Abstract:
The present invention relates to optimizing sound for a person based on his or her location and hearing profile. More particularly, the present invention relates to personalizing the sound of an event or performance by examining the technical specifications of an individual&#39;s hearing aid (which is provided by a third party) and the acoustics of an establishment. Using this information, a place of business alters the settings of each hearing aid device to optimize the sound for each individual.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/579,367 filed Jun. 14, 2004, assigned to the assignee of this application and incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to optimizing sound for a person based on his or her location and hearing profile. More particularly, the present invention relates to personalizing the sound of an event or performance by examining the technical specifications of an individual&#39;s hearing aid (which is provided by a third party) and the acoustics of the venue. Using this information, a place of business alters the settings of each hearing aid device to optimize the sound for each individual. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    More than 25 million Americans have hearing loss, including one of four people older than 65. Hearing loss may come from infections, strokes, head injuries, some medicines, tumors, other medical problems, or even excessive earwax. It can also result from repeated exposure to very loud noise, such as music, power tools, or jet engines. Changes in the way the ear works as a person ages can also affect hearing. 
         [0004]    For most people who have a hearing loss, there are ways to fix the problem. If an individual has trouble hearing, that individual can visit a doctor or hearing health-care professional to find out if he or she has a hearing loss and if so, determine a remedy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), like governing bodies in other countries, has rules to make sure that treatments for hearing loss—medicines, hearing aids, and other medical devices—are tried and tested. 
         [0005]    If a hearing test shows that the individual has a hearing loss, there may be one or more ways to treat it. Possible treatments include medication, surgery, or a hearing aid. Hearing aids can usually help hearing loss that involves damage to the inner ear. This type of hearing loss is common in older people as part of the aging process. However, younger people can also develop hearing loss from infections or repeated exposure to loud noises. 
         [0006]    In a well-known method of testing hearing loss in individuals, the threshold of the individual&#39;s hearing is typically measured using a calibrated sound-stimulus-producing device and calibrated headphones. The measurement of the threshold of hearing takes place in an isolated sound room where there is very little audible ambient noise. The sound-stimulus-producing device and calibrated headphones used in the testing are known in the art as an audiometer. 
         [0007]    A professional audiologist performs a professional test by using the audiometer to generate pure tones at various frequencies between 125 Hz and 12,000 Hz that are representative of a variety of frequency bands. These tones are transmitted through the headphones of the audiometer to the individual being tested. The intensity or volume of the pure tones is varied until the individual can barely detect the presence of the tone. For each pure tone, the intensity at which the individual can barely detect the presence of the tone is known as the individual&#39;s air conduction threshold of hearing. 
         [0008]    Once the hearing test determines how to compensate for the individual&#39;s hearing loss, compensation factors are sent to a hearing aid manufacturer to program the digital signal processor (DSP) of a hearing aid. The hearing aid is manufactured and programmed before being sent to the audiologist. The audiologist then schedules an appointment with the individual, in which the audiologist physically fits the hearing aid and makes electrical adjustments if needed. These adjustments often include helping the user set the volume control and any other adjustments the hearing aid allows. The adjustments to the hearing aid are made based on the results of another hearing test conducted by the audiologist upon the user with the hearing aid in his or her ear. The repeated hearing aid test may in fact require further frequency versus amplitude adjustments that are not possible after the manufacturer has determined the settings. These adjustments are often necessary because the acoustical differences between a hearing test conducted with headphones and the same hearing test conducted with a programmed hearing aid cause the individual&#39;s responses to vary. 
         [0009]    This is overcome in U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,020, incorporated by reference herein, which describes a device for coupling a programming connector to a programmable hearing aid comprising an electrode coupled to a corresponding conductor of the programming connector, wherein the electrode is biased to maintain contact with a conductive surface in the hearing aid. The coupling device is adapted to engage within a receiver module of a CIC hearing device. Data from an outside source, such as a computer, can thereby be easily transferred through the programming connector to circuitry within the hearing device. 
         [0010]    As demonstrated in the prior art, highly sophisticated programmable hearing aid fitting systems have been developed to accurately and satisfactorily fit a hearing aid on a user. However, the prior art fitting systems are largely complicated and time consuming. Therefore, it is assumed that a particular user may undergo such a fitting process only once. Very little has been done in the prior art to continuously monitor and calibrate an already fitted hearing aid according to the user&#39;s surrounding environment. For example, two different users can be diagnosed with exactly the same hearing loss and can be fitted with hearing aids that are programmed very similarly. The first user works as a referee for a professional football league and the second user works in a nursing home for retired football players. These two individuals are exposed to the same words at highly differing sound frequencies and amplitudes at a given time. When testing and fitting the hearing aids, both users responded positively to being able to hear the word “touchdown” at normally spoken frequencies. However, after the hearing aids were fitted to the users, the first user experienced difficulties with the same word “touchdown” spoken in a football stadium at higher frequencies and amplitudes. Therefore, what is needed is a way of recalibrating the first user&#39;s hearing aid after its initial fitting and after the individual has had time to test the hearing aid with respect to his or her environment. 
