QuoteWhat instrument did audiologist used to clarify your hearing loss? I mean to understand your hearing loss.In a soundproofed booth I was given in-the-ear headphones and various frequency (250Hz to 16kHz) tones at different levels were played. Some tones warbled their frequency so that they sound different to steady tinnitus sounds. I pressed a button when I heard each tone.Then words were played and I was to verbally repeat them. Then words with background noise were played with the background noise increasing and I was to verbally repeat them.QuoteYes, looks an abnormal range, my professor was considering 2-3kHz.Old people lose hearing sensitivity to all high frequencies but most loss is from 10kHz to 20kHz. Look at the graph I posted. Since a hearing aid has difficulty producing high frequencies loud enough then a standard system is to play high frequencies one octave lower. People exposed to loud noise or gun blasts for long durations become deaf to many frequencies, 2kHz to 3khz is the most common.
Telephones and AM radios do not play frequencies higher than 3khz but the important consonants sounds in English speech go to 14kHz or higher and without them then speech in not understood.QuoteWhich feedback you are talking about?Acoustical feedback when the mic can hear the earphone and the sound goes around and around. The gain at high frequencies of my hearing aids is 40dB (100 times) or more so the standard anti-feedback system in the hearing aids was usually used to eliminate the feedback (high frequency squealing if an earplug becomes loose or if a sound reflecting window or something is close to a hearing aid). The anti-feedback system causes high sound frequencies to flutter that makes music or the beeps from my test equipment sound bad. Some cheap anti-feedback systems simply cut all high frequencies that is a very poor way to do it.Quotewasn't it a confusion? Perhaps strong sensitivity of your device ! or your unconscious mind ?The high sensitivity Mode has very high gain so that somebody talking far away sounds loud and clear like they are near me One directional microphone picks up a distant sound but the other mics reject and cancel background noises from other directions.QuoteI see, real deaf person could feel it. Let me check how much I have lost !I did not know that I had a serious high frequency hearing loss since it occurred very slowly over the years and I did not know that all older people lose high frequency hearing sensitivity. I always protected my hearing from loud noises so I thought my hearing was still good.QuoteI saw the companies website you recommended, seems like they have technically sound research engineer and resources. People here in South Korea also trying to make things more tinny with energy harvesting idea.The Chinese website Banggood has the cheapest and poorest quality "hearing aid" I have ever seen. I watched South Korea Goldstar company grow up and become LG Electronics (Lucky Goldstar) and South Korea Samsung company grow up. Maybe they made high quality hearing aids.
Then words with background noise were played with the background noise increasing and I was to verbally repeat them.
Look at the graph I posted. Since a hearing aid has difficulty producing high frequencies loud enough then a standard system is to play high frequencies one octave lower.
People exposed to loud noise or gun blasts for long duration become deaf to many frequencies, 2kHz to 3khz is the most common.
(high frequency squealing if an earplug becomes loose or if a sound reflecting window or something is close to a hearing aid). The anti-feedback system causes high sound frequencies to flutter that makes music or the beeps from my test equipment sound bad. Some cheap anti-feedback systems simply cut all high frequencies that is a very poor way to do it.
The high sensitivity Mode has very high gain so that somebody talking far away sounds loud and clear like they are near me One directional microphone picks up a distant sound but the other mics reject and cancel background noises from other directions.
I watched South Korea Goldstar company grow up and become LG Electronics (Lucky Goldstar) and South Korea Samsung company grow up. Maybe they made high quality hearing aids.
I see, these booth are available in any ENT medical center?
If so, then what amplifier system you prefer? If we need boosted gain in high frequency, what should be the basic IC ? Can you suggest any company like TI,AD,Linear, ST?
or, you suggest raspibary pi?
Dont you think, I need a survey at my won country considering in-general deaf people?. Yes, I do believe your graph.
But from your experience, it looks critical deaf person need special hearing aid.
Let me know, which way(circuit system) you feel it poor and inadequate capabilities.
Then which point you think, need to be work in this case ? In what device you find this information?
QuoteThe Chinese website Banggood has the cheapest and poorest quality "hearing aid" I have ever seen. I watched South Korea Goldstar company grow up and become LG Electronics (Lucky Goldstar) and South Korea Samsung company grow up. Maybe they made high quality hearing aids.Yes, I admit as a shopper I am a "bottom feeder", and look for cheap stuff, as long as it works I am willing to put up with strange imported stuff. Hate to waste resources. I looked up lg.com, and didn't find anything in the way of hearing aids. Although they do lots of cell phones, washing machines, monitors and other stuff.
Actually I'm a licensed architect and not an electronics whiz, although I have built electronic stuff in the past, remember HeathKit? Have a special interest in what they used to call "Appropriate Technology", things that help people in village cultures in developing countries live a bit better, especially.
Its good to hear you folks (esp Hasan and Audio) sitting down and study this hearing thing, trying to figure out what people really need in the way of features and benefits, and what is possible. Its important.
I do not know any opamp that can be powered from only 1.45V at an extremely low current like my hearing aids.
