Oticon A/S

A hearing aid includes an input providing an input signal representing sound in an environment, the input signal including no speech signal, or one or more speech signals from one or more speech sound sources and additional signal components, termed noise signal, from one or more other sound sources, an own voice detector, a voice activity detector, and a talker extraction unit to determine and/or receive one or more speech signals as separated one or more speech signals from speech sound sources other than the hearing aid user and to detect the speech signal originating from the voice of the user. The talker extraction unit provides separate signals, each including, or indicating presence of, one of the one or more speech signals. A noise reduction system determines speech overlap and/or gap between the speech signal originating from the user's voice and each of the separated one or more speech signals.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a hearing aid configured to be worn at an ear having an active noise cancellation system configured to cancel or reduce directly propagated sound from said environment to said eardrum of the user. The active noise cancellation system can include an adaptive filter configured to provide a feedforward cancellation signal to compensate the directly propagated sound of an acoustic propagation path from said first input transducer to said second input transducer. Methods of operating a hearing aid are further disclosed.

A hearing device adapted to be worn by a user and for picking up sound containing the user's own voice is provided. The hearing device includes an input unit having first and second input transducers for converting sound to first and second electric input signals, respectively, representing the sound. The hearing device is configured to provide that the first and second input transducers are located on the user so that the user experiences first and second, acoustically different, acoustic environments, respectively, when the user wears the hearing device. The first acoustic environment may be defined as an environment where the own voice signal primarily originates from vibrating parts of the bones and skin or tissue. The second acoustic environment may be defined as an environment where the own voice signal primarily originates from the user's mouth or nose and is transmitted through air from said mouth or nose to the second input transducer(s). A method of operating a hearing device is further disclosed.

A hearing system comprises a hearing device, e.g. a hearing aid or a headset, configured to be worn by a user. The hearing device comprises at least one input transducer for providing at least one electric input signal representative of sound in the environment of the hearing device, wherein said at least one electric input signal comprises a target signal component assumed to be of current interest to the user, and a noise component. The hearing device further comprises a noise control system configured to provide an estimate of said target signal component and an estimate of said noise component and to apply a statistical structure to said noise component to thereby provide a modified noise component comprising said statistical structure; and to determine a modified estimate of said target signal component in dependence of said modified noise component. Thereby an improved segregation of sound sources may be provided.

A hearing device adapted for being located at or in an ear of a user, or for being fully or partially implanted in the head of a user comprises a) an input unit for providing at least one electric input signal representing sound in an environment of the user, said electric input signal comprising a target speech signal from a target sound source and additional signal components, termed noise signal components, from one or more other sound sources, b) a noise reduction system for providing an estimate of said target speech signal, wherein said noise signal components are at least partially attenuated, and c) an own voice detector for repeatedly estimating whether or not, or with what probability, said at least one electric input signal, or a signal derived therefrom, comprises speech originating from the voice of the user. The noise signal components are identified during time segments wherein the own voice detector indicates that the at least one electric input signal, or a signal derived therefrom, originates from the voice of the user, or originates from the voice of the user with a probability above an own voice presence probability (OVPP) threshold value. A method of operating a hearing device is further disclosed.

A hearing device comprises an input transducer comprising a microphone for providing an electric input signal representative of sound in the environment of the hearing device, a pre-processor for processing electric input signal and providing a multitude of feature vectors, each being representative of a time segment thereof, a neural network processor adapted to implement a neural network for implementing a detector configured to provide an output indicative of a characteristic property of the at least one electric input signal, the neural network being configured to receive said multitude of feature vectors as input vectors and to provide corresponding output vectors representative of said output of said detector in dependence of said input vectors. The hearing device further comprises a transceiver comprising a transmitter and a receiver for establishing a communication link to another part or device or server, at least in a particular adaptation-mode of operation, and a selector for—in said particular adaptation—mode of operation—routing said feature vectors to said transmitter for transmission to said another part or device or server, and—in a normal mode of operation—to route said feature vectors to said neural network processor for use as inputs to said neural network, a neural network controller connected to said neural network processor for—in said particular adaptation-mode of operation—receiving optimized node parameters, and to apply said optimized node parameters to said nodes of said neural network to thereby implement an optimized neural network in said neural network processor, wherein the optimized node parameters have been selected among a multitude of sets of node parameters for respective candidate neural networks according to a predefined criterion in dependence of said feature vectors. A method of selecting optimized parameters for a neural network for use in a portable hearing device is further disclosed. The invention may e.g. be used in hearing aids or headsets, or similar, e.g. wearable, devices.

