JP2002078095A - Hearing aid - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hearing aid that automatically turns on a power switch on the basis of it when an earplug is correctly inserted to an external auditory meatus of a wearing person. SOLUTION: A port 2a being an opening of an earplug section 2 is provided with a photo detection section 14 and a temperature detection section 15 is provided in the vicinity of the earplug section 2 at an outer wall of a main body 1. When a luminous quantity L detected by the photo detection section 14 has a relation of L<=S1, where S1 is a prescribed threshold value and a temperature T detected by a temperature detection section 15 has a relation of T>=S2, where S2 is a prescribed threshold value, the power switch is turned on, and a voice picked up by a microphone 11 is amplified and outputted from a receiver 13. Thus, it is not required for the wearing person to operate the power switch by himself or herself and since the power supply of the amplifier is not activated until the hearing aid is correctly inserted, no howling takes place.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hearing aid having an integrated microphone and receiver (speaker), and more particularly to a mechanism for preventing howling when the microphone is attached and detached.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Earplug-type hearing aids having a microphone and a receiver integrally and having a housing almost inserted into an ear canal of a wearer are small and inconspicuous, so that they are widely used by people with mild hearing loss. I have.

However, since the microphone and the receiver are provided at a short distance, howling tends to occur. In particular, the ear canal and the external world are not completely shielded before the ear canal and the external world are completely shielded, particularly when the microphone is worn. Sometimes, the sound output from the receiver is reflected in the ear canal and goes around the microphone, causing howling. in this case,
It was extremely uncomfortable for the wearer because howling occurred right next to the wearer's ear.

[0004]

That is, such an earplug-type hearing aid is also provided with a power switch, and when the hearing aid is not worn, the power switch is turned off. When the wearer performs the operation after turning on the power switch, the sound emitted from the receiver immediately before inserting the earplugs of the hearing aid into the ear canal is reflected by the ear canal, and howling easily occurs around the microphone. It is extremely harsh for me. Therefore, it is necessary to turn on the power switch when the user has completely inserted the hearing aid (ear plug) into the external auditory canal or after the insertion.

As a hearing aid which turns on the power by detecting that the wearer has worn the ear canal, a hearing aid which turns on / off a power switch by detecting contact resistance to the skin has been proposed. The resistance is not constant for each wearer or due to earwax or the like, and has a drawback that stable detection cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a hearing aid in which a power switch is automatically turned on when an earplug is correctly worn in a user's external auditory canal.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hearing aid in which a microphone and a receiver are incorporated in an integrated housing, wherein a light detecting section and a temperature detecting section are provided at a portion to be inserted into an ear canal of a wearer. When the light amount detected by the unit is equal to or less than a predetermined light amount and the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, an audio signal input from the microphone is amplified and output from the receiver. A control means is provided. According to the present invention, in a hearing aid in which a microphone and a receiver are incorporated in an integrated housing, a light detection unit and a temperature detection unit are provided at a portion to be inserted into an external auditory canal of a wearer, and a light amount detected by the light detection unit is predetermined. A gain control unit configured to amplify an audio signal input from the microphone with a gain corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit and output the amplified audio signal from the receiver when the light amount becomes equal to or less than the light amount. And

When the hearing aid is correctly inserted into the ear canal,
The ear canal is completely shielded by hearing aids, preventing light from the outside world from reaching. The temperature inside the ear canal (or the wall surface of the ear canal) is higher than the outside due to body temperature. Therefore,
If the amount of light detected by the light detection unit is smaller than the outside world and the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit is higher than the outside world, it can be determined that the hearing aid is correctly worn in the ear canal. In response, by turning on the power of the hearing aid or increasing the gain of the amplifier, the audio signal input from the microphone is amplified and output from the receiver, without causing howling. The operation of the hearing aid can be started. In addition, many detecting elements used in the temperature detecting section generally have a time lag, and after the hearing aid is properly worn, the detected temperature gradually increases and finally reaches the body temperature. If this time lag is used to gradually increase the gain of the amplifier, the sound will not be output suddenly at a large gain and the sound will gradually increase, so that the user can make a gentle start-up. .

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a structural view of an earplug-type hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of the earplug-type hearing aid. The earplug-type hearing aid 1 has an earplug 2 at the tip thereof, and a port 2a, which is an opening for connecting a built-in receiver (speaker) 13 and an external auditory canal, is opened at the center of the earplug. . Receiver 13 inside the port
And a light detection unit 14. Light detector 14
For example, a photocell, a CDS, a photodiode, a phototransistor, or the like can be used. In addition, a temperature detector 15 is provided near the earplug 2 on the outer wall of the main body 1. The temperature detection unit 15 may use a thermistor, a platinum resistor, a Si diode, or the like, and may detect the temperature of the surface of the human body using a temperature measurement system using infrared rays. A microphone 11 is provided on the back of the main body 1 so as to face the outside.

In FIG. 2, a microphone 11 includes a processing circuit 12
Is connected to the receiver 13 via the. Processing circuit 12
Is a circuit for amplifying and equalizing an audio signal input from the microphone 11, and power is supplied from a power supply unit 17 via a switch 18.

