Arm Limited is a British semiconductor company that develops and licenses central processing cores for devices ranging from computer servers to sensors and smartphones. Along with other Big Tech firms, ARM has entered the hearing loss arena with patent #12032155, Method and head-mounted unit for assisting a hearing-impaired user.
True to its roots, ARM lends its central processing approach to the problem of hearing loss, which yields a comprehensive patent that touches on pretty much everything in the communications tool bag, including (roughly paraphrased from the patent):
…voice recognition, directional mics, sound recognition (of predetermined sounds) …Information provided by a user interface…in different ways including one or more of displaying text on a display, amplified playback of sound through an audio unit, and displaying hand-signs on a display. The audio unit may be speakers, headphones, earphones, bone-conducting headphones, a hearing aid, or any other type of audio playback device.
The July 2024 patent list
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee | Issued |
| Open ear audio device with bone conduction speaker | RE50033 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/02/2024 |
| Alertness determination for non-alert detection using ear-worn electronic devices | 12023147 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 7/02/2024 |
| Patient specific adjustment of cochlear implant insertion trajectories | 12023223 | Google LLC (Mountain View, CA) | 7/02/2024 |
| Surgical tool | 12023484 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 7/02/2024 |
| Diagnostic systems and methods for use during a procedure associated with a cochlear implant | 12023506 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) | 7/02/2024 |
| Wearable audio system supporting enhanced hearing support | 12025855 | IngenioSpec LLC (San Jose, CA) | 7/02/2024 |
| Hearing device system, devices and method of creating a trusted bond between a hearing device and a user application | 12026245 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/02/2024 |
| In-ear audio output device having a stability band designed to minimize acoustic port blockage | 12028670 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/02/2024 |
| Driving circuit and wearable sound device thereof | 12028673 | xMEMS Labs Inc (Santa Clara, CA) | 7/02/2024 |
| Power management features | 12028681 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 7/02/2024 |
| Mobile hearing aid having foldable earphone and howling prevention circuit | 12028682 | Cho, Sung Jae (Miryang-si, KR) | 7/02/2024 |
| Hearing aid method and apparatus for noise reduction, chip, headphone and storage medium | 12028683 | Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co Ltd (Shenzhen, CN) | 7/02/2024 |
| Spatially differentiated noise reduction for hearing devices | 12028684 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 7/02/2024 |
| Hearing aid system for estimating acoustic transfer functions | 12028685 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 7/02/2024 |
| RF antenna and hearing device with RF antenna | 12028686 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 7/02/2024 |
| Hearing aid with handsfree control | 12028687 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 7/02/2024 |
| Speaker assembly for hearing aid | 12028688 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 7/02/2024 |
| Hearing aid housing with an integrated antenna | 12028689 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/02/2024 |
| Secure connection between internet server and hearing aid | 12028705 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 7/02/2024 |
| Portable charger | D1033348 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 7/02/2024 |
| Method of estimating a system response of an individual listener’s brain to a sound signal stimulus | 12029572 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 7/09/2024 |
| Apparatuses, systems, and methods for increasing or manipulating noise attenuation in hearing protection device | 12029628 | Honeywell International Inc (Morris Plains, NJ) | 7/09/2024 |
| Cochlear implant hearing aid system | 12029906 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 7/09/2024 |
| Method and head-mounted unit for assisting a hearing-impaired user | 12032155 | Arm Limited (Cambridge, GB) | 7/09/2024 |
| Signal component estimation using coherence | 12033657 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/09/2024 |
| Multi-modal audio amplifier and related system | 12034414 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/09/2024 |
| Caption modification and augmentation systems and methods for use by hearing assisted user | 12035070 | Ultratec Inc (Madison, WI) | 7/09/2024 |
| Earpiece fitting system | 12035093 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/09/2024 |
| Ear tip for portable wireless listening device | 12035094 | Apple Inc (Cupertino, CA) | 7/09/2024 |
| Ear-worn electronic device employing user-initiated acoustic environment adaptation | 12035107 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 7/09/2024 |
| Hearing device having a magnetic induction coil | 12035109 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/09/2024 |
