Patent Abstract:
A mobile communication terminal interacts with a digital hearing aid and a wireless hearing aid uses the mobile communication terminal. When a user having the mobile communication terminal interworking with the digital hearing aid operates the hearing aid, an amplification function suitable for auditory characteristics of the user is performed. That is, when auditory information of the user is sent to the terminal, the terminal adjusts an amplification gain to prevent the acoustic shock by measuring an environmental signal. The terminal computes an environment profile by analyzing the measured environmental signal and auditory information of the user sent from the hearing aid and automatically adjusts a non-linear amplification level according to a user environment by sending the environment profile to the hearing aid.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a U.S. continuation application claiming priority benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 12/624,074 filed in the United States on Nov. 23, 2009, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0029523, filed on Apr. 6, 2009, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present general inventive concept relates to a mobile communication terminal, a digital hearing aid, and a method of controlling the digital hearing aid using the mobile communication terminal, and more particular, to a mobile communication terminal and method capable of providing information about an operation of a digital hearing aid and an environmental situation to a user wearing the hearing aid and controlling the operation of the hearing aid, and a wireless digital hearing aid. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In general, a hearing aid is fitted to an ear. An audiologist finely adjusts fitting information (for example, frequency amplification conditions) according to an audiogram of a corresponding user at an initial time. Since the user may be in contact with various noise environments in everyday life, he/she may be inconvenienced when the fitting information is not properly changed according to an environment. It is very troublesome for the user to again wear the hearing aid after detaching the hearing aid from the ear and adjusting the fitting information whenever the user environment is changed. Generally, the user does not adjust the fitting information, and must receive assistance of the audiologist. 
         [0006]    Since a digital hearing aid operates in a state in which the hearing aid is fitted to a user&#39;s ear, it is difficult for the user to accurately identify an operation state of the hearing aid during everyday life. For example, the user may determine that the hearing aid has failed due to other factors in spite of a state in which a normal operation is disabled due to only an electric power shortage. This inaccuracy may frequently occur because the user cannot accurately recognize the electric power shortage. 
         [0007]    When large noise suddenly occurs in a situation where the conventional hearing aid does not receive information in surrounding environments of the user, especially, auditory information, the user may undergo an acoustic shock. When the hearing aid adapted for a specific environment is directly used regardless of an environmental change, that is, when updated fitting information is not received, the user may be inconvenienced in everyday life. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present general inventive concept provides a mobile communication terminal and method capable of controlling a hearing aid according to an environmental situation of the hearing aid. 
         [0009]    The present general inventive concept further provides a mobile communication terminal capable of reporting a current state (operation, or environment) of a hearing aid to a user. 
         [0010]    The present general inventive concept also provides a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid using a mobile communication terminal. 
         [0011]    The present general inventive concept provides an environment-aware wireless digital hearing aid. 
         [0012]    Additional aspects and utilities of the present general inventive concept will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the general inventive concept. 
         [0013]    The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the general inventive concept may be achieved by a mobile communication terminal including a radio unit to communicate with a wireless digital hearing aid, an environment measurer to measure an environmental signal, and a hearing aid controller to output at least one of a control command and information to control the hearing aid by analyzing a measurement result of the environmental signal. 
         [0014]    The mobile communication terminal may further include a display to display the measurement result of the environmental signal. 
         [0015]    The control information may be an environment profile in which a frequency-specific amplification gain is set according to the environmental signal. 
         [0016]    The control command may be an emergency control signal to request the hearing aid to temporarily perform at least one of a muting operation and a sound adjusting operation. 
         [0017]    The measured environmental signal may be classified and analyzed as at least one of voice, noise, and sound other than the voice and noise. 
         [0018]    The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the general inventive concept may be achieved by a wireless digital hearing aid including a radio unit to communicate with a mobile communication terminal, and a gain controller to perform at least one of an update operation and a temporary adjustment operation on a non-linear amplification gain according to at least one of a control command and information sent from the mobile communication terminal. 
         [0019]    The control information may be an environment profile in which a frequency-specific amplification gain is set according to an environmental signal measured by the mobile communication terminal. 
         [0020]    The measured environmental signal may be classified and analyzed as at least one of voice, noise, and sound other than the voice and noise. 
         [0021]    The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid using a mobile communication terminal including determining, by the mobile communication terminal, whether the hearing aid is in operation, measuring, by the mobile communication terminal, an environmental signal when the hearing aid is in operation, determining, by the mobile communication terminal, whether a signal level exceeds an allowed range by analyzing a measurement result of the environmental signal, and requesting, by the mobile communication terminal, the hearing aid to update a non-linear amplification gain when the signal level exceeds the allowed range. 