A hearing aid includes an input providing an input signal representing sound in an environment, the input signal including no speech signal, or one or more speech signals from one or more speech sound sources and additional signal components, termed noise signal, from one or more other sound sources, an own voice detector, a voice activity detector, and a talker extraction unit to determine and/or receive one or more speech signals as separated one or more speech signals from speech sound sources other than the hearing aid user and to detect the speech signal originating from the voice of the user. The talker extraction unit provides separate signals, each including, or indicating presence of, one of the one or more speech signals. A noise reduction system determines speech overlap and/or gap between the speech signal originating from the user's voice and each of the separated one or more speech signals.

A method, in particular performed by at least one hearing device, a hearing device, a binaural hearing system, and a computer program are disclosed. The method can include detecting at least one motion signal of at least one hearing device, processing the at least one motion signal of the at least one hearing device in three individual channels representing three spatial dimensions x′, y′, z′ of the at least one hearing device, calibrating the orientation of the three spatial dimensions x′, y′, z′ of the at least one hearing device to a standardized orientation of the head of the user wearing the at least one hearing device, and determining the amount of motion of the at least one hearing device in at least one of the calibrated spatial dimensions x, y, z of the at least one hearing device.

A hearing system comprises a) a multitude of M of microphones providing M corresponding electric input signals x m (n), m=1, . . . , M, and n representing time, b) a processor connected to said multitude of microphones and providing a processed signal in dependence thereof, c) an output unit for providing an output signal in dependence of said processed signal, and d) a database (Θ) comprising a dictionary (Δ pd ) of previously determined acoustic transfer function vectors (ATF pd ). The processor is configured A) to determine a constrained estimate of a current acoustic transfer function vector (ATF pd,cur ) in dependence of said M electric input signals and said dictionary (Δ pd ), B) to determine an unconstrained estimate of a current acoustic transfer function vector (ATF uc,cur ) in dependence of said M electric input signals, and C) to determine a resulting acoustic transfer function vector (ATF*) for a user of the hearing system in dependence thereof and of a confidence measure related to said electric input signals. A method of operating a hearing device is also disclosed. Thereby an improved noise reduction system for a hearing aid or headset may be provided.

A hearing aid adapted for being worn by a user at or in an ear of the user comprises a) at least one input transducer for converting sound in an environment around the user to at least one electric input signal representing said sound; b) an output transducer for converting a processed output signal provided in dependence of said at least one electric input signal to stimuli perceivable to the user as sound; c) a feedback control system comprising an adaptive filer, the feedback control system being configured to provide an adaptively determined estimate ( h *(n)) of a current feedback path ( h (n)) from said output transducer to said at least one input transducer in dependence of c1) said at least one electric input signal, c2) said processed output signal, and c3) an adaptive algorithm. The hearing aid further comprises d) a database comprising a multitude (M) of previously determined candidate feedback paths ( hm ); and e) a controller configured to identify a change in the current feedback path ( h (n)) based on the adaptively determined estimate ( h *(n)) of the current feedback path and at least one of said multitude of previously determined candidate feedback paths ( h m ). A method of operating a hearing aid is further disclosed. The invention may e.g. be used in hearing aids, e.g. binaural hearing aid systems or headsets, or speakerphones, or combinations thereof.