| Hearing assistance devices with control of other devices | 12035110 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 7/09/2024 |
| Method for providing visual markings on a connector for a hearing device | 12035111 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/09/2024 |
| Cochlear implants including electrode arrays and methods of making the same | 12036402 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) | 7/16/2024 |
| Audio device | 12041404 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/16/2024 |
| Charging kit for charging one or more rechargeable hearing devices | 12041407 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/16/2024 |
| Ear tips and related devices and methods | 12041410 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/16/2024 |
| Hearing device with own-voice detection | 12041417 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/16/2024 |
| Method and apparatus for automatic correction of real ear measurements | 12041418 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 7/16/2024 |
| Hearing device and method of updating a hearing device | 12041419 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/16/2024 |
| System and method for feature management in a hearing aid | 12041421 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 7/16/2024 |
| Battery module and hearing device | 12041422 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 7/16/2024 |
| Ingress protection from foreign material in hearing instruments | 12041423 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 7/16/2024 |
| Hearable eNoise reduction—battery ripple containment | 12041428 | Google LLC (Mountain View, CA) | 7/16/2024 |
| Location based audio signal message processing | 12041438 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) | 7/16/2024 |
| Hearing aid | D1035883 | Huizhou Jinghao Medical Technology Co Ltd (Guangdong, CN) | 7/16/2024 |
| Ear-wearable oxygen monitoring system | 12042282 | Oxiwear Inc (Arlington, VA) | 7/23/2024 |
| Efficient delivery of therapeutic molecules to cells of the inner ear
|
12043653 | Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, President and Fellows of Harvard College (Boston & Cambridge, MA) | 7/23/2024 |
| Measurement of facial muscle EMG potentials for predictive analysis using a smart wearable system and method | 12045390 | Bragi GmbH (Munich, DE) | 7/23/2024 |
| Wearable audio device with active external audio mitigation | 12046224 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (Suwon-si, KR) | 7/23/2024 |
| Wirelessly rechargeable in-ear hearing device and charger for same | 12046914 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/23/2024 |
| Raised feature on earbud body | 12047723 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/23/2024 |
| Earbud for detecting biosignals from and presenting audio signals at an inner ear canal and method therefor | 12047726 | MindMics Inc (Cambridge, MA) | 7/23/2024 |
| Acoustic device and methods | 12047731 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) | 7/23/2024 |
| Balanced armature receiver | 12047740 | Knowles Electronics LLC (Itasca, IL) | 7/23/2024 |
| B2 Modular hearing instrument comprising electro-acoustic calibration parameters | 12047745 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/23/2024 |
| Hearing instrument and method for directional signal processing of signals in a microphone array | 12047747 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 7/23/2024 |
| Hearing device and related method of wireless charging | 12047748 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/23/2024 |
| Cable | 12047749 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 7/23/2024 |
| Hearing device with user driven settings adjustment | 12047750 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 7/23/2024 |
| Mastoid bone start drill bit | 12048439 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 7/30/2024 |
| Systems and methods for calibrating sound delivery to a hearing system recipient | 12048550 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) | 7/30/2024 |
| Method for detecting voluntary movements of structures in the ear to trigger user interfaces | 12050725 | Earswitch Ltd (Bristol, England GB) | 7/30/2024 |
| Hearing aid device with speech control functionality | 12051414 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 7/30/2024 |
| Hearing aid system integrable in an eyeglass frame | 12052545 | TK&H Holding AS (Norge, NO) | 7/30/2024 |
| Motion data based signal processing | 12052546 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 7/30/2024 |
| Damping filter for a hearing device | 12052547 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 7/30/2024 |
| Hearing instrument and charger | 12052548 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 7/30/2024 |
| Diversity Bluetooth system and method | 12052620 | Bragi GmbH (Munich, DE) | 7/30/2024 |
| Pairing a target device with a source device and pairing the target device with a partner device | 12052778 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 7/30/2024 |
| Earbud | D1037217 | Amazon Technologies Inc (Seattle, WA) | 7/30/2024 |
| Wireless earbud | D1037218 | Raycon Inc (New York, NY) | 7/30/2024 |
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.
