阅读说明：本技术 一种控制声音频率交变输出的方法 (Method for controlling sound frequency alternating output ) 是由 熊光霞 蓝军 王仙仁 李华伟 文卫平 姜鸿彦 卢伟 蓝天翔 熊彬彬 聂国辉 周慧 于 2020-12-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种控制声音频率交变输出的方法,包括：依据频率识别测试方法所测得的个人最小频率识别带宽对输出频带划分成多个DF频带、把步骤S1中的每个DF频带又平均划分成多个子频带,并编上序号、把每个DF频带中具有同样序号的子频带进行编组,每组构成一个独立的输出程序、将上述各个输出程序有规律地交错输出,形成流畅完整的声输出信号等步骤。在整个输出过程中听力损伤患者将不会感觉声音变调失真等情况,也就是说在程序切换的过程中人耳并无知觉,所以聆听的效果完全不会受到影响,而且通过这种方法,听力损失患者的内耳毛细胞就可以在聆听过程中交错地获得休息时间,而不会全部被激活,有效防止听觉疲劳,更好地保护残余听力。(The invention discloses a method for controlling sound frequency alternating output, which comprises the following steps: dividing the output frequency band into a plurality of DF frequency bands according to the personal minimum frequency identification bandwidth measured by the frequency identification test method, equally dividing each DF frequency band in the step S1 into a plurality of sub-frequency bands, coding the sub-frequency bands with the same serial number in each DF frequency band, grouping the sub-frequency bands with the same serial number in each DF frequency band, forming an independent output program for each group, regularly outputting the output programs in a staggered manner to form a smooth and complete sound output signal, and the like. The hearing-impaired patient can not feel the conditions of sound modulation distortion and the like in the whole output process, namely, the human ear is unconscious in the program switching process, so the listening effect is not influenced at all, and by the method, the inner ear hair cells of the hearing-impaired patient can obtain rest time in a staggered mode in the listening process without being activated completely, thereby effectively preventing hearing fatigue and better protecting residual hearing.)

1. A method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output, comprising the steps of:

s1, dividing the output frequency band into a plurality of DF frequency bands according to the personal minimum frequency identification bandwidth measured by the frequency identification test method;

s2, dividing each DF frequency band in the step S1 into a plurality of sub-frequency bands in average and numbering the sub-frequency bands;

s3, grouping sub-bands with the same serial number in each DF band, wherein each group forms an independent encoding program;

and S4, setting the coding programs to start and stop according to a certain time interval, realizing the alternate start of different coding programs, controlling the input signals to be output according to different coding programs, and realizing the alternate output of sound frequency.

2. The method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output according to claim 1, wherein in the step S1, the range of the test individual minimum frequency identification bandwidth includes 500 to 8 kHz.

3. The method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output according to claim 1, wherein in step S2, the number of the sub-bands is 2 or more.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein in step S3, each of the encoding programs can independently set the functional parameters to independently encode and control the input signal.

5. A method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output according to claim 4, characterized in that the functional parameters comprise at least one or more of gain, compression, noise reduction, feedback suppression.

6. The method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein in step S1, the frequency discrimination test method comprises the steps of:

s11, carrying out 1/3 octave frequency band division or less on the sound within the range of 500-8 kHz;

s12, determining 1000Hz in the selected octave frequency band as an initial test main frequency to test; then, testing from 1000Hz to higher frequency, and then testing from 1000Hz to low frequency, and determining the minimum identifiable bandwidth of the center frequencies of different octaves;

s13, determining three adjacent frequency sounds including the main frequency as stimulus sounds, and measuring the hearing threshold of the adjacent three frequencies;

s14, giving out stimulation sounds in sequence to allow the subject to make a judgment;

s15, gradually narrowing the interval between adjacent frequencies until the subject cannot distinguish the difference between the three stimulus tones, and determining the three sub-bands of the minimum recognition bandwidth; repeating the steps, and sequentially measuring three sub-frequency bands with the minimum identification frequency width of different main frequencies in the selected octave bandwidth.

7. The method of controlling a frequency-alternated output of sound according to claim 6, wherein in the step S13, in the preliminary test, a larger octave or a fixed frequency value is selected, and three adjacent frequency sounds including a dominant frequency are determined as the stimulus sound;

and then, testing the corresponding pure tone hearing threshold value by adopting an auditory recognition sensitivity test method for the selected frequency.

