Apple’s patent #11716567 works the headset comfort angle by eliminating it. It describes a device worn on the user’s clothing, directing audio to the ears while limiting audibility to others: the privacy of the audio directed to the user can be maintained without requiring the user to wear audio headsets on, over, or in the ears of the user.
Apple being Apple, the device envisioned can do more than make you comfortable. The patent allows for additional mics and/or connections to other devices that facilitate calibration of the audio module [which] can further include user sensors that are configured to detect, measure, and/or track one or more properties of the user.
The August 2023 patent list
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee | Issued |
| Signal enhancement and noise reduction with binaural cue preservation control based on interaural coherence | 11715479 | Meta Platforms Technologies LLC (Menlo Park, CA) | 8/01/2023 |
| Wearable device with directional audio | 11716567 | Apple Inc (Cupertino, CA) | 8/01/2023 |
| MEMS die with a diaphragm having a stepped or tapered passage for ingress protection | 11716578 | Knowles Electronics LLC (Itasca, IL) | 8/01/2023 |
| Health monitoring with ear-wearable devices and accessory devices | 11716580 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 8/01/2023 |
| Medical hearing-aid earphone | 11716581 | Merry Electronics (Suz Hou) Co Ltd (Suzhou, CN) | 8/01/2023 |
| Narrowband cancellation | 11721313 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 8/08/2023 |
| Non-blocking dual driver earphones | 11722812 | Magic Leap Inc (Plantation, FL) | 8/08/2023 |
| Situational awareness, communication, and safety for hearing protection devices | 11722813 | Picotera Electronics Inc (Richmond, Canada) | 8/08/2023 |
| Implantable microphone management | 11722815 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 8/08/2023 |
| Hierarchical environmental classification in a hearing prosthesis | 11722826 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 8/08/2023 |
| Hearing device with power supply management and related method | 11722827 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 8/08/2023 |
| Support foam for push button in hearing device
|
11722828 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 8/08/2023 |
| Hybrid shell for hearing aid
|
11722829 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 8/08/2023 |
| Hearing aid | D994888 | HearX USA Inc (Camden, DE) | 8/08/2023 |
| Perception change-based adjustments in hearing prostheses | 11723572 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 8/15/2023 |
| Cochlear implant system with improved electrode selection scheme | 11724107 | Oticon Medical A/S (Smorum, DK) | 8/15/2023 |
| Firmware upgrade for wireless stereo earbuds | 11726761 | Tymphany Acoustic Technology (Huizhou) Co Ltd (Huizhou, CN) | 8/15/2023 |
| Methods and devices for attenuating sound in a conduit or chamber | 11727910 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) Techiya | 8/15/2023 |
| Wireless communication device for communicating with multiple external devices via a wireless communication unit | 11729117 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 8/15/2023 |
| Hearing accommodation | 11729312 | Sorenson IP Holdings, LLC (Salt Lake City, UT) | 8/15/2023 |
| Methods and devices for radio frequency (RF) mitigation proximate the ear | 11729539 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) Techiya | 8/15/2023 |
| Water immune user-actuatable touch control for an ear-worn electronic device | 11729540 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 8/15/2023 |
| Ear-mountable listening device with magnetic connector | 11729542 | Iyo Inc (Redwood City, CA) | 8/15/2023 |
| Hearing device comprising a microphone adapted to be located at or in the ear canal of a user | 11729557 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 8/15/2023 |
| Hearing device | 11729558 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 8/15/2023 |
| Hearing aid with hidden use feature | 11729559 | Hacettepe Universitesi (Ankara, TR) | 8/15/2023 |
| Battery compartment of a hearing device configured to inhibit the ingress of debris into the battery compartment | 11729560 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 8/15/2023 |
| Hearing device incorporating conformal folded antenna | 11729561 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 8/15/2023 |
| Hearing prosthesis accessory | 11729562 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 8/15/2023 |
| Binaural hearing device with noise reduction in voice during a call | 11729563 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 8/15/2023 |
| Methods and systems for establishing and maintaining presence information of neighboring Bluetooth devices | 11729596 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) Techiya | 8/15/2023 |
| Fast role switch between bluetooth true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds | 11729861 | Qualcomm Inc (San Diego, CA) | 8/15/2023 |
| Hearing aid | D995786 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 8/15/2023 |
| Occlusion device capable of occluding an ear canal | 11730630 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) techiya | 8/22/2023 |
| Ultraminiature dynamic speaker for a fully in-ear monitor | 11733550 | Meta Platforms Technologies LLC (Menlo Park, CA) | 8/22/2023 |
| Dynamic virtual hearing modelling | 11735318 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 8/22/2023 |
| Methods and devices for radio frequency (RF) mitigation proximate the ear | 11736849 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) techiya | 8/22/2023 |
| Active noise reduction in open ear directional acoustic devices | 11736853 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 8/22/2023 |
| Method of determining a status of an acoustic feedback path of a head wearable hearing device and a head wearable hearing device | 11736868 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 8/22/2023 |
| Actuator testing systems and methods | 11736869 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 8/22/2023 |
| Smart hearing device for distinguishing natural language or non-natural language, artificial intelligence hearing system, and method thereof | 11736871 | Olive Union (Seoul, KR) | 8/22/2023 |
| Hearing aid having a sensor | 11736872 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 8/22/2023 |
| Wireless personal communication via a hearing device | 11736873 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 8/22/2023 |
| Speaker assembly for hearing aid | 11736875 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 8/22/2023 |
| Method and device for spectral expansion for an audio signal | 11741985 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) techiya | 8/29/2203 |
| Wearable interactive audio device | 11743623 | Apple Inc (Cupertino, CA) | 8/29/2023 |
| Hearing protection devices, speakers and noise exposure sensors therefore, and sensor housings and associated methods for the same | 11743629 | Honeywell International Inc (Charlotte, NC) | 8/29/2023 |
| Seamless listen-through based on audio zoom for a wearable device | 11743631 | Qualcomm Technologies Inc (San Diego, CA) | 8/29/2023 |
| Method for directional signal processing in an acoustic system | 11743637 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 8/29/2023 |
| Hearing device with in-ear microphone and related method | 11743641 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 8/29/2023 |
| Devices and method for hearing device parameter configuration | 11743643 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 8/29/2023 |
| Hearing aid and method for use of same | 11743660 | Texas Institute of Science Inc (Richardson, TX) | 8/29/2023 |
| Hearing aid configured to select a reference microphone | 11743661 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 8/29/2023 |
| Anatomically customized ear canal hearing apparatus | 11743663 | Earlens Corporation (Menlo Park, CA) | 8/29/2023 |
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.
