Patent ID: 8189830
Filing Date: 2012-05-29
Classification: H04R

Abstract:
1. A digital hearing aid, comprising: a microphone for picking up sound and producing analog sound signals; an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the microphone, the analog-to-digital converter configured to convert the analog sound signals to digital sound signals; a processing unit coupled to the analog-to-digital converter, the processing unit including at least amplification logic, the amplification logic being configured to amplify the digital sound signals in accordance with parameters; a performance deterioration logic circuit operatively connected or included within the processing unit, the performance deterioration logic circuit being configured to cause degradation of amplification to the digital sound signals by the processing unit by a predefined amount each time the digital hearing aid is restarted or rebooted; a data storage device coupled to the processing unit, the data storage device storing the parameters; a digital-to-analog converter coupled to the processing unit, the digital-to-analog converter configured to convert the processed digital sound signals to processed analog sound signals; and an audio output device coupled to the digital-to-analog converter, the audio output device capable of outputting sound in accordance with the processed analog sound signals.