The light detecting section 14 and the temperature detecting section 15 are inputted to a judging section 16. The determination unit 16 is configured by a comparison circuit such as an operational amplifier or a processor. The determination unit 16 compares the magnitude of the light amount L detected by the light detection unit 14 with a predetermined threshold value S1.
Compares the detected temperature T with a predetermined threshold value S2. Then, when L ≦ (or <) S1 and T ≧ (or>) S2, a signal for turning on the switch 18 is output. The switch 18 is turned on by this signal, and connects the power supply unit 17 to the processing circuit 12. Accordingly, the processing circuit 12 starts operating, and the audio signal input from the microphone 11 is equalized and amplified, and output from the receiver 13.

When the wearer correctly attaches the earplug 2 of the hearing aid to the ear canal and the external ear canal is shielded from the outside world, the port 2a
No external light enters inside, and L ≦ (or <) S1. Further, the temperature detector 15 comes into contact with the ear canal, and the detected value increases according to the body temperature, and T ≧ (or>) S2. As described above, the light detection unit 14 and the temperature detection unit 15 detect that the wearer has correctly worn the hearing aid, and the processing circuit 1
Since the power supply 2 is turned on, the wearer does not need to operate the power switch by himself, and howling does not occur because the power supply of the processing circuit 12 is not turned on until the processing circuit 12 is properly worn.

When the wearer removes the hearing aid from the ear canal, external light enters the light detection unit 14 and the temperature detection unit 15
Is also lowered, the power switch 18 is turned off by the judgment of the judgment unit 16.

In the embodiment of FIG.
Although the light detecting section 14 is provided in the area a and the temperature detecting section 15 is provided on the outer surface of the main body 1, such arrangement may not be possible due to the shape of the main body and the configuration of each part. In this case, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the light detection unit 14 and the temperature detection unit 15 are arranged inside the main body 1 and the light detection unit 14
Is connected by a light introducing section 21 such as an optical fiber, and the section from the outer wall of the main body 1 to the temperature detecting section 15 is connected by a heat conducting section 22 such as a metal having good heat conductivity. With this configuration, the degree of freedom in arranging components inside the hearing aid body is increased.

Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the power switch for the processing circuit 12 is turned on / off based on the judgment result of the judging section 16, but the power is supplied by another switch (or by setting / removing a battery). ), And howling may be prevented by adjusting the gain of the processing circuit 12. FIG. 4 shows a circuit block diagram in this case. In the figure, a power supply circuit system is omitted. The light detection unit 14 and the temperature detection unit 15 are connected to the determination unit 16. The processing circuit 12 is an amplifier VCA whose gain is controlled by a voltage, and whose gain is controlled by a voltage input from the determination unit 16. The determination unit 16 determines that L ≦ (or <) S1 and T
When the condition of ≧ (or>) S2 is not satisfied, “0” (0V) is output to the processing circuit 12, and when the above condition is satisfied, “1” (5V?) Is output. This allows
Since power can be supplied to the processing circuit 12 in advance and howling can be prevented by adjusting the gain, the processing circuit 12
Can be eliminated.

Further, the control voltage input to the processing circuit 12 by the judging section 16 may be changed continuously according to the temperature detected by the temperature detecting section 15 as shown in FIG. Even when the control voltage is changed in this manner, the condition is that the detected light amount L satisfies L ≦ (or <) S1. Generally, the detection element used in the temperature detection unit 15 has a slight time lag in response characteristics,
It takes some time to reach the ear canal (high) temperature from the external (low) temperature by contacting the ear canal. By gradually increasing the gain of the processing circuit 12 using this time lag, a comfortable start-up for the wearer can be achieved. When the wearer removes the hearing aid, external light enters the light detection unit 14, so that the gain of the processing circuit 12 is reduced to 0 regardless of the time lag of the temperature detection unit 15 and howling occurs. There is no.

In the circuit block diagram of FIG. 2, the power is always supplied to both the light detecting unit 14 and the temperature detecting unit 15, but only one of the light detecting unit 14 and the temperature detecting unit 15 is always supplied. Power may be supplied. In this case, when the detection unit to which power is supplied detects attachment, power is also supplied to the other detection unit and the processing circuit 12 is controlled to operate when the conditions of both detection units are satisfied. .

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect whether or not the hearing aid is properly attached to the external auditory canal based on the light and the temperature. As a result, the hearing aid can be automatically replaced without any howling. Since the operation can be started or shut down, handling becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a hearing aid according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of the hearing aid.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body, 2 ... Ear plug part, 2a ... Port, 11 ... Microphone,
12 processing circuit, 13 receiver, 14 photodetector, 1
5: Temperature detection unit, 16: Judgment unit, 17: Power supply unit, 18:
Power switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A hearing aid in which a microphone and a receiver are incorporated in an integrated housing, wherein a light detecting section and a temperature detecting section are provided at a portion to be inserted into an ear canal of a wearer, and a light amount detected by the light detecting section is a predetermined light amount. Below, and when the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature,
A hearing aid comprising control means for amplifying an audio signal input from the microphone and outputting the amplified audio signal from the receiver. 2. A hearing aid in which a microphone and a receiver are incorporated in an integrated housing, wherein a light detecting section and a temperature detecting section are provided at a portion to be inserted into an external auditory canal of a wearer, and a light amount detected by the light detecting section is a predetermined light amount. When:
A hearing aid comprising gain control means for amplifying an audio signal input from the microphone with a gain corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit and outputting the amplified audio signal from the receiver.