Tinnitus rehabilitation device and method
A tinnitus method and device for providing relief to a person suffering from the disturbing effects of tinnitus is described. The method can be implemented entirely in software to spectrally modify an audio signal in accordance with a predetermined masking algorithm which modifies the intensity of the audio signal at selected frequencies. A predetermined masking algorithm is described which provides intermittent masking of the tinnitus wherein, at a comfortable listening level, during peaks of the audio signal the tinnitus is completely obscured, whereas during troughs the perception of the tinnitus occasionally emerges. In practice it has been found that such intermittent masking provides an immediate sense of relief, control and relaxation for the person, whilst enabling sufficient perception of the tinnitus for habituation and long term treatment to occur. Advantageously the predetermined masking algorithm is specifically tailored to the audiometric configuration of the person. For example, the masking algorithm may be partly tailored to the hearing loss characteristic of the person. A tinnitus rehabilitation device used in conjunction with a personal sound reproducing system is also described.
1. Process for programming an audio signal generator for treating a patient's tinnitus comprising:
measuring hearing thresholds of a patient, and
calculating on the basis of the measuring step characteristics of an audio signal adapted to correct for the patient's particular hearing loss configuration as well as accounting for loudness perception; and
programming said audio signal generator to produce a signal based on the calculated characteristics, to treat said patient's tinnitus.
2. Process for programming an audio signal generator for treating a patient's tinnitus comprising:
measuring hearing thresholds of a patient, and
calculating on the basis of the measuring step characteristics of an audio signal adapted to correct for the patient's particular hearing loss configuration as well as accounting for the effects of loudness recruitment; and
programming said audio signal generator to produce a signal based on the calculated characteristics, to treat said patient's tinnitus.
3. Process for programming an audio signal generator for treating a patient's tinnitus comprising:
measuring hearing thresholds of a patient, and
calculating on the basis of the measuring step characteristics of an audio signal adapted to the patient's hearing thresholds after applying a correction factor to enable a balanced perception of the audio signal; and
programming said audio signal generator to produce a signal based on the calculated characteristics, to treat said patient's tinnitus.
4. A process for providing treatment for a patient's tinnitus, comprising:
measuring the patient's hearing loss characteristics;
calculating an optimal gain for each hearing threshold at each frequency in each ear;
applying the calculated optimal gain to an audio input signal to obtain an individually prescribed audio output signal; and
providing the audio signal to the patient to treat said patient's tinnitus.
5. A process for programming an audio signal generator for treating a patient's tinnitus, comprising:
measuring the patient's hearing loss characteristics;
calculating an optimal gain for each hearing threshold at each frequency in each ear; and
applying the calculated optimal gain to an audio input signal to obtain an individually prescribed audio output signal;
programming said audio signal generator to produce said individually prescribed ideal output signal, to treat said patient's tinnitus.
6. A process for programming an audio signal device for treating a patient's tinnitus, comprising:
measuring the patient's hearing loss characteristics;
calculating a masking profile for each hearing threshold at each frequency in each ear;
applying the calculated masking profile to an audio input signal to obtain a spectrally modified signal; and
programming said audio signal device to produce said spectrally modified signal, to treat said patient's tinnitus.
7. Process for programming an auditory signal generator for treating a patient's tinnitus comprising:
measuring the absolute auditory thresholds of a patient;
calculating on the basis of the measuring step the characteristics of an auditory signal adapted to the patient's auditory threshold by correcting a value derived from a minimum level of said auditory signal, an average of minimum thresholds obtained, and the absolute auditory thresholds; and
programming said auditory signal generator to produce a signal based on the calculated characteristics to treat said patient's tinnitus.
8. The process of claim 7 , wherein the calculating step comprises calculating the characteristics of an auditory signal by correcting a value derived from a minimum level of said auditory signal and average hearing level threshold relative to actual hearing level threshold, and a corrective factor.
9. Process for programming an auditory signal device for treating a patient's tinnitus comprising:
measuring the hearing thresholds of a patient;
calculating on the basis of the measuring step the characteristics of an auditory signal adapted to the patient's hearing thresholds by deriving a value obtained from a baseline level of said auditory signal (the average hearing threshold relative to the actual hearing thresholds) and a corrective value; and
programming said auditory signal device to produce a signal based on the calculated characteristics to treat said patient's tinnitus.