8. The method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output according to claim 7, wherein the stimulating sound in the step S12 is increased by 10dB on the pure tone threshold, three stimulating sounds are given in order, each of which has a duration of 1000 ms;

the subject is then given the option of having the three stimulus tones be the same or different.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the minimum recognition bandwidth of the subject is determined by gradually decreasing the interval between adjacent frequencies until the subject cannot distinguish the three sounds after the subject selects the different stimulus sounds in step S15.

10. A method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output, comprising the steps of:

s1, carrying out 1/3 octave frequency band division or less on the sound within the range of 500-8 kHz;

s2, determining 1000Hz in the selected octave frequency band as an initial test main frequency to test; then, testing from 1000Hz to higher frequency, and then testing from 1000Hz to low frequency, and determining the minimum identifiable bandwidth of the center frequencies of different octaves;

s3, determining three adjacent frequency sounds including the main frequency as stimulus sounds, and measuring the hearing threshold of the adjacent three frequencies;

s4, giving out stimulation sounds in sequence to allow the subject to make a judgment;

s5, gradually narrowing the interval between adjacent frequencies until the subject cannot distinguish the difference between the three stimulus tones, and determining the three sub-bands of the minimum recognition bandwidth; repeating the steps, and sequentially measuring three sub-frequency bands with minimum identification frequency widths of different main frequencies in the selected octave bandwidth;

s6, grouping and numbering the three sub-bands of the minimum identification bandwidth of different main frequencies in the selected octave in sequence, taking all frequency points corresponding to the sub-bands with the same number as the basic data of a group of coding programs, setting parameters in the same group, and creating a coding program, namely different coding programs correspond to different frequency parts;

and S7, setting different opening time and closing time of different coding programs in sequence, then sequencing, and opening or closing the multiple coding programs in sequence, so that the input signals lasting in different time are controlled by different coding programs, namely the positions of hair cells receiving the stimulation sound at different time are different, and the auditory perception state is not different.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of audiology, in particular to a method for controlling sound frequency alternating output.

Background

Frequency resolution describes the ability of the human ear to hear the difference in the frequencies of two sounds. The frequency resolution is expressed in terms of a threshold (the minimum detectable frequency difference) for detecting a frequency difference in the human ear, herein denoted as DF. Smaller values of DF indicate higher sensitivity, and in general the human auditory system is not monitored as long as the frequency of the sound does not vary by more than one DF. The resolution of healthy ears on frequency is very strong, the auditory bandwidth of the ears is 20-20 kHz, and the frequency resolution near 1 k-3 kHz is the strongest. For a simple illustration: the frequency variation of two adjacent keys on a piano is 1/12 octaves, and the frequency resolution of healthy human ears in this frequency band is 30 times that of the healthy human ears. It is readily apparent that 1k to 3kHz is also the most concentrated region of speech.

However, hearing-impaired patients and healthy individuals have a large difference in their ear, and they have a greatly reduced frequency resolution due to the defective inner ear hair cells, and the worse the hearing impairment, the greater the DF value. However, in order to seek sound quality equal to or infinitely close to that of the real ear, the conventional hearing aids are required to have a wide output band and high sound quality, and it is not considered whether the ears of a hearing-impaired patient can receive such sound. In fact, the hearing ability of a hearing-impaired patient is incomparable with that of a healthy human ear, and the technology of broadband, high-fidelity tone quality and the like may aggravate the burden of the ear of the hearing-impaired patient, so that the phenomenon of 'small horse drawing cart' is caused, and even the risk of aggravating the hearing loss is caused for a long time.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a method for controlling sound frequency alternating output, which can better exert the residual hearing function capability of a hearing loss patient, reduce the situation of a small horse cart and hearing fatigue while hearing better, effectively protect residual hearing and at least solve one of the problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output, comprising the steps of:

s1, dividing the output frequency band into a plurality of DF frequency bands according to the personal minimum frequency identification bandwidth measured by the frequency identification test method;

s2, dividing each DF frequency band in the step S1 into a plurality of sub-frequency bands in average and numbering the sub-frequency bands;

s3, grouping sub-bands with the same serial number in each DF band, wherein each group forms an independent encoding program;

and S4, setting the coding programs to start and stop according to a certain time interval, realizing the alternate start of different coding programs, controlling the input signals to be output according to different coding programs, and realizing the alternate output of sound frequency.