         [0011]    Moreover, the first user could experience difficulties in multiple environments, such as his or her daytime job in a noisy football stadium and a nighttime job in a quiet environment as a security guard. Therefore, what is needed is a way to easily and repeatedly calibrate the hearing aid according to the user&#39;s specific hearing needs, such as multiple environments of use. 
         [0012]    Providing a way to easily and repeatedly calibrate a hearing aid according to the multiple environments of a user may prove to be a good business opportunity. For example, a football stadium can provide special “plug-in” seats for hearing aid users. These “plug-in” seats have outlets for hearing aid users to calibrate their hearing aids for the duration of a football game. In turn, the football stadium owner can charge a premium price for the special “plug-in” seats. What is needed is a process to convert a way to repeatedly calibrate a hearing aid according to the user&#39;s specific needs into a business transaction. 
         [0013]    It is therefore it is an object of the present invention to demonstrate a way to recalibrate a hearing aid after the user is initially fitted with the hearing aid and the user has had some time to test out the hearing aid with respect to his or her environment. 
         [0014]    It is another object of the present invention to demonstrate a way to easily and repeatedly calibrate a hearing aid according to the user&#39;s specific hearing needs, such as multiple environments of use. 
         [0015]    It is yet another object of the present invention to illustrate a process to convert a way to repeatedly calibrate a hearing aid according to the user&#39;s specific needs into a business transaction. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    The present invention is a system for and method of offering an optimized sound service to an individual within a place of business. This invention includes a method of providing hearing information about individuals to any number of establishments. Coupled with hearing data collected about the individual&#39;s physical location, such as the location of the individual&#39;s seat, this invention also provides an establishment with a system for optimizing the digital signal processor (DSP) of an individual&#39;s hearing aid. Finally, this invention provides a method of generating revenue by offering such a system. 
         [0017]    Thus, the present invention provides for a method of adjusting hearing aid operation based on acoustic characteristics of a location comprising the steps:
       (a) providing acoustic characterization data corresponding to a location;   (b) providing a database of hearing loss profiles associated with a respective plurality of individuals using hearing aids, wherein the hearing loss profiles include respective digital signal processor (“DSP”) correction factors for use by a DSP of a hearing aid; and   (c) computing adjusted DSP correction factors for a user based on the acoustic characterization data corresponding to a location.       
 
         [0021]    In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises the step of:
       (d) transmitting the adjusted DSP correction factors as a DSP programming signal for programming a DSP of a hearing aid, wherein the DSP of the hearing aid modifies input audio signals using the adjusted DSP correction factors.       
 
         [0023]    In a further preferred embodiment of the method, the location includes a plurality of regions and the acoustic characterization data includes region characterization data for the respective regions. 
         [0024]    In a further preferred embodiment of the method, at least one of the acoustic characterization data and the hearing loss profile database is accessible over a communications network. 
         [0025]    In a further preferred embodiment, the method includes requiring payment of a fee before performing at least one of steps (a), (b) and (c). 
         [0026]    In a further preferred embodiment, the method includes identifying a favored acoustic region (e.g., best seat) in the location based on the acoustic characterization data and the hearing loss profile of an individual using a hearing aid. 
         [0027]    In a still further embodiment, the method includes providing access to acoustic characterization data and the hearing loss profile database over a communications network. The location comprises a plurality of regions having distinct acoustic properties and the acoustic characterization data comprises regional data corresponding thereto. The location further comprises a connection interface (such as an input/out device connection or a wireless input/output connection) at each of said regions (or identifiable as emanating from a particular region) for allowing a data connection between the hearing aid and the communications network, and further comprising connecting the hearing aid to the communications network when the hearing aid is located within a particular region within the location, computing the adjusted DSP correction factor based on characterization data associated with that region and transmitting the adjusted DSP correction factor as a DSP programming signal for programming the DSP of the hearing aid, wherein the DSP of the hearing aid modifies input audio signals using the adjusted DSP correction factors. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0028]      FIG. 1  illustrates a group of establishments using a computer and the Internet to connect to a centralized database containing hearing data about individuals. 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  illustrates a basic system for receiving sound, processing it through a mixing board and computer, and using an amplifier to play the sound through a speaker. 
           [0030]      FIG. 3  illustrates a basic computer system containing a DSP, a program, and local storage. 
           [0031]      FIG. 4  illustrates a floor plan of an establishment, showing a variety of hearing types within different sections of the establishment. 
           [0032]      FIG. 5  illustrates a flow diagram of a process used by an establishment for optimizing the sound for an individual. 
