A bunch of fun and useful patents jump-started 2023 in January. Here’s a sampling.
Breath in, Breath out, Watch Your Heart Rate
- Starkey patent #11540743, Ear-worn devices with deep breathing assistance, describes a method for guiding deep breathing.
- Starkey patent #11570562, Hearing assistance device fitting based on heart rate sensor, uses heart rate to guide you to “reseat or adjust the fitting of the hearing assistance device.”
Know Your Audience Staton Techiya’s patent #11570601, Methods and systems for establishing and maintaining presence information of neighboring bluetooth devices, acts like a real-time curated Facebook or Linkedin auditory channel by feeding you the identities and background information on folks in the room (e.g., business, social gatherings, educational lectures).
Safety First Logitech Europe’s patent 11570541, Dynamic lighting for an audio device, is the most fun and useful of all. It kits out your earbuds with lighting arrays that let you safely roam the streets at night, at least till your batteries run out.
The January 2023 patent list
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee | Issued |
| Ear-worn devices with deep breathing assistance | 11540743 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/03/2023 |
| Generation of inner ear cells | 11542472 | Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary (Boston, MA) | 1/03/2023 |
| Load sharing between wireless earpieces | 11544104 | Bragi GmbH (Munich, DE)
|
1/03/2023 |
| Binaural beamforming microphone array | 11546691 | Northwestern Polytechnical University (Shanxi, CN) | 1/03/2023 |
| Earpiece and method for forming an earpiece | 11546698 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) | 1/03/2023 |
| Hearing device with service mode and related method | 11546699 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/03/2023 |
| Cochlear implant system with an improved selection of temporal features for which to be coded into stimulation pulses | 11546700 | Oticon Medical A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/03/2023 |
| Custom electronic switchable hearing protection system | 11546702 | Schumaier, Daniel R (applicant, Elizabethtown, TN) | 1/03/2023 |
| Pre-pairing of hearing aids | 11546704 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/03/2023 |
| Adaptive multi-band hearing device | 11546705 | GN Audio A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/03/2023 |
| RF antenna and hearing device with RF antenna | 11546706 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/03/2023 |
| Convertibility of a bone conduction device | 11546708 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 1/03/2023 |
| Hearing prosthesis | 11547854 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 1/10/2023 |
| Always on headwear recording system | 11550535 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) Techiya | 1/10/2023 |
| Wearable speech input-based vision to audio interpreter | 11551688 | Snap Inc (Santa Monica, CA) | 1/10/2023 |
| Method and device for spectral expansion for an audio signal | 11551704 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) Techiya | 1/10/2023 |
| Class-D amplifier with high dynamic range | 11552602 | Mediatek Inc (Hsinchu, TW) | 1/10/2023 |
| Dual zone discharge of rechargeable batteries | 11553267 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 1/10/2023 |
| Detection of filter clogging for hearing devices | 11553284 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/10/2023 |
| Hearing device or system for evaluating and selecting an external audio source | 11553285 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/10/2023 |
| Wearable hearing assist device with artifact remediation | 11553286 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 1/10/2023 |
| Hearing device with neural network-based microphone signal processing | 11553287 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/10/2023 |
| Hearing device with embedded integrated circuit chips | 11553288 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/10/2023 |
| Implantable sound sensors with non-uniform diaphragms | 11553290 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 1/10/2023 |
| Hearing device with printed circuit board assembly and output transducer | 11553291 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/10/2023 |
| In-the-ear hearing device | 11553292 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 1/10/2023 |
| Hearing aid insert | D975279 | P&D Gustafson Inventions LLC (Tulsa, OK) | 1/10/2023 |
| Hearing aid | D975283 | Hu, Huanhuan (applicant, Leiyang, CN) | 1/10/2023 |
| Systems and methods for providing electromagnetic therapy to an implantable device recipient | 11554268 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH)
|
1/17/2023 |
| Methods and computer program product for application-based telemedicine for performing a cleaning operation on the ear canal of a patient | 11557389 | Nupur Technologies LLC (Buffalo, NY) | 1/17/2023 |
| Audio device | 11557831 | Team IP Holdings, LLC (Grand Prairie, TX) | 1/17/2023 |
| Knob-like input for a hearable device | 11558686 | Google LLC (Mountain View, CA) | 1/17/2023 |
| Method for directional signal processing for a hearing aid and hearing system | 11558696 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 1/17/2023 |
| Method to acquire preferred dynamic range function for speech enhancement | 11558697 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) Techiya | 1/17/2023 |
| Hearing device component, hearing device, computer-readable medium and method for processing an audio-signal for a hearing device | 11558699 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 1/17/2023 |
| Methods of estimating ear geometry and related hearing devices | 11558700 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/17/2023 |
| Electrodes for hearing devices and related methods | 11558701 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/17/2023 |
| Restricting hearing device adjustments based on modifier effectiveness | 11558702 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 1/17/2023 |
| Apparatus and method for estimation of eardrum sound pressure based on secondary path measurement | 11558703 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/17/2023 |
| Optimization tool for auditory devices | 11559224 | Soundwave Hearing LLC (Glendale Heights, IL) | 1/24/2023 |
| Hearing assistance device incorporating virtual audio interface for therapy guidance | 11559252 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/24/2023 |
| Methods and systems for reducing sound sensitivities and improving auditory processing, behavioral state regulation and social engagement behaviors | 11559656 | Polyvagal Science LLC (Atlantic Beach, FL) | 1/24/2023 |
| Road noise-cancellation system responsive to entertainment audio | 11564034 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 1/24/2023 |
| Hearing device and a hearing system comprising a multitude of adaptive two channel beamformers | 11564043 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/24/2023 |
| Hearing aid with distributed processing in ear piece | 11564045 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/24/2023 |
| Hearing aid system with internet protocol | 11564047 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/24/2023 |
| Signal processing in a hearing device | 11564048 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/24/2023 |
| Hearing aid | D976412 | Park, Kwan Shik & Park, Min Woo (applicants; Jeonju-si, KR) | 1/24/2023 |
| Ear tissue scaffold implant for auricular tissue reconstruction | 11564792 | The Regents of The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mi) | 1/31/2023 |
| Wearable active noise reduction (ANR) device having low frequency feedback loop modulation | 11568849 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 1/31/2023 |
| Dome for hearing aids | 11570537 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/31/2023 |
| Dynamic lighting for an audio device | 11570541 | Logitech Europe SA (Lausanne, CH) | 1/31/2023 |
| Acoustic receivers with multiple diaphragms | 11570551 | Knowles Electronics LLC (Itasca, IL) | 1/31/2023 |
| Bone conduction device | 11570552 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 1/31/2023 |
| Hearing aid system including at least one hearing aid instrument worn on a user’s head and method for operating such a hearing aid system | 11570554 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 1/31/2023 |
| Compact hearing aids | 11570555 | Nanoear Corporation Inc (Houston, TX) | 1/31/2023 |
| Method for direction-dependent noise rejection for a hearing system containing a hearing apparatus and hearing system | 11570557 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 1/31/2023 |
| Stereo rendering systems and methods for a microphone assembly with dynamic tracking | 11570558 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 1/31/2023 |
| Hearing instrument comprising a parasitic battery antenna element | 11570559 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/31/2023 |
| Hearing devices and methods of making the same | 11570561 | Falcom A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/31/2023 |
| Hearing assistance device fitting based on heart rate sensor | 11570562 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/31/2023 |
| Methods and systems for establishing and maintaining presence information of neighboring bluetooth devices | 11570601 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) techiya | 1/31/2023 |
| Earbud | D976874 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 1/31/2023 |
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.
