METHOD FOR OPERATING A HEARING DEVICE AS WELL AS A HEARING DEVICE

1 . A method for operating a hearing device ( 1 ) comprising at least one input transducer ( 2 , 5 , 7 ) for generating an input signal, an output transducer ( 4 ) for generating an output signal and a signal processing unit ( 3 ) operationally interconnecting the input transducer ( 2 , 5 , 7 ) and the output transducer ( 4 ), the method comprising the steps of:

receiving context information ( 10 ) describing a possible current acoustic situation,

selecting an adjustment scheme ( 12 , S 1 , . . . , S m ) taking into account the context information ( 10 ), the adjustment scheme ( 12 ) being one of the following:

predefined adjustment scheme ( 13 ),

scenario dependent adjustment scheme ( 14 ) comprising at least two scenario adjustments (S 1 , . . . , S n ), each being assigned at least one hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ),

selecting a hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ) based on the selected adjustment scheme ( 12 ), and

processing the input signal by applying the selected hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ) to obtain the output signal of the hearing device ( 1 ).

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

analyzing a current acoustic situation by processing the input signal, and

adapting parameters of the selected hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ) based on the current acoustic situation before applying the selected hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ) to the input signal.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

comparing the current acoustic situation with the possible acoustic situation provided in the context information ( 10 ),

selecting the predefined adjustment scheme ( 13 ) if the current acoustic situation does not correspond to the possible acoustic situation of the context information ( 10 ), and

selecting the scenario dependent adjustment scheme ( 14 ) if the current acoustic situation corresponds to the possible acoustic situation of the context information ( 10 ).

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined adjustment scheme ( 13 ) is a single adjustment scheme that is dependent on a user group to which a hearing device user mostly wearing the hearing device ( 1 ) belongs.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the scenario dependent adjustment scheme ( 14 ) cover a multitude of specific acoustic scenarios that a hearing device user may encounter while wearing the hearing device ( 1 ).

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein a current acoustic scenario is defined by the context information ( 10 ).

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of selecting the input signal from a multitude of input transducers ( 2 , 5 , 7 ) on the basis of the context information ( 10 ) or on the basis of the adjustment scheme ( 12 ).

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the context information ( 10 ) comprises at least one of the following:

present position, e.g. via Global Positioning System or GPS;

personal calendar with indications on activities of the hearing device user.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each scenario adjustment (S 1 , . . . , S n ) comprises a subset of all possible hearing programs (P 1 , . . . , P m ).

10 . A hearing device comprising:

at least one input transducer ( 2 , 5 , 7 ) for generating an input signal,

an output transducer ( 4 ) for generating an output signal;

a signal processing unit ( 3 ) operationally interconnecting the input transducer ( 2 , 5 , 7 ) and the output transducer ( 4 ), the signal processing unit ( 3 ) being capable of processing the input signal to obtain the output signal of the hearing device ( 1 ),

means for receiving context information ( 10 ) describing a possible current acoustic situation,

means for selecting an adjustment scheme ( 12 ) taking into account the context information ( 10 ), the adjustment scheme ( 12 ) being one of the following:

predefined adjustment scheme ( 13 ),

scenario dependent adjustment scheme ( 14 ) comprising at least two scenario adjustments (S 1 , . . . , S n ), each being assigned at least one hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ), and

means for selecting a hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ) based on the selected adjustment scheme ( 12 ), the hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ) defining the processing of the input signal in the signal processing unit ( 3 ).

11 . The hearing device of claim 10 , further comprising:

means for analyzing a current acoustic situation by processing the input signal, and

means for adapting parameters of the selected hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ) based on the current acoustic situation before applying the selected hearing program (P 1 , . . . , P m ) to the input signal.

12 . The hearing device of claim 10 , further comprising:

means for comparing the current acoustic situation with the possible acoustic situation provided in the context information ( 10 ),

means for selecting the predefined adjustment scheme ( 13 ) if the current acoustic situation does not correspond to the possible acoustic situation of the context information ( 10 ), and

means for selecting the scenario dependent adjustment scheme ( 14 ) if the current acoustic situation corresponds to the possible acoustic situation of the context information ( 10 ).

13 . The hearing device of claim 10 , wherein the predefined adjustment scheme ( 13 ) is a single adjustment scheme that is dependent on a user group to which a hearing device user mostly wearing the hearing device ( 1 ) belongs.

14 . The hearing device of claim 10 , wherein the scenario dependent adjustment scheme ( 14 ) cover a multitude of specific acoustic scenarios that a hearing device user may encounter while wearing the hearing device ( 1 ).

15 . The hearing device of claim 14 , wherein a current acoustic scenario is defined by the context information ( 10 ).

16 . The hearing device of claim 10 , further comprising means for selecting the input signal from a multitude of input transducers ( 2 , 5 , 7 ) on the basis of the context information ( 10 ) or on the basis of the adjustment scheme ( 12 ).

17 . The hearing device of claim 10 , wherein the context information ( 10 ) comprises at least one of the following:

present position, e.g. via Global Positioning System or GPS;

personal calendar with indications on activities of the hearing device user.

18 . The hearing device of claim 10 , wherein each scenario adjustment (S 1 , . . . , S n ) comprises a subset of all possible hearing programs (P 1 , . . . , P m ).