Since all old people lose high frequency hearing sensitivity then they all need hearing aids programmed to eliminate their loss after a proper hearing test but many old people do not care about hearing sounds properly or cannot afford the high cost of a hearing aid.
I worked with high quality telephone and video conferencing systems. They use a digital echo canceller to make a model of the acoustics (frequencies and their phases) and use it to cancel feedback sounds.Hearing aids should also do it like that.
Hearing aids with front, back, left and right mics can use a comparator to determine the loudest sounds at voice vowel frequencies and their direction.
I looked up lg.com, and didn't find anything in the way of hearing aids. Although they do lots of cell phones, washing machines, monitors and other stuff.
Have a special interest in what they used to call "Appropriate Technology", things that help people in village cultures in developing countries live a bit better, especially.
I am curious if anyone has though of using a beamforming microphone
I do not know any opamp that can be powered from only 1.45V at an extremely low current like my hearing aids.
You can combine all the tone controls in one stage, using baxandall type circuits
eg from here http://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/baxandall-analysis.129124/
I'm not sure you need a midrange control? Hearing aids have a fairly limited frequency range (not as much as 100Hz to 10kHz) so you could squash together the bass and treble cutoffs.
http://www.learnabout-electronics.org/Amplifiers/amplifiers42.php
The headphones gets rid of all outside sounds completely while a forward aimed beamforming mic would really focus ones hearing on whoever they are looking at in front of them even in a noisy environment.
Obviously for the mic, you should also be able to EQ it, but you wouldn't have to worry as much about feedback.
The WOW opamp is rated to work at 0.9v. Maybe a fraction lower.
.QuoteThe headphones gets rid of all outside sounds completely while a forward aimed beamforming mic would really focus ones hearing on whoever they are looking at in front of them even in a noisy environment.
Did you read any article on this? Kindly explain more.
Watching with interest. Ever since I sadly washed my hearing-aids at the age of 22 (a loooooong time ago now) I've just gotten on with life without them because of the cost, thank goodness for the internet and everyone being able to communicate using text
A system I want to try build here now is something which picks up sounds from all around the house and mixes them with the audio in the room I'm in; sort of giving me far greater situational-awareness. I like to be able to hear if my cats are calling out to me / in trouble, or likewise my wife.
Acoustical feedback when the mic can hear the earphone and the sound goes around and around. The gain at high frequencies of my hearing aids is 40dB (100 times) or more so the standard anti-feedback system in the hearing aids was usually used to eliminate the feedback (high frequency squealing if an earplug becomes loose or if a sound reflecting window or something is close to a hearing aid). The anti-feedback system causes high sound frequencies to flutter that makes music or the beeps from my test equipment sound bad. Some cheap anti-feedback systems simply cut all high frequencies that is a very poor way to do it.
These are the first digital ones I stuck with, as I hadn't had good experiences with digital. Really prefer the old analog.
We always wear BTE, as they are the only types that usually have the power needed with the large enough battery to last.
Funny story: Hearing loss got me started in electronics and sound. I started tinkering with amplifiers as a kid and entered a regional Science Fair at age 13 and won first place in Physics with a telephone amplifier I hacked together from a radio and a magnetic pickup coil. I still had a lot to learn, as I used a linear pot for the volume control and demonstrated that there was still plenty of volume when turned all the way down
I'm a digital guy through and through, however, building digital circuits and programming MCUs and such.
Anyhow, I'm enjoying this thread and applaud any efforts in this field. As much as I enjoy technology and having the latest of the greatest, my experience with aids has exposed many problems in this field. The aids offer so many features and options that my main aid seller, as well as several other "professionals" that offered to fine tune these aids and fix my issues, were baffled for hours trying to figure out what to do and what to change on the software connected to the aids. This took many visits and I was left giving up on having some issues ever resolved.
Well, keep stay with us. For the case of software and firmware ,things might not easy if you apply a centered MCU with circuits. Its a challenge indeed.
From this post response, people directed me in right way! Even we want to think in different angle.QuoteOne of the issues was the hearing aid confusing music as noise and always tuning it out. This was a problem I had many years prior when I was testing out a digital aid. I worked in a printing plant and needed to hear the equipment running, including pressurized air or vacuum, and drive motors. Having the aids constantly trying to tune out the sounds was extremely annoying, so I returned them. I needed to hear the noise! This was finally fixed, however, by finding a way to turn it OFF. Probably a disappointment to the team of DSP programmers who spend weeks/months making this "work."Right you are ! annoying work kills your brain.QuoteNow, I like the idea of BT enabled aids and other features, but when it really comes down to it, all we really need is a good, low-power, sensitive mic, amplifier, and transducer, coupled with a 2 or 3-band filter. Everything else is gravy.Explain your experience more.
When you make a whole house microphone system then you will have feedback unless you wear sealed headphones. Maybe the microphone system can light a bulb or ring a bell instead (and something to turn them off).
The echo canceller in conference systems also made weird sounds when the acoustics in the room changed due to many people coming or going and it got confused since its model of the acoustics is different.