comprising:
in an active audio reception state of one of the first and second hearing aids, receiving and further processing with the associated audio receiver audio data, while maintaining the other one of the first and second hearing aids in an inactive audio reception state in which the audio receiver of the other one of the first and second hearing aids is deactivated or shut down and further processing of external audio data is deactivated or shut down in the other one of the first and second hearing aids;
swapping the audio reception states of the first and second hearing aids within an operating period on a basis of a parameter that characterizes a signal strength of the audio signal and that is based on one hearing aid at a time; and
using the hearing aid in the active audio reception state to transmit audio data to the hearing aid in the inactive audio reception state by dint of inductive coupling through the first and second communication units.

11. The method according to claim 10 , which comprises using the hearing aid in the active audio reception state to transmit audio data only from a stereo channel associated with the hearing aid in the inactive operating state.

12. The method according to claim 10 , which comprises receiving and decoding with the audio receiver of the respective hearing aid in the active audio reception state stereophonic audio data coded using a process for channel coupling.

13. The method according to claim 10 , which comprises swapping the audio reception states of the hearing aids within an operating period.

14. The method according to claim 13 , which comprises periodically swapping the audio reception states of the hearing aids within an operating period.

15. The method according to claim 10 , which comprises detecting respective signal strengths of the audio data received in the first hearing aid and in the second hearing aid at prescribable intervals of time, comparing the detected signal strengths with one another and switching the respective hearing aid whose signal strength is currently lower to the inactive audio reception state.

16. The method according to claim 10 , which comprises identifying an audio signal by switching one of the hearing aids at a time to the active audio reception state and otherwise both hearing aids each to the inactive audio reception state at prescribable intervals of time.

17. The method according to claim 10 , which comprises wirelessly receiving the audio data from an audio transmitter.

18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the audio data are stereophonic audio data coded with a channel coupling process.

Assignees

• Sivantos Pte Ltd

Inventors

• Nikles Peter
• Huettinger Simon
• Kuhn Johannes

Classifications

• H04R25/305

  Self-monitoring or self-testing · CPC title

• H04R25/554

  using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils · CPC title

• H04R2225/55

  Communication between hearing aids and external devices via a network for data exchange · CPC title

• H04R25/552 Primary

  Binaural · CPC title

• H04R2225/61

  Aspects relating to mechanical or electronic switches or control elements, e.g. functioning · CPC title