Sonova’s patent #11758341 has an intriguing title: Coached fitting in the field. Whatever the coaching, it seems to involve a hearing device [which] may comprise a plurality of preset hearing programs and at least one configurable hearing program.
Regents Of The University Of Minnesota’s patent #11765523, Ultrasonic hearing system and related methods, uses a microphone and creates modulated ultrasound signals in the 20 Hz- 20 kHz range …delivered to the body and activates the auditory system via vibration of cerebrospinal fluids that vibrate cochlear fluids, bypassing the normal conductive pathway that uses middle ear bones and minimizing bone conduction and distortion through the skull (roughly paraphrased from the patent).
The September 2023 patent list
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee | Issued |
| Hearing protector having a unidirectional sound inlet | 11744738 | 3M Innovative Properties Company (St Paul, MN) | 9/05/2023 |
| Systems and methods for sign language recognition | 11747618 | Meta Platforms Technologies LLC (Menlo Park, CA) | 9/05/2023 |
| Content output management in a head mounted wearable device | 11747891 | Google LLC (Mountain View, CA) | 9/05/2023 |
| Fall detector incorporating physiological sensing | 11749086 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Eindhoven, NL) | 9/05/2023 |
| Acoustic dampening compensation system | 11750965 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) Techiya | 9/05/2023 |
| Machine learning based self-speech removal | 11750984 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 9/05/2023 |
| Spatial pre-filtering in hearing prostheses | 11750985 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 9/05/2023 |
| RF antenna and hearing device with RF antenna | 11750986 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 9/05/2023 |
| Methods for controlling a hearing device based on environment parameter, related accessory devices and related hearing systems | 11750987 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 9/05/2023 |
| Tympanic lens for hearing device with reduced fluid ingress | 11750988 | Earlens Corporation (Menlo Park, CA) | 9/05/2023 |
| Advanced hearing prosthesis recipient habilitation and/or rehabilitation | 11750989 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 9/05/2023 |
| Method for automatically setting a signal processing parameter of a hearing device | 11750990 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 9/05/2023 |
| Method for generating binaural signals from stereo signals using upmixing binauralization, and apparatus therefor | 11750994 | Gaudio Lab Inc (Seoul, KR) | 9/05/2023 |
| Hearing aid charging unit | D997862 | Xiamen Retone Hearing Technology Co Ltd (Xiamen, CN) | 9/05/2023 |
| Earphone | D997918 | Team IP Holdings LLC (Fort Worth, TX) | 9/05/2023 |
| Interchangeable/wearable hinged audio device | D998028 | Dragon Summit Group Inc (Grand Cayman, GB) | 9/05/2023 |
| Cochlear implants having impact resistant MRI-compatible magnet apparatus | 11752338 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) bionics | 9/12/2023 |
| MEMS device with electrodes and a dielectric | 11753295 | Knowles Electronics LLC (Itasca, IL)
|
9/12/2023 |
| Combinatory directional processing of sound signals | 11758336 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 9/12/2023 |
| Authentication and encryption key exchange for assistive listening devices | 11758338 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 9/12/2023 |
| Hearing device antenna with optimized orientation | 11758339 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 9/12/2023 |
| Flexible circuit board of hearing aid and hearing aid | 11758340 | Xiamen Retone Hearing Technology Co. Ltd (Xiamen, CN) | 9/12/2023 |
| Coached fitting in the field | 11758341 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 9/12/2023 |
| Auditory origin synthesis; Audio can be rendered for playback with spatial filtering so that the audio is perceived to have spatial qualities | 11758348 | Apple Inc (Cupertino, CA) | 9/12/2023 |
| Modular and detachable wearable devices for AR/VR/MR | 11762209 | Dolby Laboratory Licensing Corporation (San Francisco, CA) | 9/19/2023 |
| Computational architecture for active noise reduction device | 11763794 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 9/19/2023 |
| In-ear earphone | 11765496 | Merry Electronics (Shenzhen) Co Ltd (ShenZhen, CN) | 9/19/2023 |
| Earhole-wearable sound collection device, signal processing device, and sound collection method | 11765497 | Sony Group Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 9/19/2023 |
| Hearing device for occlusion reduction and components thereof | 11765521 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 9/19/2023 |
| Ultrasonic hearing system and related methods | 11765523 | Regents Of The University Of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) | 9/19/2023 |
| Hearing aid with variable number of channels and method of switching number of channels of hearing aid | 11765524 | Korea Photonics Technology Institute (Gwaangju, KR) | 9/19/2023 |
| Hearing instrument charger device and system, and a method of manufacturing a holder therefor | 11765525 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 9/19/2023 |
| Wireless system for hearing communication devices providing wireless stereo reception modes | 11765526 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 9/19/2023 |
| Hearing aid bowtie antenna optimized for ear to ear communications | 11765527 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 9/19/2023 |
| Assembly for hearing aid | 11765530 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 9/19/2023 |
| Hearing aid adapted for embedded electronics | 11765531 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 9/19/2023 |
| Methods for the prevention and treatment of hearing loss | 11766440 | Ting Therapeutics LLC (Omaha, NE) | 9/26/2023 |
| Hearing device earpiece having intermediate module | 11770652 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 9/26/2023 |
| Multi-mode radio for hearing assistance devices | 11770661 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 9/26/2023 |
| Hearing aid housing with an integrated antenna | 11770662 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 9/26/2023 |
| Hearing device and earpiece with active vent | 11770663 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 9/26/2023 |
| Wax management system | 11770664 | Eargo Inc (San Jose, CA) | 9/26/2023 |
| Shielded case for wireless earpieces | 11770918 | Bragi GmbH (Munich, DE) | 9/26/2023 |
Holly Hosford-Dunn, PhD, owned and operated a dispensing audiology practice in Tucson and was active in management of HearingHealthMatters.org through 2017. She holds BA degrees in Communication Sciences, Psychology and Economics; MA in Communication Disorders; PhD in Hearing Sciences. Following post-doctoral work at Max Planck Institute (Munich, DE) and Eaton-Peabody Auditory Physiology Lab (Boston), she joined the Stanford medical school faculty as director of audiology. She has authored/edited numerous text books, chapters, journals, and articles and taught Marketing and Practice Management in a variety of academic settings. She continues to consult and write on topics related to hearing health care vis-à-vis consumer demands, professional training, technological advancement, capital investment, industry consolidation, regulatory control, product and service distribution, and strategic pricing.
