Auditory assistance systems are under-utilized, as Norphonic AS patent #12190717 (Auditory guidance method and system) points out. Their patent aims to help people get around without getting lost or bumping into things, especially in fraught situations. As the patent puts it:
… people navigate in long corridors rely heavily on visual aids such as signs, arrows, and markings on the floor. Visual aid solutions are numerous, but they have the disadvantage of poor performance in low visibility and smoke. …Auditory assistance systems do exist but are basic PA systems with only minor adaptations to the specific challenges associated with long tunnels and corridors.
The February 2025 patent list
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee | Issued |
| Earbud with temperature sensing | 12213804 | Pixart Imaging Inc (Hsin-Chu, TW) | 2/04/2025 |
| Optimization tool for auditory devices | 12214194 | Soundwave Hearing, LLC (Glendale Heights, IL) | 2/04/2025 |
| Implantable cochlear system with inner ear sensor | 12214195 | Envoy Medical Corporation (White Bar Lake, MN) | 2/04/2025 |
| Detection and treatment of neotissue | 12214203 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 2/04/2025 |
| Earbud with facial micromovement detection capabilities | 12216750 | Q (Cue) Ltd (Ramat Gan, IL) | 2/04/2025 |
| Hearing device for subscription service | 12217233 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 2/04/2025 |
| Direct alcohol fuel cell | 12218388 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 2/04/2025 |
| Apparatus and method for MEMS microphone performance via back volume | 12219312 | Harman International Industries Inc (Stamford, CT) | 2/04/2025 |
| Acoustic detection of in-ear headphone fit | 12219315 | Apple Inc (Cupertino, CA) | 2/04/2025 |
| Active noise reduction control for non-occluding wearable audio devices | 12219319 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 2/04/2025 |
| Microelectromechanical systems sensor with stabilization circuit | 12219321 | Knowles Electronics LLC (Itasca, IL) | 2/04/2025 |
| Estimating a battery life of a hearing instrument | 12219322 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 2/04/2025 |
| Hearing device and method for operating a hearing device | 12219323 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 2/04/2025 |
| Hearing aid comprising a physiological sensor | 12219324 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 2/04/2025 |
| Method for localizing a sound source for a binaural hearing system | 12219325 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 2/04/2025 |
| Hearing instrument charger device and system, and a method of manufacturing a holder therefor | 12219326 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 2/04/2025 |
| Audio system for suppressing leakage signal from in-ear device | 12219331 | Meta Platforms Technologies LLC (Menlo Park, CA) | 2/04/2025 |
| Earbud | D1060315 | LG Electronics Inc (Seoul, KR) | 2/04/2025 |
| Systems and methods for providing electromagnetic therapy to an implantable device recipient | 12220596 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) | 2/11/2025 |
| Method, hearing system, and computer program for improving a listening experience of a user wearing a hearing device | 12223974 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 2/11/2025 |
| Hearing device and a hearing system comprising a multitude of adaptive two channel beamformers | 12225350 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 2/11/2025 |
| Audio streaming device | 12225352 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 2/11/2025 |
| Hearing device | 12225353 | Shanghai United Imaging Microelectronics Technology Co Ltd (Shanghai, CN) | 2/11/2025 |
| Hearing aid personalization using machine learning | 12225354 | Anhui Huami Health Technology Co Ltd (Anhui, CN) | 2/11/2025 |
| Own voice detection on a hearing device and a binaural hearing device system and methods thereof | 12225355 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 2/11/2025 |
| Connector and a hearing device comprising said connector | 12225356 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 2/11/2025 |
| Cable alignment features in a custom-fitted hearing device shell | 12225357 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 2/11/2025 |
| Pair of in-ear hearing protectors | D1061862 | 3M Innovative Properties Company (St Paul, MN) | 2/11/2025 |
| Two-way radio device for hearing protection devices | 12226286 | Good Sportsman Marketing LLC (Irving, TX) | 2/18/2025 |
| Gaming with earpiece 3D audio | 12226696 | Bragi GmbH (Munich, DE) | 2/18/2025 |
| System and method for pairing a hearing device and an appliance | 12229470 | Universal Electronics Inc (Santa Ana, CA) | 2/18/2025 |
| Medical tool aiding diagnosed psychosis patients in detecting auditory psychosis symptoms associated with psychosis | 12230384 | Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Memotext Corporation (Toronto, CA) | 2/18/2025 |
| Direct alcohol fuel cell | 12230849 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 2/18/2025 |
| Out-ear audio device | 12231838 | Costa, Pedro Antonio Rosa (Kobenhavn, NV) | 2/18/2025 |
| Method to reduce H-field coupling for E-noise and a kind of non-coaxial integrated earbuds | 12231839 | Google LLC (Mountain View, CA) | 2/18/2025 |
| Hearing-aid audio control method and system | 12231848 | Maxlink Global Technology Limited (Taipei, TW) | 2/18/2025 |
| Hearing assistance devices and methods of generating a resonance within a hearing assistance device | 12231849 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 2/18/2025 |
| Method for directional signal processing for a binaural hearing system | 12231850 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 2/18/2025 |
| Low-latency communication protocol for binaural applications | 12231852 | Semiconductor Components Industries LLC (Scottsdale, AZ) | 2/25/2025 |
| Hearing device | 12231854 | Sonion A/S (Roskilde, DK) | 2/25/2025 |
| Protective element for an electroacoustic transducer of a hearing device or for a sound tube included in a hearing device | 12231855 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 2/25/2025 |
| Construction techniques for hearing instruments | 12231856 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 2/25/2025 |
| Hearing device with remote fitting, hearing system, and related methods | 12231858 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 2/25/2025 |
| Hearing device with certificates and related methods | 12231886 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 2/25/2025 |
| Hearing aid | D1063076 | Shenzhen Shokz Co Ltd (Shenzhen, CN) | 2/25/2025 |
| Hearing device and method of using same | 12233264 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 2/25/2025 |
| Application for assisting a hearing device wearer | 12236680 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 2/25/2025 |
| Ear-worn electronic device incorporating annoyance model driven selective active noise control | 12236968 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 2/25/2025 |
| In-ear earpiece retaining structure | 12238471 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 2/25/2025 |
| Apparatus and method for performing active occlusion cancellation with audio hear-through | 12238473 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 2/25/2025 |
| Suspension of a receiver of a hearing device | 12238482 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 2/25/2025 |
| Charging contact assembly, hearing device and hearing device system | 12238485 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 2/25/2025 |
| Method for processing an audio signal, signal processing unit, binaural renderer, audio encoder and audio decoder | 12238508 | Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung eV (Munich, DE) | 2/25/2025 |
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.