           [0033]      FIG. 6  illustrates a flow diagram of a business transaction taking place between a customer, a place of business, and a third-party hearing services provider. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0034]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of a system  100  for providing establishments with individuals&#39; hearing information consisting of a theater  110 , a conventional computer  115 , a database  120 , the Internet  125 , an example of user data  130 , a church  135 , a stadium  140 , and an opera  150 . 
         [0035]    Theater  110  is an example of an establishment having signed up as a client of hearing health system  100 . The establishment is interested in hearing profile information of individuals so as to optimize sound for those individuals. Computer  115  resides within each establishment. Computer  115  accesses database  120  using Internet  125 . Database  120  belongs to a third party and resides in a remote location separate from theater  110 . Database  120  contains hearing information about individuals in the form of user data  130 . For example, user data  130  includes specific technical information about an individual&#39;s hearing aid, such as specific frequencies and amplitudes that the person has trouble hearing. Computer  115  allows a user or program residing at theater  110  to access user data  130  with appropriate security and user permissions. 
         [0036]    Several other examples of establishments are shown. Church  135 , stadium  140 , and opera  150  also have access to the same hearing health database using their own computers  115  and Internet  125 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 2  is a diagram of a system  200  for amplifying sound consisting of a sound source  210 , a microphone  215 , a mixing board  220 , computer  115 , an amplifier  230 , and a speaker  235 . 
         [0038]    System  200  shows a common setup used to amplify sound to a large group or audience. In this case, system  200  exists within theater  110  as described in  FIG. 1 . Sound source  210  is the voice of an actor or actress performing on stage. This person has some method of inputting his or her voice into system  200 , commonly microphone  215  attached to his or her body or near the stage. Microphone  215  is typically input to mixing board  220 . Mixing board  220  performs a number of functions, including the amplification and combining of sounds. Mixing board  220  connects to computer  115 . Computer  115  takes the sound from mixing board  220  and passes it to amplifier  230 . Using a program, computer  115  performs a number of different functions with the sound, including many of the functions for which mixing board  220  is responsible. Computer  115  is described in more detail in  FIG. 3 . Amplifier  230  increases the decibel level, or loudness, of the original sound source  210  and passes the sound to speaker  235 , which transmits the amplified sound to an audience. 
         [0039]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of computer  115 , including a microprocessor  315 , a memory  320 , a local storage  325  containing a quantity of establishment data  330 , a DSP  335 , a network/modem card  340 , Internet  125  and program  350 . 
         [0040]    Computer  115  is necessary for the hearing information retrieval process explained in reference to  FIG. 1  and the sound amplification process explained in reference to  FIG. 2 . Microprocessor  315  of computer  115  processes each operation of the system. Information is temporary held in memory  320  before being output, permanently stored, or redistributed to other parts of computer  115 . Local storage  325  is one example of this permanent storage. For example, information about an individual is accessed via Internet  125  as explained in reference to  FIG. 1 ; and the information is then written to a hard disk drive contained within computer  115 . To access this data at a later time, a user can simply retrieve the information from the hard disk. 
         [0041]    Computer  115  utilizes local storage  325  to hold establishment data  330 . A process for collecting establishment data  330  is explained further with reference to  FIG. 4 . DSP  335  is also contained within computer  115 . DSP  335  takes sound source  210  and, in conjunction with program  350 , analyzes the frequency versus amplitude spectrum of the sound or voice. Program  350  processes the sound data from DSP  335  to determine the differences between normal spectrums and abnormal spectrums. For example, if sound source  210  plays low frequency sounds in a particular area of the establishment that has abnormal attenuation, this would be noted in the program. Given such information, a person with low-frequency hearing loss (even with a hearing aid) could arrange to sit in a different area, as sound in that particular location would not be optimal. Even if a person with low-frequency hearing loss were to sit in that area, the individual&#39;s hearing aid could be programmed, upon entering the establishment, with additional amplification in the low frequency range beyond the baseline amplification programmed into the hearing aid. This collection of establishment data  330 , along with knowledge of individual using the hearing aid, allows for optimized seating location, automatic hearing aid programming, or both. 
         [0042]    Network/modem card  340  allows computer  115  to connect to Internet  125 . Computer  115  uses Internet  125  to remotely access information from database  120 , then uses software program  350  to analyze this information. For example, program  350  would allow input of establishment data  330  and analysis of user data  130  with sound source  210  to optimize the sound for each individual. 
         [0043]      FIG. 4  illustrates a system  400  for collecting establishment data  330 , consisting of an establishment  410 , speaker  235 , a sound engineer  420 , an area  425  that sustains all frequencies, an area  430  that sustains notch frequencies, and an area  435  that sustains low frequencies. 
