WO2006051346A2

WO2006051346A2 - Process for custom configuration of hearing aids and client counseling and assistive tool therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2006051346A2
Application number: PCT/IB2004/003712
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ravinder Nath Narang
Original assignee: Ravinder Nath Narang
Priority date: 2004-11-12
Filing date: 2004-11-12
Publication date: 2006-05-18
Also published as: WO2006051346B1; WO2006051346A3

Abstract

Invention relates to New Automatic process for Custom Configuration of Hearing Aids, Client Counseling and Assistive Tool for arriving at Custom Configuration & Style of Hearing aids plus Client Counseling. New process ensures more scientific & automatic recommendation of hearing aid configuration & style based on listening situations of special importance to the client, client’s special physical requirements etc. Cosmetic considerations are not allowed to dominate the decision making by the client/clinician. Counseling for Scientific Solution & Reasonable Expectations. New process helps ensure that Speech Discrimination Score is measured for each ear in every case so that patient is counseled to keep Reasonable Expectations based on Speech Discrimination Score.

Description

Description: Title

New Automatic Process for Custom Configuration of Hearing Aids & Client Counseling and assistive tool for use when arriving at Custom Configuration & Client Counseling

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a new process for Custom Configuration of Hearing Aids & Client Counseling - for better user satisfaction with Hearing Aids. The invention relates to a method & tools for automatic scientific selection of software & hardware configuration of hearing aid & its Style. It also covers triggers for extremely useful counseling

Such methods & tools usually comprise of a computer with a computer program or similar device, where the device has visual display, means for entering data into the device, data storing means, computation means for combining the input data, and means for outputting data to assist in scientific selection &. counseling .

Background of the Invention

Great Challenges being faced by Hearing Aid Users

Despite the fact that there have been a lot of improvements in the hearing aid technologies and software / hardware options, there has not been much improvement in customer satisfaction. This is largely due to lack of priority and lack of adequate importance given to challenging listening situations of importance to the individual client before selecting customized hardware configuration

You will agree that USA is one of the world's wealthiest countries. The world's leading manufacturers have set up factories there to serve the hearing impaired with world's most advanced hearing aids. According to the surveys carried out there:

. Approximately 18% of all custom hearing aids manufactured in the USA are immediately rejected by the clients.

. Another approximately 18% are returned within 30 days trial period.

. According to the latest MarkeTrak VI survey published by S.

Kochkin, Ph. D on Feb 27, 2002 only 59.2% of the current hearing aid owners are satisfied with their hearing aids. This figure has remained almost unchanged in the last one decade despite far reaching technological improvements in the last decade

Hearing Aid Improvements Sought by Current Hearing Aid Owners Further, according to the survey:

- 95 % of the current hearing aid owners seek Better Speech Understanding Sn Noise

- 82 % of current hearing aid owners are seeking Better Telephone Listening

Listening in Noise

Majority of the users complain that they can't hear the person in front of them in presence of surrounding noise or other people talking. Moreover they may have difficulty in understanding lectures or discourses. The reason is that hearing impaired people need better Signal to Noise ratio than normal hearing people. Unfortunately, the hardware options normally selected between most of the hearing aid fitters & Users do not include the best available technologies for improving Signal to Noise Ratio.

The user will be ultimately happier e.g. if the hearing aid selected has Multi-Microphone option & other options for improvement of signal noise ratio. Unfortunately due to unscientific selection & lack of any assistive tools to help in proper selection / counseling process, majority of hearing aids selected are without multi-mic option & other options for improving Signal to Noise ratio & is the main cause of avoidable dissatisfaction. Better listening on telephone is not possible unless the professional made it a point to order high-tech programmable telecoil option. This point is often ignored at the time of selecting the hearing aid configuration.

In addition Multiple Memory Option with 4 Memories is a very useful software / hardware option for listening in a variety of situations. However for whatever reasons quite a few people are not provided with this option. Perhaps the reason is lack of scientific selection & counseling process to counter the desire for smallest possible hearing aids.

Manual dexterity and Visual Sharpness

The desire for cosmetics is so great that even lack of Manual dexterity & Visual Sharpness of the user are not given due consideration while selecting the hearing aid style.

Lack of proper counseling on reasonable expectations

We all know the importance of counseling on Reasonable Expectations but this has to made part of the selection process to avoid to building up of unreasonable expectations due to lack of timely counseling to the client before selection of hearing aid options & style.

Multi-Media Menu(s) of Listening Situations

Many times it has been found that clients are not able to communicate properly with the hearing aid fitter while expressing their important listening needs / situations. This often leads to wrong selection & ultimate dissatisfaction after hearing aid is custom manufactured and initially accepted by the client. Provision of Multi Media selection menus will help greatly in avoiding mistakes in communication. Summary of the Invention

We have designed a computer based invention for scientific & automatic recommendation of hearing aid options first based on client's important listening situations and other needs followed by scientific selection of style, both well before accepting the order from the user and sending it to the manufacturer. The invention also provides timely triggers for proper counseling to the client so that the results of scientific selection are accepted by the client and also there are no unreasonable expectations allowed to be built up in client's mind just to sell the product fast.