During the output of the sound signal, i.e. when the patient listens to the sound, each encoding program will be switched to another encoding program quickly after a period of time, and the P1-P2-P3-P1 … … is started/closed in an alternating cycle. The normal human ear can distinguish the sound change within a few milliseconds, so the switching speed can be in microsecond level and can not be detected by the hearing-impaired patients. In the whole listening process, because the inner ear hair cells activated by each coding program are different, the inner ear hair cells at different positions can obtain sufficient rest time.

Therefore, the invention provides a brand-new method for controlling sound frequency alternating output, a hearing-impaired patient can not feel the conditions of sound modulation distortion and the like in the whole output process, namely, the human ear is not conscious in the program switching process, so the listening effect is not influenced at all, and by the method, the inner ear hair cells of the hearing-impaired patient can obtain rest time in a staggered mode in the listening process without being activated completely, thereby effectively preventing hearing fatigue and better protecting residual hearing.

In some embodiments, in step S1, the personal minimum frequency identification bandwidth ranges from 500 kHz to 8 kHz.

In some embodiments, in step S2, the number of sub-bands is 2 or more. Therefore, the number of divided sub-bands is determined according to the actual condition of the patient, the patient with larger DF value can appropriately divide a plurality of sub-bands, and then the divided sub-bands are numbered.

In some embodiments, in step S3, each encoding program can independently set the functional parameters to independently encode and regulate the input signal.

In some embodiments, the functional parameters include at least one or more of gain, compression, noise reduction, feedback suppression.

In some embodiments, in step S1, the frequency identification test method includes the following steps:

s11, carrying out 1/3 octave frequency band division or less on the sound within the range of 500-8 kHz;

s12, determining 1000Hz in the selected octave frequency band as an initial test main frequency to test; then, testing from 1000Hz to higher frequency, and then testing from 1000Hz to low frequency, and determining the minimum identifiable bandwidth of the center frequencies of different octaves;

s13, determining three adjacent frequency sounds including the main frequency as stimulus sounds, and measuring the hearing threshold of the adjacent three frequencies;

s14, giving out stimulation sounds in sequence to allow the subject to make a judgment;

s15, gradually narrowing the interval between adjacent frequencies until the subject cannot distinguish the difference between the three stimulus tones, and determining the three sub-bands of the minimum recognition bandwidth; repeating the steps, and sequentially measuring three sub-frequency bands with the minimum identification frequency width of different main frequencies in the selected octave bandwidth.

Therefore, the frequency identification testing method can test the minimum frequency identification range of the subject in each frequency band, and is beneficial to selecting the frequency value in the hearing identification sensitivity test.

In some embodiments, in the preliminary test in step S13, a larger octave or a fixed frequency value is selected, and three adjacent frequency sounds including a dominant frequency are determined as the stimulation sound;

then, the selected frequency is tested to obtain the corresponding pure tone hearing threshold (i.e. pure tone hearing threshold) by adopting the hearing recognition sensitivity test method. Since the loudness of the stimulating sound has some effect on frequency identification, it is important to determine the subject's threshold prior to sounding.

In some embodiments, the stimulus sound in step S12 is increased by 10dB above the pure tone threshold, giving three stimulus sounds in sequence, each stimulus sound having a duration of 1000 ms;

the subject is then given the option of having the three stimulus tones be the same or different. Since the length of the sound giving time interval can influence the accuracy of frequency identification, the time interval of each stimulating sound is controlled to be 1000ms by using a digital technology instead of manual control when the stimulating sound is given.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a detailed method of controlling a sound frequency alternating output, characterized by comprising the steps of:

s1, carrying out 1/3 octave frequency band division or less on the sound within the range of 500-8 kHz;

s2, determining 1000Hz in the selected octave frequency band as an initial test main frequency to test; then, testing from 1000Hz to higher frequency, and then testing from 1000Hz to low frequency, and determining the minimum identifiable bandwidth of the center frequencies of different octaves;

s3, determining three adjacent frequency sounds including the main frequency as stimulus sounds, and measuring the hearing threshold of the adjacent three frequencies;

s4, giving out stimulation sounds in sequence to allow the subject to make a judgment;

s5, gradually narrowing the interval between adjacent frequencies until the subject cannot distinguish the difference between the three stimulus tones, and determining the three sub-bands of the minimum recognition bandwidth; repeating the steps, and sequentially measuring three sub-frequency bands with minimum identification frequency widths of different main frequencies in the selected octave bandwidth;

s6, grouping and numbering the three sub-bands of the minimum identification bandwidth of different main frequencies in the selected octave in sequence, taking all frequency points corresponding to the sub-bands with the same number as the basic data of a group of coding programs, setting parameters in the same group, and creating a coding program, namely different coding programs correspond to different frequency parts;

and S7, setting different opening time and closing time of different coding programs in sequence, then sequencing, and opening or closing the multiple coding programs in sequence, so that the input signals lasting in different time are controlled by different coding programs, namely the positions of hair cells receiving the stimulation sound at different time are different, and the auditory perception state is not different.

