Circuit for operating a hearing device and hearing device

A circuit for operating a hearing device with a variable operating parameter is disclosed. A storage device for storing operating parameter settings in a starting situation as well as in a target situation and a control unit, which implements a matching of the operating parameter according to a setting of the starting situation to the operating parameter settings of the target situation, is provided. Further, a connection device for connection to a control element and a data processing device for influencing the operating parameter by a user of the hearing device, is provided. The control unit performs the matching of the operating parameter with a minimal matching rate in time segments in which the operating parameter is often influenced by the control element or data processing device, and with a higher matching rate in time segments, in which the operating parameter is rarely influenced or not influenced at all by the control element or data processing device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of German Patent Application No. 10 2008 021 612.7. DE filed Apr. 30, 2008. which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a circuit for operating a hearing device and a hearing device.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Hearing devices are technical aids, which ameliorate congenital or hereditary hearing function impairments which are not amenable to causal therapy. Hearing devices amplify and modulate the sound, in other words the acoustic signal, upstream of the actual sense organ of the ear, the inner ear. Hearing devices consists here of one or several microphones, an electronic circuit, which has at least one analog or digital amplifier and one or several loudspeakers as well as an energy source for supplying these components.

A hearing device acoustician individually determines the audiometric characteristics of the ear for each patient and, with the aid of this, performs the optimal setting of the operating parameter(s) of the hearing device. Optimum speech intelligibility is generally aimed for here. The damaged hearing is however in many instances particularly sensitive to increased output levels. If the damaged hearing is provided with a hearing device which is adjusted for optimum speech intelligibility, the patient perceives this to be uncomfortable and will in some circumstances not use the hearing device.

The patent application DE 195 42 961. discloses a hearing device with a control unit, which, during a certain time interval, performs the adjustment of the operating parameters of the hearing device from a starting situation which is pleasant for the patient towards a target situation which is determined by the hearing device acoustician to be optimal. This adjustment process, also referred to as “training”, provides the hearing device wearer with a pleasant introduction into the use of the hearing device which is new to him/her.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Modern hearing devices nevertheless provide the hearing device wearer with a series of possible influences, with which the hearing device wearer can on his/her part adjust the operating parameters of the hearing device to his/her wishes and requirements. This influence can however run contrary to the objective of the training and in an extreme case can lead to the manual “correction” by means of the hearing device wearer once again canceling out and/or permanently disrupting the adjustment achieved by the training so that the object of the training is never achieved.

An object of the present invention consists in specifying an improved circuit for a hearing device, which performs hearing device training aiming at a target situation which is determined by the hearing device acoustician as optimal, said target situation not being influenced by, or influencing, (fine) adjustments performed by the hearing device wearer or by the hearing device acoustician.

This object is achieved by a circuit comprising a control unit, which implements the matching of the operating parameter(s) with a minimal matching rate in time segments, in which the operating parameters are often influenced by means of the control element and/or the data processing device, and with a higher matching rate in time segments, in which the operating parameters are rarely influenced or not influenced at all by means of the control element and/or data processing device.

The present invention also relates to a hearing device with a circuit of this type.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

FIG. 1shows a schematic representation of a circuit of a hearing device. The reference character1inFIG. 1refers here to the hearing device in its entirety. It includes a microphone2and a listening coil3, which can be connected in each instance to an amplifier module by means of an operating switch11. The amplifier module includes a preamplifier4, a compression circuit5, for instance a so-called AGC (Automatic Gain Control) circuit with a specific threshold value as well as a specific compression ratio, as well as a sound filter6.

Provision is also made for a final amplifier7, which is connected to the receiver8, as well as an ear mold piece9. A battery10electrically powers the hearing device1by way of an on/off switch19. The volume of the hearing device1can be adjusted via a volume controller18. The controller12is connected to an input unit16.

The hearing device1includes a control unit12which interacts with a storage device consisting of the memory13for an operating parameter setting of the starting situation as well as a memory14of the operating parameter setting of the target situation.

The operating parameters to be adjusted are preferably the extent of the preamplification, the extent of the compression ratio, of the threshold value and/or of the time constants of the compression circuit and/or the frequency bandwidth, which adjust the sound to the individual hearing ability and/or the maximum output level. The matching of the operating parameters can either take place individually or together.

The individual operating parameters are now adjusted as a function of the control activity expected or determined in a specific time segment.

The already explained volume controller18, but also the sound regulator and/or program selector switch (not shown) can also be considered as control elements for instance, with which the hearing device wearer can adjust the tone output of the hearing device1to his/her requirements, as well as the input unit16, which allows the recording of parameters from an external data processing device, for instance a PC, by a hearing device acoustician, who can perform the (fine) adjustment of the hearing device in this way.

If a large number of control processes affecting the sound and/or volume in a time segment is now registered by the controller12, or a large number of such control processes takes place in a time segment, (for instance a hearing device wearer initially “plays” with all the functions of his/her new hearing device, after having received it), the matching of the operating parameters of the starting situation to the target situation is very slow, i.e. with a minimal matching rate. This is advantageous in that the hearing device wearer does not attempt to reverse matching steps perceived to be too intensive by counteracting them accordingly. On the other hand, the hearing device wearer is able to judge better whether a fine tuning performed by the hearing device acoustician is suitable or not if the matching process running at the same time does not give rise to significant changes.

A minimal matching rate can be achieved for instance by the time intervals, with which the matching steps are implemented, being selected longer than usual. A minimal matching rate can likewise be determined by the weighting, with which the matching process exerts influence on the operating parameters to be equalized, being reduced.

If by contrast a minimal number of control processes affecting the sound and/or the volume in a time segment is registered by the controller12, or experience shows that only a few such control processes take place in a time segment, the matching of the operating parameters of the starting situation to the target situation takes place with a normal or increased matching rate. The normal matching rate is understood here to mean the matching rate which a conventional hearing device uses with a continual matching of the operating parameters of the starting situation to the target situation.