Method for adjusting a hearing device

1. A method for fitting a hearing device having a transfer function describing an input/output behavior of the hearing device, the method comprising the steps of:

during regular operation of the hearing device, recording a sound signal by an input transducer of the hearing device;

during regular operation of the hearing device, storing at least one of the sound signal and characteristics of the sound signal in a memory unit, for later use during a fitting session;

providing a data base comprising at least media samples;

during the fitting session, comparing the at least one of the sound signal and the characteristics of the sound signal with at least some of the media samples or characteristics thereof, respectively, to obtain a qualitative measure for at least some of the media samples with respect to the sound signal or the characteristics of the sound signal;

during the fitting session, selecting the media sample having the best qualitative measure; and

during the fitting session, adjusting the transfer function based on the selected media sample, thereby fitting the hearing device, wherein the media samples are used in association with the hearing device only during the fitting session and not during the regular operation of the hearing device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of recording the sound signal and the step of storing at least one of the sound signal and the characteristics of the sound signal take place during regular use of the hearing device by a hearing device user.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the recorded sound signal and/or the characteristics of the sound signal is/are stored in one or several of the following components:

the memory unit contained in the hearing device;

a local storage unit that is accessible via a calculation unit;

the data base, which is accessible via a network; and

an external device being accessible by and controlling the hearing device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least the media samples are provided by the data base, which is accessible via a network.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein characteristics for each media sample are provided, corresponding characteristics and media sample being linked together.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the characteristics of the sound signal and/or the media samples are based on at least one of the following acoustic parameters:

loudness percentiles;

a rate of signal change or zero crossings;

a signal dynamic;

speech analysis;

noise and kind of noise;

pitch;

echo; and

reverberation.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of characterizing the recorded sound signal by a label and linking the label to the corresponding sound signal or the characteristics of the sound signal, the label having influence on the qualitative measure of the corresponding sound signal or the characteristics of the sound signal.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein at least some of the media samples are characterized by a label.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the label is defined by at least one of the following:

geographic information;

a comment by a hearing device user;

a comment by an audiologist;

behavior parameters;

a logged sound environment; and

keywords and phrases.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the behavior parameters of the hearing device are at least one of the following:

classifier performance;

classifier behavior;

actuator steering;

gain model behavior;

a symmetry of hearing devices, in case two hearing devices are used;

a position of the hearing device; and

acceleration to which the hearing device is exposed.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of comparing at least one of the sound signal and the characteristics of the sound signal with at least some of the media samples or the characteristics of the media samples, respectively, to obtain the qualitative measure for at least some of the media samples with respect to the sound signal or the characteristics of the sound signal as well as the step of selecting the media sample having the best qualitative measure are implemented in at least one of the following components:

the data base;

the hearing device;

a calculation unit; and

an external device.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the recorded sound signals are directly transmitted to the data base via a portable device.

13. A hearing system comprising:

a hearing device comprising an input transducer for recording a sound signal during regular operation of the hearing device, an output transducer and a signal processing unit having a transfer function describing an input/output behavior of the hearing device;

a memory unit for storing, during regular operation of the hearing device, at least one of a sound signal and characteristics of the sound signal for later use during a fitting session;

a data base comprising at least media samples;

characterized by

means for comparing, during the fitting session, the at least one of the sound signal and the characteristics of the sound signal with at least some of the media samples or characteristics thereof, respectively, to obtain a qualitative measure for at least some of the media samples with respect to the sound signal or the characteristics of the sound signal;

means for selecting, during the fitting session, the media sample having the best qualitative measure; and

means for adjusting, during the fitting session, the transfer function based on the selected media sample, thereby fitting the hearing device, wherein the media samples are used in association with the hearing device only during the fitting session and not during the regular operation of the hearing device.

14. The hearing system of claim 13 , characterized in that the hearing device comprises the memory unit.

15. The hearing system of claim 13 , characterized in that the data base is accessible via a network.

16. The hearing system of claim 13 , characterized by means for characterizing the recorded sound signal by a label and linking the label to the corresponding sound signal, the label having influence on the qualitative measure of the corresponding sound signal or the characteristics of the sound signal.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the portable device is a mobile phone.

18. The hearing system of claim 15 , wherein the network comprises the Internet.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media samples comprise at least one of audio files and video files.

20. The hearing system of claim 13 , wherein the media samples comprise at least one of audio files and video files.