         [0022]    The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid using a mobile communication terminal including determining, by the mobile communication terminal, whether the hearing aid is in operation, receiving, by the mobile communication terminal, auditory characteristics of a user from the hearing aid when the hearing aid is in operation, and measuring an environmental signal, generating, by the mobile communication terminal, an environment profile by analyzing a measurement result of the environment signal, and requesting, by the mobile communication terminal, the hearing aid to update a non-linear amplification gain by sending the environment profile to the hearing aid. 
         [0023]    The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid using a mobile communication terminal including determining, by the mobile communication terminal, whether the hearing aid is in operation, measuring, by the mobile communication terminal, an environmental signal when the hearing aid is in operation, determining, by the mobile communication terminal, whether a signal level exceeds an allowed range by analyzing a measurement result of the environmental signal, and sending, by the mobile communication terminal, an emergency control signal to the hearing aid so that the hearing aid temporarily adjusts sound to be output when the signal level exceeds the allowed range. 
         [0024]    The determining whether the signal level exceeds the allowed range includes receiving, by the mobile communication terminal, auditory characteristics of a user from the hearing aid, the auditory characteristics of the user being referred to along with the analyzed measurement result of the environment signal. 
         [0025]    The analyzing the measured environment signal includes dividing voice, noise, and sound other than the voice and noise. 
         [0026]    The method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid using a mobile communication terminal further includes displaying the measurement result of the environmental signal. 
         [0027]    The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a hearing aid system having a wireless digital hearing aid and a mobile communication terminal including a radio unit in the mobile communication terminal to communicate with the wireless digital hearing aid, a radio unit in the wireless digital hearing aid to communicate with the mobile communication terminal, and an environment measure to measure an environmental signal, wherein the mobile communication terminal includes a hearing controller to output at least one of a control command and information to control the hearing aid by analyzing a measurement result of the environmental signal, and wherein the wireless digital hearing aid includes a gain controller to perform at least one of an update operation and a temporary adjustment operation on a non-linear amplification gain according to the at least one of the control command and information sent from the mobile communication terminal. 
         [0028]    The hearing aid system further includes a display to display the measurement result of the environmental signal. 
         [0029]    The control information may be an environment profile in which a frequency-specific amplification gain is set according to the environmental signal. 
         [0030]    The control command may be an emergency control signal to request the hearing aid to temporarily perform at least one of a muting operation and a sound adjusting operation. 
         [0031]    The measured environmental signal may be classified and analyzed as at least one of voice, noise, and sound other than the voice and noise. 
         [0032]    The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a mobile communication terminal used to control a hearing aid including a radio unit to receive a signal representing auditory information from a hearing aid, a mobile processor to receive another signal from an external terminal, and a controller to process the another signal to generate sound or image, to process sound or image to output the processed sound or image to the external terminal, and to process the signal representing the auditory information to output an environmental signal to the hearing aid to control the hearing. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0033]    These and/or other aspects and utilities of the present general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0034]      FIG. 1  illustrates a structure of a hearing aid system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0035]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept; 
           [0036]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept; 
           [0037]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept; and 
           [0038]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0039]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present general inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present general inventive concept by referring to the figures. 
         [0040]    According to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept, a mobile communication terminal and a wireless digital hearing aid perform a digital-signal processing algorithm, thereby providing the convenience of use of the hearing aid by utilizing a radio communication channel. 
         [0041]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, a user wearing a digital hearing aid may control the hearing aid by collecting information about a current use place (for example, an airport, a taxi, or a cafeteria) through a portable terminal. Specifically, the terminal may receive an environmental signal, analyze the received signal in a frequency domain, and compute an optimum profile suitable for each environment using auditory information of the user received from the digital hearing aid. The profile may be updated in real time, periodically, or according to need. 
         [0042]      FIG. 1  illustrates a structure of a hearing aid system according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
         [0043]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the hearing aid system includes a wireless digital hearing aid  150  and a mobile communication terminal  250 . 
         [0044]    The wireless hearing aid  150  includes a microphone  101 , an analog to digital converter (ADC)  102 , a digital signal processor (DSP)  103 , a digital to analog converter (DAC)  104 , a volume controller  105 , an amplifier  106 , a power supply  107 , a first radio unit  108 , and a receiver  109 . 
