Patent ID: 8249284

Claim:
Method for operating a hearing system comprising an input unit, an output unit, a characterizing unit operationally connected to said input unit and a transmission unit operationally interconnecting said input unit and said output unit, said transmission unit implementing a transfer function which describes, how audio signals generated by said input unit are processed in order to derive audio signals fed to said output unit, and which can be adjusted by one or more transfer function parameters, said method comprising the steps of a1) obtaining, by means of a first beam former in said input unit and with a first directional characteristic of said input unit due to the first beam former having the first directional characteristic, first audio signals from incoming acoustic sound; a2) obtaining, by means of a second beam former in said input unit and with a second directional characteristic of said input unit due to the second beam former having the second directional characteristic, which is different from said first directional characteristic, second audio signals from incoming acoustic sound; b1) deriving from said first audio signals, by means of said characterizing unit, a first set of sound-characterizing data characterizing the first audio signals, which are obtained by means of the first beam former, as at least one of speech, noise, speech in noise, and music; b2) deriving from said second audio signals a second set of sound-characterizing data characterizing the second audio signals, which are obtained by means of the second beam former, as at least one of speech, noise, speech in noise, and music; c) deriving a value for each of at least one of said transfer function parameters in dependence of first directional information, which is data comprising information on said first directional characteristic, said first set of sound-characterizing data, second directional information, which is data comprising information on said second directional characteristic, and of said second set of sound-characterizing data, by evaluating each of the first directional information, the first set of sound-characterizing data characterizing the first audio signals, the second directional information, and the second set of sound-characterizing data characterizing the second audio signals, wherein steps b1) and b2) together comprise simultaneously classifying incoming acoustic sound incoming from a first direction with respect to an ear as at least one of speech, noise, speech in noise, and music, while differently classifying other incoming acoustic sound incoming from a second direction with respect to said ear as at least one of speech, noise, speech in noise, and music.