         [0044]    System  400  shows an establishment  410  such as theater  110  as described with reference to  FIG. 1 . Establishment  410  wants to determine the acoustics of the building to help them optimize the properties of sound. Speaker  235  sends the amplified sound to an audience and, in this example, is located at one side of establishment  410 . Using a device such as an oscilloscope, sound engineer  420  performs a series of tests in different areas of establishment  410 . These tests determine information such as the effect on frequencies and amplitudes of sound in certain areas of the building. In this example, area  425  is centrally located with respect to speaker  235 . Sound engineer  420  may find that all frequencies of sound provide normal amplitudes of hearing for individuals in this region. Therefore, people seated in area  425  experience normal hearing. In area  430 , located towards the back right of establishment  410 , there may be interference with other sounds such as traffic or people in the lobby, providing low amplitudes at specific frequencies. Therefore, people seated in area  430  have trouble hearing softer sounds or during times of interference. Area  435  illustrates yet another region of establishment  410  that could experience a change in frequencies or amplitudes from the quality of the original sound. 
         [0045]      FIG. 5  illustrates a method  500  of a process used by an establishment for optimizing the sound for an individual. In this method, a person is attending a performance at an establishment and they would like to take advantage of sound optimization. Method  500  includes the steps of: 
       Step  510 : Registering Individual 
       [0046]    In this step, an individual registers with establishment  410  to receive sound optimization. Ideally, this step happens at the time of ticket purchase, but could also be offered in numerous other ways before the event. If the individual buys tickets at a box office, an employee could offer this service by asking directly. Registration could be as simple as writing his or her name on a piece of paper. Preferably, the employee would input the individual using program  350  as described with reference to  FIG. 3 . This step is crucial to having a list of individuals, either on paper or stored electronically, who will take advantage of enhanced sound. Method  500  proceeds to step  515 . 
       Step  515 : Downloading Individual Data 
       [0047]    In this step, establishment  410  uses system  100  to download hearing information about individuals registered for the service. If a list of registered individuals is stored electronically, this list can be compared with the list of individuals in user data  130  on database  120 . Method  500  proceeds to step  520 . 
       Step  520 : Is Individual Verified? 
       [0048]    In this decision step, establishment  410  must verify that the registrant in step  510  has a profile in user data  130 . A piece of software residing on database  120  could display a message or list of individuals who do not have a profile stored in user data  130 . For each individual located in user data  130 , information is transmitted over Internet  125  to computer  115 . If an individual is verified, method  500  proceeds to step  525 . If not, method  500  ends. 
       Step  525 : Charging Premium 
       [0049]    In this step, an individual that has signed up for sound optimization and has been verified in user data  130  is charged a premium for this service. Ideally, this happens at the time of ticket purchase, but the premium could also be collected at a box office or other location before the event. 
       Step  530 : Picking Best Seating Location 
       [0050]    In this step, a specific seat can be picked for the individual because the seat would provide appropriate acoustics based on his or her personal hearing profile. Seat selection could be done either manually by an employee or automatically by a piece of software. After comparing the individual&#39;s downloaded hearing profile from step  515  and establishment  410 &#39;s sound information as determined by system  400 , a seat could be assigned. 
       Step  535 : Entering Theater 
       [0051]    In this step, the individual enters establishment  410  and sits in the predetermined location as described in step  530 . 
       Step  540 : Programming DSP 
       [0052]    In this step, if program  350  has determined that it is possible to program the individual&#39;s hearing aid as well as or independent of his or her seating, the individual presents his or her hearing aid to staff of establishment  410  upon entering, and the DSP in the individual&#39;s hearing aid is independently programmed. This can be accomplished in a number of different ways, such as wirelessly (if that capability exists) programming the code to access the hearing aid and to enter the new hearing aid data for the DSP. Ether hearing aids are not able to be programmed wirelessly, so the individual must bring his or her connector to connect the hearing aid to computer  115 . 
       Step  545 : Broadcasting Sound 
       [0053]    In this step, establishment  410  broadcasts sound to the audience using system  200 . 
         [0054]      FIG. 6  illustrates a system  600  for conducting a business transaction based on the systems and method of the present invention. System  600  includes a customer  610 , a group of establishments  615 , a customer premium  620 , an establishment 1  617 , a hearing health center  625 , and a client premium  630 . 
         [0055]    System  600  is the business transaction among three parties participating in the hearing optimization service. Customer  610  pays customer premium  620  in order to take advantage of this service offered by any number of group of establishments  615 . In this example, customer  610  pays a nominal fee to establishment 1  617 . Individual customers  610  pay a fee on an individual basis to each establishment. 
         [0056]    Each establishment in group of establishments  615  pays client premium  630  to receive hearing information about customers  610  who desire the service. This allows the business to optimize the sound for each individual&#39;s hearing device. Client premium  630  is paid to the company that owns and maintains hearing health center  625  and database  120  storing user data  130  in individual profiles.