         [0045]    The microphone  101  is provided on an outer portion of the hearing aid fitted to a user&#39;s ear to receive an analog signal around the ear and outputs the received analog signal to the ADC  102 . The ADC  102  converts the analog signal output from the microphone  101  into a digital signal. The DSP  103  performs digital signal processing such as noise cancellation, feedback control, or non-linear amplification required by the hearing aid for the digital signal output from the ADC  102 , and then outputs the processed signal to the DAC  104 . The DSP  103  processes noises and sounds of the user&#39;s current environment and creates auditory information (for example, an audiogram) representative of noises and sounds in the user&#39;s current environment. The DSP  103  sends the auditory information of the user to the mobile communication terminal  250  through the radio unit  108 . The mobile communication terminal  250  may create an environment profile including control information to be sent to the DSP  103 . The mobile communication terminal  250  may also send a control command to the DSP  103 . The control command may be an emergency control signal to request the hearing aid to temporarily perform, for example, a muting operation and a sound adjusting operation. The environment profile may set a frequency-specific amplification gain to be represented by an environmental signal generated by the mobile communication terminal  250 . The DSP  103  may receive the control command and the environmental signal from the mobile communication terminal  250  through the radio unit  108 . The control command and the environmental signal may be reflected in a signal to be output to the DAC  104 . 
         [0046]    The volume controller  105  adjusts a gain value of the amplifier  106  using information based on manipulation of the user. The amplifier  106  amplifies a signal at power of the power supply  107  by applying the gain value adjusted by the volume controller  105  to the analog signal received from the DAC  104 . The receiver  109  reproduces an audible signal from the output signal of the amplifier  106 . 
         [0047]    The DSP  103  or the amplifier  106  may constitute a gain controller to update or temporarily adjust a non-linear amplification gain, for example, the frequency-specific amplification gain according to a control command or information sent from the mobile communication terminal  250 . 
         [0048]    The mobile communication terminal  250  includes a second radio unit  201 , a DSP  202 , a display  203 , an audio processor  204 , a baseband processor  205 , a receiver  206 , and a microphone  207 . 
         [0049]    Here, the DSP  202 , the display  203 , the audio processor  204 , the baseband processor  205 , the receiver  206 , and the microphone  207  may be referred to as a mobile processor to perform a conventional operation of the mobile communication terminal  250 , such as wireless communication with another mobile communication terminal to receive and transmit a signal, process the signal, and control the receiver  206  and the microphone  207 . 
         [0050]    The radio unit  201  receives auditory information of the user and system information of residual power energy from the radio unit  108  of the wireless digital hearing aid  150 , and outputs the received information to the DSP  202  and the display  203 . The radio unit  201  sends the environmental signal representative of the user&#39;s environment profile to the radio unit  108 . That is, for example, the radio unit  201  may send control information input from the DSP  202  to the radio unit  108  of the wireless digital hearing aid  150 . 
         [0051]    The DSP  202  processes the control information input from the radio unit  201 , the baseband processor  205 , and the audio processor  204 , and then outputs the processed control information to the radio unit  201 , the baseband processor  205 , and the audio processor  204 . The microphone  207 , the audio processor  204 , and the DSP  202  may constitute an environment measurer to measure the environmental signal. The DSP  202  may be a hearing aid controller that may analyze a result of measuring the environmental signal, output the control command or control information to control the hearing aid  150 , and send the control command or control information through the radio unit  201 . 
         [0052]    The audio processor  204  receives voice, noise, and sound other than the voice and noise (that is, an environmental signal) from the microphone  207  and outputs a signal to the DSP  202 . A processed signal is received from the DSP  202  and an audible signal is output through the receiver  206 . 
         [0053]    The baseband processor  205  may be responsible for voice communication and data communication, and exchanges voice and data with the DSP  202 . 
         [0054]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
         [0055]    As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in operation A 1 , a terminal of an idle state checks whether the hearing aid is in operation. If it is determined that the hearing aid is not in operation, a task is terminated. It may be determined, for example, that the hearing aid is in operation if a response is received by sending a signal to the hearing aid, and that the hearing aid is not in operation if no response is received. 
         [0056]    If it is determined that the hearing aid is in operation, the terminal measures an environmental signal in operation A 2 . The environmental signal may be classified as voice, noise, or other sound (for example, music). 
         [0057]    In operation A 3 , the measurement result of operation A 2  is displayed. Operation A 3  may be optionally performed. That is, operation A 3  may be performed so that the user may visually recognize the measurement result of the environmental signal, or may not be performed. When the user visually recognizes the measurement result of the environmental signal, he/she may cope with an unexpected situation (for example, sudden large noise or temporary hearing impairments due to environmental factors). 
         [0058]    In operation A 4 , the terminal analyzes the measurement result of the environmental signal and checks whether a signal level exceeds an allowed range. In this embodiment, it may be determined that the signal level exceeds the allowed range when the signal level is greater than an allowed value. In this case, when the signal level does not exceed the allowed range, the terminal directly maintains the idle state without a subsequent task. 
