Patent Publication Number: US-2023133275-A1

Title: Hearing aid ear tip having safety connector

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None 
     FIELD 
     This invention relates to the field of hearing aids. More particularly, this invention relates to a safety connector system for hearing aid ear tips. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Ear tips—also sometimes referred to as “domes”—for hearing aids are small, bell-shaped or mushroom-shaped silicone pieces that fit on the end of hearing aid tubing (aka thin tubes) and are inserted deep into the ear canal. They come in different shapes and sizes to accommodate the unique twists, turns and size of each individual&#39;s ear canal. Ear tips typically attach to the thin tubes of behind-the-ear (BTE) styles of hearing aids, or they attach directly to the receivers of receiver-in-canal (RIC) or receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) styles of hearing aids. 
     There are various configurations of ear tips that can be attached to the receiver or thin tube. Often these tips need to be removed by the consumer for cleaning or replaced by the consumer because of wear. Many hearing aid consumers are older with poor finger dexterity, and they often do not get the tips properly seated on the receiver or thin tube. When ear tips are not properly seated, they can become detached and stuck in the ear canal. 
     Typically, the removal of detached tips from within the ear canal requires the services of an audiologist, an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor, or other professional. Sometimes detached tips are lodged against the eardrum and must be removed under a surgical microscope. Thus, the problem: when the thin tube or receiver is removed from the ear canal, the improperly-seated tip can detach and remain in the ear canal, thereby requiring a trip to the professional for removal. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a simple and reliable system for allowing the hearing aid user to retrieve a detached ear tip from the ear canal. 
     SUMMARY 
     The above and other needs are met by an ear tip assembly for use with a hearing aid of a type that includes either a thin tube with a thin tube connector or a receiver wire attached to an in-the-canal receiver. In a preferred embodiment, the ear tip assembly includes an ear tip that is inserted into the ear canal of the user and a safety connector attached to the ear tip. The ear tip is configured to be removably attached to the thin tube connector or to a post on the in-the-canal receiver. The safety connector prevents the ear tip from remaining lodged in the ear canal in case the ear tip detaches from the thin tube connector or from the post on the in-the-canal receiver. In a preferred embodiment, the safety connector comprises a lanyard and a loop. The lanyard has a first end secured to the ear tip and a second end secured to the loop. The loop is configured to receive the thin tube or the receiver wire within the loop so as to prevent detachment of the ear tip assembly from the thin tube or the receiver wire when the thin tube or the receiver wire is pulled from the ear canal. 
     In some embodiments, the loop is formed of elastic material that will allow the loop to stretch sufficiently to slide over the thin tube connector to receive the thin tube within the loop, or to slide over the in-the-canal receiver to receive the receiver wire within the loop. 
     In some embodiments, the ear tip, the lanyard and the loop are integrally formed from a single material, such as silicone. 
     In some embodiments, the lanyard and loop are formed of metal wire with an opening in the loop into which the thin tube or the receiver wire may be inserted. In other embodiments, the lanyard and loop are formed from monofilament line, such that the thin tube or the receiver wire may be inserted into the loop and a slipknot will cinch down to hold the loop in place. Alternatively, a metal ring may be attached to the end of the monofilament line, with a break in the loop for receiving the thin tube or the receiver wire. 
     In some embodiments, the ear tip comprises an ear mold, an open dome, a closed dome, a power dome, or a sleeve. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other embodiments of the invention will become apparent by reference to the detailed description in conjunction with the figures, wherein elements are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein: 
         FIG.  1    depicts a receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aid receiver and wire, with no ear tip attached thereto; 
         FIG.  2    depicts an ear tip assembly having a safety connector according to a preferred embodiment; 
         FIG.  3    depicts an RIC hearing aid receiver and wire, with a safety connector of an ear tip assembly attached to the wire according to a preferred embodiment, and the ear tip detached from the receiver; 
         FIG.  4    depicts an RIC hearing aid receiver and wire, with a safety connector of an ear tip assembly attached to the wire according to a preferred embodiment, and the ear tip attached to the receiver; 
         FIG.  5    depicts a thin tube for a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid, with a safety connector of an ear tip assembly attached to the thin tube according to a preferred embodiment, and the ear tip detached from the end of the thin tube; and 
         FIG.  6    depicts various embodiments of an attachment loop of a safety connector for an ear tip; 
         FIG.  7 A  depicts an attachment loop of a safety connector for an ear tip having a slipknot configuration according to a preferred embodiment; and 
         FIG.  7 B  depicts the attachment loop of  FIG.  7 A  attached to a receiver wire according to a preferred embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    depicts a typical receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aid receiver  12  and wire  16 , with a connector  18  that provides electrical connection between the wire  16  and a hearing aid (not shown). A ribbed post  28  on the receiver  12  provides for the attachment of an ear tip to the receiver  12 . 
