Fitting agent with user model initialization for a hearing device

1 . A fitting system for a hearing device system comprising a hearing device worn by a user, wherein the fitting system comprises one or more processors configured to:

initialize a user model comprising a user preference function and a user response distribution;

obtain a test setting comprising a primary test setting and a secondary test setting for the hearing device based on the user model;

output the primary test setting and the secondary test setting for presentation to a the user;

obtain a user input for a preferred test setting indicative of a preference for either the primary test setting or the secondary test setting; and

update the user model based on a hearing device parameter of the preferred test setting;

wherein the one or more processors of the fitting system are configured to initialize the user model by:

obtaining a profile of the user;

obtaining reference posteriors of reference users, wherein at least one of the reference posteriors is a posterior of a preferred hearing device parameter of one of the reference users;

determining a collaborative user preference distribution based on the reference posteriors;

setting the collaborative user preference distribution as a prior associated with the user; and

initializing the user model based on the prior.

2 . The fitting system according to claim 1 , wherein the profile of the user comprises one or more of: age data, gender data, activity data, or hearing loss data indicative of a hearing loss of the user.

3 . The fitting system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to identify the reference users based on the profile.

4 . The fitting system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to identify the reference users by determining a similarity measure indicative of a similarity between the user and the reference users.

5 . The fitting system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to:

obtain environment data indicative of a present environment; and

determine a first initial environment probability of a first environment and/or a second initial environment probability of a second environment, based on the environment data.

6 . The fitting system according to claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the environment data by obtaining position data indicative of a user position, and determining the environment data based on the position data.

7 . The fitting system according to claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the environment data by obtaining audio data indicative of sound in the present environment, and determining the environment data based on the audio data.

8 . The fitting system according to claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the environment data by obtaining context data indicative of a surrounding and/or activity of the user, and determining the environment data based on the context data.

9 . The fitting system according to claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the first initial environment probability of the first environment and/or the second initial environment probability of the second environment based on an environment model.

10 . The fitting system according to claim 5 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the test setting based on the environment data.

11 . The fitting system according to claim 1 , wherein the collaborative user preference distribution is based on a joint Gaussian distribution.

12 . The fitting system according to claim 1 , wherein the collaborative user preference distribution is based on linear regression of parameters for the reference users.

13 . The fitting system according to claim 1 , wherein the group of reference users comprise at least 1,000 reference users.

14 . The fitting system according to claim 1 , wherein the user model is different from the profile of the user.

15 . A processor(s)-implemented method involving a user model associated with a user of a hearing device, wherein the method comprises:

initializing the user model comprising a user preference function and a user response distribution;

obtaining a test setting comprising a primary test setting and a secondary test setting for the hearing device based on the user model;

outputting the primary test setting and the secondary test setting for presentation to the user;

obtaining a user input for a preferred test setting indicative of a preference for either the primary test setting or the secondary test setting; and

updating the user model based on a hearing device parameter of the preferred test setting;

wherein the act of initializing the user model comprises:

obtaining a profile of the user;

obtaining reference posteriors of reference users, wherein at least one of the reference posteriors is a posterior of a preferred hearing device parameter of one of the reference users;

determining a collaborative user preference distribution based on the reference posteriors;

setting the collaborative user preference distribution as a prior associated with the user; and

initializing the user model based on the prior.

16 . The processor(s)-implemented method of claim 15 , further comprising:

obtaining environment data indicative of a present environment; and

determining a first initial environment probability of a first environment and/or a second initial environment probability of a second environment, based on the environment data.