The unique program generated report, which is part of the invention, helps the professional in changing the mind set of the client from cosmetics to practical utility so that the client can more readily accept the scientific recommendations & enjoy best possible hearing & satisfaction in the short as well as long run-

Timely Scientific Action incorporated in this invention is going to be of great help & satisfaction to:

1) the User

2) the Fitter

3) the Manufacturer

It will help minimize hearing aid returns & dissatisfaction amongst users.

Our invention will help the fitter to easily & systematically help the client in focusing on challenging listening situations of importance to the individual client well before deciding hearing aid configuration and then style Data Entry of Client's Challenging Listening Situations

The invention starts with easy identification of client's important listening situations (preferably using a multi-media menu for easy communication & two click data entry) & storing client's listening situations / environments electronically well before the selection of hearing aid options & then style.

The multimedia menu(s) of listening situations comprise of pictures / sounds to felicitate communication between the Hearing aid professional & the client immensely simplifying & ensuring accuracy of identification & automatic storage of user's special listening situations

Entry of Data regarding Manual Dexterity / Visual Sharpness

The data indicating the presence or absence of Manual Dexterity problem or Visual Sharpness problem is used to determine the style of the hearing aid. With dexterity problems, the recommendation is directed towards fewer numbers of larger & more accessible controls in larger style.

The role of Speech Discrimination Score (S.D.S.) Measurement and Storage

The new invention also makes sure that the Speech Discrimination Score (S.D.S.) is given due importance. In prior art there is no reminder step for the hearing aid fitter to ensure measurement and recording of Speech Discrimination Score (S.D.S.) in the program database. The recorded data is automatically processed & a report is generated recommending the most suitable hearing aid configuration. S.D.S. is clearly indicated in the printed report format to help the professional in building up reasonable expectations in the minds of the client to avoid frustration later on.

Through better communication, the multimedia menus also make it easier to select the four multi-memory programs in the correct sequence Practical use of the Invention

. Our process uniquely helps the professional to guide the client in a scientific and automatic manner saving time and trouble later on.

. The new invention helps to shift the focus from cosmetics to clients Important Listening situations which get TOP PRIORTY and not just a passing reference in the fitting process as in prior art.

. The invention helps to arrive easily at scientifically derived & practical hearing aid configuration which can help the user to hear better in challenging listening situations

. Our invention helps to create Reasonable Expectations in the client's mind by triggering the fitter's mind towards this subject.

. The described process reduces rejection of hearing aids by user after hearing aids are fitted. It gives more long term satisfaction to the user, the fitter & the manufacturer.

. The fitting professionals as well as the manufacturers are happier for a good job well-done in a systematic manner.

Elements of Novelty & new characteristics in the field of hearing aids selection & fitting process

. Top Priority to Challenging Listening Situations of importance to the particular client. . Multimedia Menu(s) for easy communication &. user friendly selection of Challenging Listening Situations of importance to the particular client of which the client may not be fully aware. . Focus also on Client's problems relating to Manual Dexterity & Visual

Sharpness . Scientific & Automatic recommendation of Hearing Aid Configuration & Style based on the Client's challenging Listening Situations & other Needs & counseling for ready acceptance of above recommendations.

. Focus on Speech Discrimination Score as a tool for proper counseling on Reasonable Expectations

Brief Description of the Drawings:

Figure 1: shows a summarized example of flow-chart of the invention showing the important inputs, outputs & process flow in brief.

The New Process is schematically shown. As inputs to the hearing aid Selection process the following sets of data are used: Client's Special Listening Needs, Client's special physical requirements, Audiometric data, Speech Discrimination Scores. These sets of data are combined according to a given set of rules and recommendations of most appropriate hearing aid configuration &. Counseling triggers are generated as outputs of the new process.

Figure 2 "Important Listening Needs" button in the left corner illustrates the importance & priority to Important Listening Needs.

Figure 3 shows an example of multimedia menu of listening Situations incorporated in the invention to felicitate communication between the Hearing aid professional & the client with the help of pictorial / sound clues. The menu immensely simplifies the process of creating awareness of important listening situations, identifying and storing specific challenging listening situations of importance to that client.

Figure 4 shows an example of category-wise index for more Multi-Media menu(s) of listening situations. This felicitates easy accessibility to over 26 listening situations of importance to different clients.

Figure 5 shows an example of category wise menu of listening situations (e.g. under Machine Noises). Similar situations are available under other categories of listening situations & sound environments.

Figure 6 shows an example of form for more hardware selection inputs (physical factors influencing selection). Examples are problems relating to Manual Dexterity, Visual Sharpness and use of Manual Volume Control etc. Figure 7 shows an example of the form to record the Speech Tests Data, particularly the Speech Discrimination Score - important inputs required to generate Reasonable Expectations to avoid frustration later on.