       FIG.  2    depicts an ear tip assembly  20  that includes an ear tip  14  and a safety connector  22 . The safety connector  22  includes a lanyard  24  and a loop  26  connected to one end of the lanyard  24 . The other end of the lanyard  24  is connected to the ear tip  14 . In a preferred embodiment, the ear tip  14  and the safety connector  22  are integrally formed from silicone as a one-piece structure, such as by injection molding. In an alternative embodiment, the lanyard  24  of the safety connector  22  is attached to the ear tip  14  using an adhesive. 
     In other embodiments, the lanyard  24  and loop  26  of the safety connector  22  are formed from monofilament line, and the end of the lanyard  24  is sutured into the silicone material of the ear tip  14 . In another embodiment, the loop  26  may be a metal ring attached to the end of the monofilament line. 
     In yet another embodiment, the lanyard  24  and the loop  26  of the safety connector  22  are formed from wire, and the lanyard  24  is attached to the ear tip  14  using adhesive or a small barb or hook that embeds into an inside surface of the ear tip  14 . 
     In various embodiments, the ear tip  14  may be an ear mold, an open dome, a closed dome, a power dome, or a sleeve. 
     As shown in  FIG.  6   , the loop  26  of the safety connector  22  may have different configurations for different applications. In a first embodiment, the loop  26   a  is a continuous annular ring. In a second embodiment, the loop  26   b  has a more solid structure with a central slit. The loops  26   a  - 26   b  of the first and second embodiments are preferably formed from silicone or other elastic material that will allow the loops  26   a  - 26   b  to be stretched somewhat as described hereinafter. In a third embodiment, the loop  26   c  is formed from spring-like wire that has a break for allowing the loop  26   c  to be opened for installation around a receiver wire or thin tube. 
     As depicted in  FIG.  3   , prior to attachment of the ear tip  14  to the receiver  12 , the loop  26  of the safety connector  22  is stretched around either the receiver  12  or the connector  18  so that the loop  26  can slide onto the wire  16 . The ear tip  14  may then be pressed onto the post  28  of the receiver  12 , resulting in the assembled configuration shown in  FIG.  4   . 
       FIG.  5    shows the safety connector  22  attached to a thin tube  30  for use with a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid. In this case, the loop  26  of the safety connector  22  is stretched around either the thin tube connector  34  or the adapter  32  so that the loop  26  can slide onto the thin tube  30 . The ear tip  14  may then be pressed onto the post of the thin tube connector  34 . 
     In an alternative embodiment of the ear tip assembly  20  shown in  FIG.  7 A , the lanyard  24  and loop  26  are formed from monofilament line, and the diameter of the loop  26  may be adjusted by use of a slipknot  36  in the line. In this embodiment, the thin tube connector  34  or the receiver  12  may be inserted through the enlarged loop  26 , and then the line can be cinched down to reduce the diameter of the loop  26 . As shown in the RIC embodiment of  FIG.  7 B , the cinched-down loop  26  secures the ear tip assembly  20  onto the receiver wire  16 . As the term is used herein, a slipknot is any device that allows for pulling the line that forms the lanyard  24  to reduce the diameter of the loop  26 . 
     In another embodiment, the loop  26  is a small metal ring that does not attach directly to the thin tube  30  or wire  16 . In this embodiment, if the ear tip  14  becomes disconnected from the receiver  12  or the thin tube connector  34  and remains lodged in the ear canal, the loop  26  can be grabbed using a tweezer at the end of a curette or using a hook curette, so that the whole ear tip assembly  20  may be pulled out of the ear canal. 
     The foregoing description of preferred embodiments for this invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of the invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.