What is Sonification and Why Would You Sonify?
A Stanford patent (#12471825,Handheld or wearable device for recording or sonifying brain signals) picks up EEG via a headband with multiple metallic sensors (electrodes), then transforms the signals acquired into vocal patterns and vocal parameters. A methodology called sonification is then applied to identify and categorize changes in vocal patterns and vocal parameters.
The purpose has nothing to do with improving speech understanding, rather, to use vocal patterns and parameters that resemble a human voice …to discern subtleties in the underlying electrical signals that correspond to bodily functions…. [which] can be used for applications in entertainment as well as medical diagnostics and research.
The November 2025 patent list
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee or Applicant | Issued |
| Ear-wearable devices and methods for migraine detection | US 12458281 B2 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 11/04/2025 |
| Recipient-directed electrode set selection | 12458796 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 11/04/2025 |
| Communication device for facilitating verbal communication for deaf or hearing impaired people | 12461369 | HAGA2 SRL (Angri, IT) | 11/04/2025 |
| Audio-based social media platform | 12463926 | Bragi GmbH (Munich, DE) | 11/04/2025 |
| Micro-speaker for ear-worn hearing device | 12464272 | Knowles Electronics LLC (Itasca, IL) | 11/04/2025 |
| Wireless earbud assembly | 12464275 | Harman International Industries Inc (Stamford, CT) | 11/04/2025 |
| Ear pad or earmold for an earphone, and earphone with an ear pad or earmold | US 12464279 B2 | Sonova Consumer Hearing GmbH (Wedemark, DE) | 11/04/2025 |
| Wearable device | 12464280 | Earshots Limited (Palmerston North, NZ) | 11/04/2025 |
| Vibrator and hearing device | 12464290 | Finewell Co Ltd (Osaka, JP) | 11/04/2025 |
| Hearing aid with own-voice mitigation | 12464296 | Nuance Hearing Ltd (Tel-Aviv, IL) | 11/04/2025 |
| Hearing device with own-voice detection | US 12464297 B2 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 11/04/2025 |
| Assistive listening system | 12464298 | Digibionic Lifestyle Co Ltd (New Taipei, TW) | 11/04/2025 |
| Extending a hearing device with a user interface device to enable authentication | US 12464300 B2 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) AG (Staefa, CH) | 11/04/2025 |
| Speaker assembly for hearing aid | US 12464301 B2 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 11/04/2025 |
| Spatially explicit auditory cues for enhanced situational awareness | 12464309 | University of Central Florida Research Foundation Inc (Orlando, FL) | 11/04/2025 |
| Wireless earbud | D1100885 | Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (Shenzhen, CN) Wireless earbud | 11/04/2025 |
| Earbud | D1100886 | Amazon Technologies Inc (Seattle, WA) | 11/04/2025 |
| Hearing aid for the deaf | D1101159 | D’Arrigo, Giuseppe (Carabietta, CH) | 11/04/2025 |
| Hearing aid | D1101160 | Kuang, Jianhong (Shenzhen, CN) | 11/04/2025 |
| Devices, methods and systems for ear-based photoacoustic plethysmography | 12465219 | QUALCOMM Inc (San Diego, CA) | 11/11/2025 |
| Ear-worn device and reproduction method | 12465524 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd (Osaka, JP) | 11/11/2025 |
| Combination implant system with removable earplug sensor and implanted battery | 12465754 | Envoy Medical Corporation (White Bear Lake, MN) | 11/11/2025 |
| Neural stimulator with flying lead electrode | 12465755 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 11/11/2025 |
| Charging container for storing and charging an in-ear audio listening device | 12470076 | Marshall Group AB (Stockholm, SE) | 11/11/2025 |
| In-ear acoustic device with transparency and noise-cancellation | US 12470858 B2 | Google LLC (Mountain View, CA) | 11/11/2025 |
| Adjustable ear worn apparatus | US 12470859 B1 | Aurenar Inc (St Louis, MO) | 11/11/2025 |
| Wearable sound device and method for ventilation and acoustic tuning | 12470863 | xMEMS Labs Inc (Santa Clara, CA) | 11/11/2025 |
| Hearing-assist systems and methods for audio quality enhancements in performance venues | 12470869 | The Epstein Hear Us Now Foundation (Dallas, TX) | 11/11/2025 |
| Ear-worn device with neural network-based noise modification and/or spatial focusing | 12470880 | Fortell Research Inc (New York, NY) | 11/11/2025 |
| Hearing assistance device | US 12470881 B2 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 11/11/2025 |
| Process for fitting a hearing device | US 12470882 B2 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 11/11/2025 |
| Proximity-based connection for Bluetooth devices | 12470904 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 11/11/2025 |
| Charging case for hearing aid | D1101678 | Xiamen Retone Hearing Technology Co Ltd (Xiamen, CN) | 11/11/2025 |
| Method for checking a PPG sensor of a hearing apparatus, and hearing apparatus system | US 12471793 B2 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 11/18/2025 |
| Handheld or wearable device for recording or sonifying brain signals | 12471825 | The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford, CA); Ceribell (Mountain View, CA) | 11/18/2025 |
| Systems and methods for calibrating sound delivery to a hearing system recipient | US 12471830 B2 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) | 11/18/2025 |
| Earpiece capable of interacting with the tragus and a method of providing continuous physiological detection | 12471846 | Well Being Digital Limited (New Territories, HK) | 11/18/2025 |
| Systems for optimizing evoked response signal generation during an electrode lead insertion procedure | US 12472356 B2 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) | 11/18/2025 |
| Inductance coil path | 12476037 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 11/18/2025 |
| Earphone including rotatable ear tip | 12477262 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (Suwon-si, KR) | 11/18/2025 |
| Hearing device | US 12477267 B2 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 11/18/2025 |
| In-the-ear hearing aid device, a hearing aid, and an electro-acoustic transducer | US 12477271 B2 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 11/18/2025 |
| Telecoil system periodic interference canceller | US 12477284 B2 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 11/18/2025 |
| Transmitting audio streams to auditory devices based on user preferences | 12477285 | Sony Group Corp (Tokyo, JP) | 11/18/2025 |
| Method for directional signal processing for a hearing instrument | US 12477286 B2 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 11/18/2025 |
| Microphone placement | 12477287 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 11/18/2025 |
| Advanced hearing prosthesis recipient habilitation and/or rehabilitation | 12477288 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 11/18/2025 |
| Ambient volume control in open audio device | 12482447 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 11/25/2025 |
| Retaining piece for an earpiece | 12483820 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 11/25/2025 |
| Auditory device source detection and response | 12483829 | Sony Group Corporation (Tokyo, JP) | 11/25/2025 |
| Context-based situational awareness for hearing instruments | US 12483843 B2 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 11/25/2025 |
| Neural network-driven feedback cancellation | US 12483844 B2 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 11/25/2025 |
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.
