System and method for audiometric assessment and user-specific audio enhancement
View Patent ↗According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for audiometric assessment and user-specific acoustic enhancement, comprising an audiometry management module, a tone generator coupled to the audiometry management module and adapted to generate streams of acoustical output, and a hearing profile data file, is disclosed. According to the embodiment, the audiometry management module, in a plurality of sessions, instructs the tone generator to send a series of streams of acoustical output of varying acoustical intensity, and, on receiving a series of user responses responsive to audible perception of sounds generated from the streams of acoustical data, the audiometric management module determines, for each of a plurality of frequencies, a hearing threshold, and stores at least that threshold in the hearing profile data file.
1. A system for audiometric assessment and user-specific acoustic enhancement, comprising:
an audiometry management module;
a tone generator coupled to the audiometry management module and adapted to generate streams of acoustical output;
a hearing profile data file; and
a custom equalizer module adapted to modify an incoming audio stream by adjusting at least a plurality of the frequency components of the audio stream based on data stored in the custom hearing profile data file;
wherein the audiometry management module, in a plurality of sessions, instructs the tone generator to send a series of streams of acoustical output of varying acoustical intensity;
wherein, on receiving a series of user responses responsive to audible perception of sounds generated from the streams of acoustical data, the audiometric management module determines, for each of a plurality of frequencies, a hearing threshold, and stores at least that threshold in the hearing profile data file; and
further wherein, on measuring acoustical response to a given frequency for a given user during two or more sessions conducted at different times, the hearing threshold stored in the hearing profile data file is modified based at least in part on a time series derived from measurements of the given frequency during each of the two or more sessions.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein audio from a single audio source is delivered to a first user and a second user simultaneously using a first custom equalizer and a hearing profile data file for the first user and a second custom equalizer and a second hearing profile data file for the second user, thus delivering audio from a single audio source simultaneously to two different users with each user receiving audio that has been compensated for each user's specific hearing profile.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein a prediction of a user's hearing profile for a given frequency is made based on extrapolation of a time series of previous measurements obtained during two or more sessions of the user's hearing profile for the given frequency.
4. A method of audiometric assessment and user-specific audio enhancement, comprising the steps of:
(a) under the direction of an audiometric management module, generating a series of acoustical output streams of varying amplitude for each of a plurality of frequencies from a tone generator and sending it to a user;
(b) receiving test responses from said user responsive to audible perception for each frequency;
(c) based on the received test responses for each frequency, determining at least a hearing threshold for each frequency;
(d) measuring acoustical response to a given frequency for a given user, as described in steps (a) through (c), during two or more sessions conducted at different times and determining a modified hearing threshold for the given frequency based at least in part on a time series derived from measurements of the given frequency during each of the two or more sessions;
(e) storing the generated hearing thresholds for each frequency in a hearing profile data file;
(f) receiving an audio stream at a custom equalizer module;
(g) adjusting at least a plurality of the frequency components of the audio stream based at least in part on the hearing thresholds stored in the hearing profile data file for the frequency components; and
(h) sending the modified audio stream to a user.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein audio from a single audio source is delivered to a first user and a second user simultaneously using a first custom equalizer and a hearing profile data file for the first user and a second custom equalizer and a second hearing profile data file for the second user, thus delivering a audio from a single audio source simultaneously to two different users with each user receiving audio that has been compensated for each user's specific hearing profile.
6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising the step of predicting a user's hearing profile for a given frequency based on extrapolation of a time series of previous measurements obtained during two or more sessions of the user's hearing profile for the given frequency.