More to Them Than Meets the Eardrum
Hearing aids are fast developing into all-round sensing devices, multitasking on top of sound amplification by tracking eye movement and measuring body temperature (Starkey’s patents 11223915 & 11213252); using EEG and cardiovascular signals for biofeedback (GN Hearing’s 11228849 & MindMics’ 11234069); and monitoring health in general (Google’s 11219412).
No doubt, that’s just the beginning. Move over Apple Watch!
The January 2022 Patent List
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee | Issued |
| Devices and sensing methods for measuring temperature from an ear | 11213252 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/04/2022 |
| Inner ear plug | 11213430 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 1/04/2022 |
| Treatment of the ear | 11213662 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 1/04/2022 |
| Optimization tool for auditory devices | 11213680 | Soundwave Hearing LLC (Glendale Heights, IL) | 1/04/2022 |
| Utilization of a non-wearable coil to remotely power a cochlear implant from a distance | 11213688 | Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) bionics | 1/04/2022 |
| Real-time augmented hearing platform | 11217268 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 1/04/2022 |
| Method of operating a hearing aid system and a hearing aid system | 11218814 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 1/04/2022 |
| Wireless system for hearing communication devices providing wireless stereo reception modes | 11218815 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/04/2022 |
| System and method for personalized hearing aid adjustment | 11218817 | Audiocare Technologies Ltd (Gan Yoshiya, IL) | 1/04/2022 |
| Device and method for maintaining a hearing aid | 11218818 | MG Developpement (Perols, FR) | 1/04/2022 |
| Universal adapter for hearing aids and earphones | 11218819 | Applicant: Junke, Paul Gregor (Bad Saeckingen, DE) | 1/04/2022 |
| Hearing device with multiple consistent controllers | 11218820 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 1/04/2022 |
| Method and system for fitting a hearing device | 11218821 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 1/04/2022 |
| Charger | D940069 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 1/04/2022 |
| Charger | D940070 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 1/04/2022 |
| Wireless earbud | D940110 | LG Electronics Inc (Seoul, KR) | 1/04/2022 |
| Wireless earbud | D940111 | LG Electronics Inc (Seoul, KR) | 1/04/2022 |
| Wireless earbud | D940112 | LG Electronics Inc (Seoul, KR) | 1/04/2022 |
| Wireless earbud | D940113 | LG Electronics Inc (Seoul, KR) | 1/04/2022 |
| In-ear health monitoring | 11219412 | Google LLC (Mountain View, CA) | 1/11/2022 |
| Antenna for a hearing assistance device | 11223109 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 1/11/2022 |
| Near field magnetic induction communication over multiple channels | 11223388 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/11/2022 |
| Personal audio device with improved outer ear fit | 11223890 | Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Redmond, WA) | 1/11/2022 |
| Neural network-driven frequency translation | 11223909 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/11/2022 |
| Algorithm and wearing option interaction with a vibratory prosthesis | 11223910 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 1/11/2022 |
| Intra ear canal hearing aid | 11223911 | Axign BV (Enschede, NL), Noviosound BV (Enschede, NL) | 1/11/2022 |
| Impact and resonance management | 11223912 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU) | 1/11/2022 |
| Compact hearing aids | 11223913 | Nanoear Corporation Inc (Houston, TX) | 1/11/2022 |
| Hearing device having dual band radio using image frequency | 11223914 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)
|
1/11/2022 |
| Detecting user’s eye movement using sensors in hearing instruments | 11223915 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/11/2022 |
| Method for operating a hearing device, and hearing device | 11223916 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 1/11/2022 |
| Device and method to reduce ear wax clogging of acoustic ports, hearing aid sealing system, and feedback reduction system | 11223918 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) | 1/11/2022 |
| Fixation methods for traversing ear canals | 11223919 | Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL) | 1/11/2022 |
| Systems and methods for evaluating hearing health | 11224360 | Mimi Hearing Technologies GmbH (Berlin, DE) | 1/18/2022 |
| Self-powered electrode array | 11224745 | Oticon Medical A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/18/2022 |
| Irradiation device and method for irradiating a radiation absorbing medium, hearing aid device and laser surgery device, in particular for laser ear surgery, with such an irradiation device | 11224758 | Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (Hannover, DE) | 1/18/2022 |
| Transaction card for individuals with hearing and/or vision loss | 11227202 | Capital One Services LLC (McLean, VA) | 1/18/2022 |
| Hearing device comprising an adjustable vent | 11228848 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/18/2022 |
| Hearing aids with self-adjustment capability based on electro-encephalogram (EEG) signals | 11228849 | GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/18/2022 |
| RF antenna and hearing device with RF antenna | 11228850 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) | 1/18/2022 |
| Cerumen protection plug | 11228851 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 1/18/2022 |
| Remote hearing test system and associated methods for establishing an auditory profile and adjusting hearing aids using such a system | 11228852 | Neocustic (Paris, FR) | 1/18/2022 |
| Correct donning of a behind-the-ear hearing assistance device using an accelerometer | 11228853 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 1/18/2022 |
| Ear tip | D941274 | Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) | 1/18/2022 |
| Earbud | D941276 | Navajo Manufacturing Company Inc (Denver, CO) | 1/18/2022 |
| Earbud | D941278 | Amazon Technologies Inc (Seattle, WA) | 1/18/2022 |
| Ear tip | D941459 | Otto Engineering Inc (Carpentersville, IL) | 1/18/2022 |
| Hearing device | D941475 | Starkey Laboratories Inc (Eden Prairie, MN) | 1/18/2022 |
| Wireless earbud | D941801 | LG Electronics Inc (Seoul, KR) | 1/25/2022 |
| Wireless earbud | D941808 | LG Electronics Inc (Seoul, KR) | 1/25/2022 |
| Detecting neuronal action potentials using a sparse signal representation | 11229388 | MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH (Innsbruck, AT) | 1/25/2022 |
| Wireless hearing device and a charging base | 11234068 | GN Audio A/S (Ballerup, DK) | 1/25/2022 |
| Earbud for detecting biosignals from and presenting audio signals at an inner ear canal and method therefor | 11234069 | MindMics Inc (Cambridge, MA) | 1/25/2022 |
| Optical audio transmission from source device to wireless earphones | 11234078 | Apple Inc (Cupertino, CA)
|
1/25/2022 |
| Flexible adaptive hearing aid | 11234083 | Applicant: Collado Bonet, Jose (El Pantio, ES) | 1/25/2022 |
| Method of adjusting the respective phase responses of a first microphone and a second microphone | 11234084 | Sivantos Pte Ltd (Singapore, SG) | 1/25/2022 |
| Hearing device comprising an active vent and method for its operation | 11234087 | Sonova AG (Staefa, CH) | 1/25/2022 |