Figure 8 shows an example of selection screen in which hardware options are selected before selecting the hearing aid style and not the other way around as in prior art.

Figure 9 shows an example of a simple output report giving automatic recommendations for

1) Hardware options,

2) Style,

3) Counseling triggers regarding Reasonable expectations etc.

This kind of report helps to get confirmation from the client for a scientific selection & provides the much needed triggers to the fitter for proper counseling.

Claims

Claim 1: Method for prescribing the software options, the hardware options & the consequent Style in a hearing aid according to needs of each hearing aid user, whereby: - A first set of data concerning the challenging listening situations of special importance to the particular user is gathered and stored in electronic form and wherein this set of data is used to determine the most appropriate software &. hardware options & smallest Style based on hardware options to be incorporated in the hearing aid.

Claim 2: Method as claimed in claim 1, a second set of data indicating the Manual Dexterity & Visual Sharpness of the user are gathered and stored in electronic form, and used in combination with previous set of data for computing the hardware options & Style of the hearing aid to meet needs of the hearing aid user-

Claim 3: Method as claimed in claim 1 - a third set of data indicating the audiometric data of the client are gathered and stored in electronic form, and used in combination with the above two first sets of data for computing the most appropriate style of the hearing aid.

Claim 4: Method as claimed in claim 1 - a fourth set of data indicating the Speech Discrimination Score (SDS) of the client are gathered and stored in electronic form, and wherein the four sets of data are used in combination for computing counseling to meet needs of the hearing aid user-

Claim 5: Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data indicating the challenging listening situations of maximum importance to the user and sound environments user is exposed to (during the course of the day) are gathered and stored in electronic form. The information is derived from interaction with the user or persons associated with the user Claim 6: Method as claimed in claim 1 to 4, wherein the configuration to be set in a hearing aid includes one or more of the following:

- Hardware Options (e.g. Multi-Mic Option, Telecoil Option, Multi- Memory Switch Option, Manual VC Option)

- Style (e.g. ITE, HS, ITC, MC, CIC)

And wherein the counseling for the client includes

- Client Counseling to encourage acceptance of scientific selection of Hardware Options & Style

- Counseling regarding Reasonable Expectations from amplification

Claim 7: Method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the data indicating the problems relating to Manual Dexterity or Visual Sharpness is gathered & stored in electronic format. If such problems are anticipated, the recommendation is directed towards no manual volume control and if the user insists a relatively large volume control which is easier to handle.

Claim 8: Method as claimed in some of the above claims, Style requirements for different hardware options / groups of hardware options are already stored in electronic form in our innovative system & where the above recommended options are used for choosing hearing aid style(s) in which the said hardware options may be incorporated.

Claim 9: Method as claimed in claims 1-4, wherein a set of data such as listening situations, Manual dexterity, Visual Sharpness, Audiometric data and Speech Discrimination Scores are gathered and stored in electronic form, and wherein said data is used in combination to generate a recommendation report concerning the hearing aid configuration &. other outputs, as mentioned in claim 6 Claim 10: Assistive tool for prescribing the hearing aid configuration to meet the needs of a hearing aid user, whereby the tool comprises: means for storing data in electronic form concerning the challenging listening Situations of special importance to the user whereby the assistive tool further comprises means for generating in report format the recommended hardware options & style(s) in which required hardware options can be incorporated in the hearing aid to meet the client's needs.

Claim 11: Assistive tool as claimed in claim 10, whereby the tool comprises: means for storing data in electronic form concerning the problems relating to manual Dexterity, Visual Sharpness and whereby the assistive tool further comprises means for combining the data with previous set of data in order to determine the hardware options & Style of the hearing aid.

Claim 12: Assistive tool as claimed in claim 10, whereby the tool comprises: means for storing data in electronic form concerning the audiometric data of the client, and whereby the assistive tool further comprises means for combining the data with previous two sets of data in order to determine the most appropriate Style of the custom hearing aid for the particular user.

Claim 13: Assistive tool as claimed in claim 10, whereby the tool comprises: means for storing data in electronic form concerning the Speech Discrimination Score of the client and whereby means are provided to remind the fitting professional to record user's Speech Discrimination Score which is often ignored under stress and pressure of work. The assistive tool further comprises means for generating counseling regarding Reasonable Expectations. Claim 14: Assistive tool as claimed in claim 10, wherein means are provided for receiving input data concerning the challenging listening situations of special importance to the user and sound environments user is exposed to (during the course of the day). The information is derived from interaction / communication with the user or persons associated with the user.

Claim 15: Assistive tool as claimed in claim 14 comprises of Multimedia menus of Pictorial clues and sounds to felicitate communication between the Hearing aid professional &. the client for the process of correctly identifying client's special listening situations / environments even if there is difficulty of verbal communication.