No need to pay attention, just check in with your ear once in awhile
Eolas envisions a device system that goes the extra mile and will probably control your every moment once it gets to know you. Patent #11540093 notes that it’s hard for parties to keep track of all that’s said in a conversation so critical information may be lost. The (loosely paraphrased) patent remedy is to
identify the mention of specific entities, e.g. telephone numbers, email addresses, dates and times, locations, etc. [display to the parties] who may indicate actions to perform … including disregarding due to non-relevance, inaccuracy, imprecision [and] train the system on contexts which …are relevant and what additional action, e.g. adding to contacts, calendar, or other applications on the mobile device.
The patent doesn’t specify an ear device but why not go that path? The ear’s a good place for starting the listening process, whether it’s you or your assistant doing the work.
The December 2022 Patent List
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee | Issued |
| Using a hearable to generate a user health indicator | 11517252 | Invensense Inc (San Jose, CA) | 12/06/2022 |
| Ear-worn electronic device for conducting & monitoring mental exercises | 11517708 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 12/06/2022 |
| Audio processing for wind noise reduction on wearable devices | 11521633 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 12/06/2022 |
| Wearable audio device with user own-voice recording | 11521643 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 12/06/2022 |
| Hearing devices including biometric sensors & associated methods | 11523202 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 12/06/2022 |
| Ear-mountable listening device with multiple transducers | 11523204 | Iyo Inc (Redwood City, CA) | 12/06/2022 |
| Eartips for in-ear listening devices | 11523205 | Apple Inc (Cupertino, CA) | 12/06/2022 |
| Wireless earbud charging | 11523206 | Sonos Inc (Santa Barbara, CA) | 12/06/2022 |
| Eartip & a wearable device including an eartip | 11523208 | Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (Kaohsiung, TW) | 12/06/2022 |
| Multifunctional earphone system for sports activities | 11523218 | Bragi GmbH (Munich, DE) | 12/06/2022 |
| Audio apparatus & method of operation therefor | 11523219 | Koninklijke Philips NV (Eindhoven, NL) | 12/06/2022 |
| Hearing device cable | 11523225 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 12/06/2022 |
| Systems & methods for configuring hearing devices | 11523226 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 12/06/2022 |
| System & method for adaptive calibration of subcutaneous microphone | 11523227 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 12/06/2022 |
| Hearing devices with eye movement detection | 11523229 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 12/06/2022 |
| Methods & systems for assessing insertion position of hearing instrument | 11523231 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 12/06/2022 |
| Wireless binaural hearing device system with adaptive control of transmission voltage | 11523232 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 12/06/2022 |
| Open fit canal hearing device | 11523233 | Anova Hearing Labs Inc (Springfield, MA) | 12/06/2022 |
| Miniature ear canal type hearing aid | 11523234 | Xiamen Newsound Technology Co Ltd (Fujian, CN) | 12/06/2022 |
| Cover plate for an earpiece, earpiece & method of producing earpiece | 11523235 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 12/06/2022 |
| Combined HRTF for spatial audio plus hearing aid support & other enhancements | 11523242 | Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc (Tokyo, JP) | 12/06/2022 |
| Augmented hearing system | 11523245 | Dolby Laboratory Licensing Corporation (San Francisco, CA) | 12/06/2022 |
| Ear plug | D972146 | Ear Labs AB (Malmo, SE) | 12/06/2022 |
| Headphone | D971886 | Harman International Industries Inc (Stamford, CT) | 12/06/2022 |
| Device and method for detecting and compensating for an oblique ear problem insertion | 11523755 | Interacoustics A/S (Middlefart, DK) | 12/13/2022 |
| Detecting middle ear abnormalities using a smartphone-based tympanometer | 11523756 | Jetly, Anushka Sameer (applicant, Friendswood, TX) | 12/13/2022 |
| Devices for application of localized hypothermic therapy to the human ear | 11523941 | King, Curtis S (applicant, Kirkland, WA) | 12/13/2022 |
| Navigatable implantable electrode and collapsing lubricant reservoir | 11524154 | MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH (Innsbruck, AT) | 12/13/2022 |
| Compositions and methods for treating non-age-associated hearing impairment in a human subject | 11525139 | Akous Inc (Boston, MA) | 12/13/2022 |
| Hearing device | 11526033 | Finewell Co Ltd (Osaka, JP) | 12/13/2022 |
| Hearing device cable | 11528564 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 12/13/2022 |
| Power management features | 11528565 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 12/13/2022 |
| Battery life estimation for hearing instruments | 11528566 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 12/13/2022 |
| Sound capture focus adjustment for hearing prosthesis | 11528567 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 12/13/2022 |
| Assisted hearing aid with synthetic substitute | 11528568 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 12/13/2022 |
| Method for transmitting information for adapting a hearing aid and networked computer infrastructure | 11528569 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 12/13/2022 |
| Electro-acoustic transducer including a miniature voice coil | 11528572 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 12/13/2022 |
| Audio signal amplifier gain control | 11533033 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 12/20/2022 |
| Hearing device comprising a noise reduction system | 11533554 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 12/20/2022 |
| Wearable audio device with enhanced voice pick-up | 11533555 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 12/20/2022 |
| Hearing aid device comprising a sensor member | 11533570 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 12/20/2022 |
| Receiver housing with integrated sensors for hearing device | 11533573 | Knowles Electronics LLC (Itasca, IL) | 12/20/2022 |
| Composition for preventing or treating hearing loss, containing Vitis vinifera leaf extract as active ingredient | 11534473 | Ajou University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation (Suwon-si, KR) | 12/27/2022 |
| Earphones for measuring and entraining respiration | 11534572 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 12/27/2022 |
| Methods and apparatuses for transdermal stimulation of the outer ear | 11534608 | Ist LLC (Dover, DE) | 12/27/2022 |
| Audio conferencing using a distributed array of smartphones | 11539844 | Dolby Laboratory Licensing Corporation (San Francisco, CA) | 12/27/2022 |
| Caption modification and augmentation systems and methods for use by hearing assisted user | 11539900 | Ultratec Inc (Madison, WI) | 12/27/2022 |
| Flanged earbud and hearing device including same | 11540036 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 12/27/2022 |
| Method of rejecting inherent noise of a microphone arrangement, and hearing device | 11540042 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 12/27/2022 |
| Active noise reduction earbud | 11540043 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 12/27/2022 |
| Hearing prosthesis system having interchangeable housings | 11540062 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 12/27/2022 |
| Hearing device comprising a detector and a trained neural network | 11540063 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 12/27/2022 |
| Hearing aid including induction coil | 11540064 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 12/27/2022 |
| Contact hearing systems, apparatus and methods | 11540065 | Earlens Corporation (Menlo Park, CA) | 12/27/2022 |
| Hearing device and method for operating a hearing device | 11540068 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 12/27/2022 |
| Objective determination of acoustic prescriptions | 11540069 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 12/27/2022 |
| Method of fine tuning a hearing aid system and a hearing aid system | 11540070 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 12/27/2022 |
| Hearing protection calibration adapter device | 11540071 | Rae Systems Inc (Sunnyvale, CA) | 12/27/2022 |
| Method and apparatus for automatically identifying and annotating auditory signals from one or more parties | 11540093 | Eolas Technologies Inc (Tyler, TX) | 12/27/2022 |
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.