The invention has the beneficial effects that:

the invention provides a novel method for controlling sound frequency alternating output, a hearing-impaired patient does not feel the conditions of sound modulation distortion and the like in the whole output process, namely, human ears are not conscious in the process of program switching, so the listening effect is not influenced at all, and by the method, inner ear hair cells of the hearing-impaired patient can obtain rest time in a staggered mode in the listening process without being activated completely, thereby effectively preventing hearing fatigue and better protecting residual hearing.

Detailed Description

The present invention is described in further detail below.

Example 1

The method for controlling the alternating output of sound frequency of the invention comprises the following steps:

s1, dividing the output frequency band into a plurality of DF frequency bands according to the personal minimum frequency identification bandwidth measured by the frequency identification test method;

s2, dividing each DF frequency band in the step S1 into a plurality of sub-frequency bands in average and numbering the sub-frequency bands;

s3, grouping sub-bands with the same serial number in each DF band, wherein each group forms an independent output program;

and S4, regularly and alternately outputting the output programs to form a smooth and complete sound output signal.

In step S1, the personal minimum frequency identification bandwidth is in the range of 500-8 kHz. Although the human ear can distinguish the frequency range from 20kHz to 20kHz, the most important speech interval is mainly focused on 500 kHz to 3 kHz. For hearing loss patients, their inner ear hair cells are defective, especially at high frequencies, so if hearing loss patients want to better listen to speech and music, they need to pay special attention to the 500-3 kHz frequency band, while too high frequency bands (e.g. above 8 kHz) should be in proper amount. In the method, the total output bandwidth is 500-8 kHz, and the bandwidth can be properly increased for patients with good hearing.

The hearing loss patient should test the minimum frequency identification bandwidth of the individual within 500-8 kHz in advance through a frequency identification test method, and then each minimum frequency identification bandwidth is used as a DF frequency band.

The method for frequency identification test in this step may include the steps of:

s11, dividing the frequency band of the sound; in the step, the test sound is divided into two frequency bands, which are 0.5-4 kHz and 4-8 kHz respectively.

S12, determining a main frequency in each frequency band for testing; wherein, the main frequency of the frequency band of 0.5-4 kHz is 1kHz, and the main frequency of the frequency band of 4-8 kHz is 6 kHz.

S13, selecting frequency intervals, and determining three adjacent frequency sounds including the main frequency as stimulation sounds; then, the selected frequency is tested to obtain the corresponding pure tone hearing threshold by adopting a hearing recognition sensitivity test method.

In the step S13, during the preliminary test, a larger octave or a fixed frequency value is selected, and the fixed frequency value may be stepped: 1000. 500, 100, 10 and 1 Hz;

the auditory identification sensitivity test method adopted in step S13 is to perform pure tone audiometry on the subject with a loudness value of 2dB and a stimulation time interval of 300 ms.

S14, increasing the sound threshold by 10dB, giving out three stimulating sounds in sequence, wherein the duration of each stimulating sound is 1000 ms; the subject is then given the option of having the three stimuli sound the same or different.

And S15, if the selected stimulation sounds of the subject are different, gradually reducing the interval of the adjacent frequencies, repeating the steps until the subject cannot distinguish the three sounds, and finally determining the minimum recognition frequency of the subject.

Now, 1kHz is taken as the center frequency, three adjacent octaves including 1kHz are selected as the stimulation sound, and the octaves may be selected to be larger at the beginning: 1/3 octaves or 1/6 octaves. If 1/3 octaves are selected, the three stimulus sounds are 794Hz, 1000Hz, and 1260 Hz. And carrying out auditory identification sensitivity test on the three frequencies, carrying out pure tone audiometry on the test subject according to the loudness value of 2dB and the stimulation time interval of 300ms to obtain the pure tone hearing thresholds of the test subject at the frequencies, increasing 10dB on each hearing threshold, sequentially giving the three stimulation sounds respectively lasting 1000ms, and requiring the test subject to judge whether the three sounds are the same or different. If the subject selections are not the same, then the octave is reduced, if 1/6 octaves, then the other three stimulating sounds are 891Hz, 1000Hz and 1122Hz, and the threshold giving sounds are obtained by the same operation, if the subject selections are still not the same, then the octaves are reduced to 1/12, 1/24 and 1/48 until the subjects can not be distinguished. For example, if the subject cannot distinguish three sounds at 1/48 octaves, the minimum frequency of the subject in the 500-8 kHz band is identified as 1/24 octaves.