         [0059]    When the signal level exceeds the allowed range, the terminal requests the hearing aid to update a non-linear amplification gain in operation A 5 . Although not illustrated, the hearing aid updates the non-linear amplification gain according to a non-linear amplification gain update request received from the terminal. That is, in  FIG. 1 , a non-linear amplification gain update request a2 is sent to the first radio unit  108  of the hearing aid  150  through the second radio unit  201  of the terminal  250 , thereby controlling a gain of the DSP  103  of the hearing aid  150 . 
         [0060]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
         [0061]    As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , in operation B 1 , the terminal of the idle state checks whether the hearing aid is in operation. If it is determined that the hearing aid is not in operation, a task is terminated. 
         [0062]    If the hearing aid is in operation, the terminal receives auditory information of the user from the hearing aid in operation B 2 . A transmission of the auditory information of the user may be preset or performed by a request of the hearing aid. 
         [0063]    In operation B 3 , the terminal measures an environmental signal. Although not illustrated, the measurement result can be displayed in operation B 3 . Like operation A 3  of  FIG. 2  as described above, operation B 3  is optionally performed. 
         [0064]    In operation B 4 , the terminal analyzes the measurement result of the environmental signal and generates an environment profile in which a frequency-specific amplification gain is set. 
         [0065]    In operation B 5 , the terminal requests the hearing aid to update the non-linear amplification gain by sending the environment profile thereto. Although not illustrated, the hearing aid updates the non-linear amplification gain by referring to the environment profile received from the terminal. 
         [0066]    In operation B 5 , the terminal maintains the idle state after requesting the hearing aid to update the non-linear amplification gain. 
         [0067]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
         [0068]    As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in operation C 1 , the terminal of the idle state checks whether the hearing aid is in operation. If it is determined that the hearing aid is not in operation, a task is terminated. 
         [0069]    If the hearing aid is in operation in operation C 1 , the terminal measures an environmental signal in operation C 2 . 
         [0070]    In operation C 3 , the measurement result of operation C 2  is displayed. As described above, operation C 3  may be optionally performed. 
         [0071]    In operation C 4 , the terminal analyzes the measurement result of the environmental signal and checks whether a signal level exceeds an allowed range. In this case, if it is determined that the signal level does not exceed the allowed range, the idle state is directly maintained without a subsequent task. 
         [0072]    However, if the signal level exceeds the allowed range, the terminal sends an emergency control signal to the hearing aid in operation C 5 . Although not illustrated, the hearing aid may protect the user&#39;s hearing ability by preventing sound from being output to the receiver  109  and amplified according to the emergency control signal received from the terminal. 
         [0073]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a wireless digital hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
         [0074]    In operation D 1 , the terminal of the idle state checks whether the hearing aid is in operation. If it is determined that the hearing aid is not in operation, a task is terminated. 
         [0075]    If the hearing aid is in operation, the terminal receives auditory information of the user from the hearing aid in operation D 2 . The transmission of the auditory information of the user may be preset or performed by a request of the hearing aid. 
         [0076]    In operation D 3 , the terminal measures an environmental signal. Although not illustrated, the measurement result can be displayed in operation D 3 . Like operation A 3  of  FIG. 2  as described above, operation D 3  is optionally performed. 
         [0077]    In operation D 4 , the terminal analyzes the measurement result of the environmental signal and checks whether a signal level exceeds an allowed range. In this case, if it is determined that the signal level does not exceed the allowed range, the idle state is directly maintained without a subsequent task. 
         [0078]    However, if the signal level exceeds the allowed range, the terminal sends an emergency control signal to the hearing aid in operation D 5 . Although not illustrated, the hearing aid may protect the user&#39;s hearing ability by preventing sound from being output to the receiver  109  and amplified according to the emergency control signal received from the terminal. 
         [0079]    The present general inventive concept makes it possible for a terminal and a digital hearing aid to interact with each other, thereby allowing a user to check a currently operating state of the hearing aid or a power state through the terminal. Therefore, the hearing aid may be prevented from performing an abnormal operation due to an electric power shortage and the hearing aid user may visually or tactually sense environmental information (mainly, auditory information), thereby reducing an unpleasant feeling or fright when a sudden situation such as large noise occurs. The terminal measures and processes a voice/audio signal and a noise signal around the hearing aid user and updates a profile of the digital hearing aid. Therefore, an environment-aware digital hearing aid may be provided using a terminal, the convenience for a user may be promoted, and a terminal function may be diversified. 
         [0080]    The present general inventive concept may also be embodied as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable recording medium and a computer-readable transmission medium. The computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that may store data that may be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. The computer-readable transmission medium may transmit carrier waves or signals (e.g., wired or wireless data transmission through the Internet). Also, functional programs, codes, and code segments to accomplish the present general inventive concept may be easily construed by programmers skilled in the art to which the present general inventive concept pertains. 
         [0081]    Although various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7