Similarly, the minimum identification frequencies of the 0.5-4 kHz frequency band and the 4-8 kHz frequency band can be measured by referring to the steps.

Therefore, the frequency identification test method can test the minimum frequency identification range of the subject, is beneficial to selecting the frequency value in the auditory identification sensitivity test, reduces the workload of clinical auditory function examination, and simultaneously determines the sensitivity degree of the subject to the frequency of the acoustic stimulation.

In step S2, a DF band may be divided into 2 or more sub-bands, the number of sub-bands is determined according to the actual condition of the patient, and the patient with a larger DF value may be divided into a plurality of sub-bands, and then the divided sub-bands are numbered.

In practice, a sub-band corresponds to the portion of inner ear hair cells that sense the band of sounds, and the DF band is divided, i.e. the dividing process of the inner ear hair cells.

In step S3, for example, the sub-bands with the sequence numbers of r may be merged into output program 1, and so on, there are as many output programs as there are sub-band sequence numbers.

The specific operations of the method of controlling the sound frequency alternating output of the present embodiment may be: for example, after a certain hearing loss patient is subjected to a frequency identification test, it is known that the hearing loss patient has 10 DF bands in a bandwidth of 500 to 8kHz, the frequencies in the same DF band are divided into 3 sub-bands on average, the sub-channels with the same sequence are numbered with the first two, then the sub-bands with the same sequence number are combined into one group, each group is an output program, in this example, there are 3 groups of programs with 10 frequency bands, and finally, the 3 groups of programs are output in an interlaced manner according to a preset program.

In the process of sound signal output, namely when a patient listens to sound, each output program can be quickly switched to another output program after outputting for a period of time, and the sound change within a few milliseconds can be distinguished by normal human ears, so that the switching speed can be imperceptible to the hearing-impaired patient in microsecond level. In the whole listening process, the inner ear hair cells activated correspondingly to each output program are different, so that the inner ear hair cells at different positions can obtain sufficient rest time.

Therefore, the invention provides a brand-new method for controlling sound frequency alternating output, a hearing-impaired patient can not feel the conditions of sound modulation distortion and the like in the whole output process, namely, the human ear is not conscious in the program switching process, so the listening effect is not influenced at all, and by the method, the inner ear hair cells of the hearing-impaired patient can obtain rest time in a staggered mode in the listening process without being activated completely, thereby effectively preventing hearing fatigue and better protecting residual hearing.

Example 2

The embodiment provides a detailed method for controlling sound frequency alternating output, which is characterized by comprising the following steps:

s1, carrying out 1/3 octave frequency band division or less on the sound within the range of 500-8 kHz;

s2, determining 1000Hz in the selected octave frequency band as an initial test main frequency to test; then, testing from 1000Hz to higher frequency, and then testing from 1000Hz to low frequency, and determining the minimum identifiable bandwidth of the center frequencies of different octaves;

s3, determining three adjacent frequency sounds including the main frequency as stimulus sounds, and measuring the hearing threshold of the adjacent three frequencies;

s4, giving out stimulation sounds in sequence to allow the subject to make a judgment;

s5, gradually narrowing the interval between adjacent frequencies until the subject cannot distinguish the difference between the three stimulus tones, and determining the three sub-bands of the minimum recognition bandwidth; repeating the steps, and sequentially measuring three sub-frequency bands with minimum identification frequency widths of different main frequencies in the selected octave bandwidth;

s6, grouping and numbering the three sub-bands of the minimum identification bandwidth of different main frequencies in the selected octave in sequence, taking all frequency points corresponding to the sub-bands with the same number as the basic data of a group of coding programs, setting parameters in the same group, and creating a coding program, namely different coding programs correspond to different frequency parts;

and S7, setting different opening time and closing time of different coding programs in sequence, then sequencing, and opening or closing the multiple coding programs in sequence, so that the input signals lasting in different time are controlled by different coding programs, namely the positions of hair cells receiving the stimulation sound at different time are different, and the auditory perception state is not different.

What has been described above are merely some embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept thereof, and these changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.