Systems and methods for obtaining hearing enhancement fittings for a hearing aid device

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for obtaining hearing enhancement fittings for a hearing aid device is described. A plurality of audiograms is collected. The plurality of audiograms is divided into one or more sets of audiograms. A representative audiogram is created for each set of audiograms. A hearing enhancement fitting is computed from each representative audiogram. A hearing aid device is programmed with one or more hearing enhancement fittings computed from each representative audiogram.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for programming a hearing aid device, the computer-implemented method comprising:
 collecting using a first computing device an audiogram, an audiogram being a collection of hearing thresholds;   communicating via a network connection the collected audiogram to a second computing device,   the second computing device storing a plurality of audiograms from a number of first computing devices,   the second computing device dividing the plurality of audiograms into one or more sets of audiograms;   the second computing device creating a representative audiogram for each set of audiograms;   the second computing device having a prescriptive fitting generation module, the prescriptive fitting generation module generating prescriptive fittings for the hearing aid based on the representative audiogram; and   communicating from the second computing device to the first computing device the prescriptive fittings for the hearing aid device and programming at the first computer device the hearing aid device with the prescriptive fittings.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the second computing device subdivides the one or more sets of audiograms into one or more subsets until a termination condition is satisfied. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the second computing device filters one or more audiograms from the plurality of audiograms. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 3 , wherein the second computing device filters one or more audiograms from the plurality of audiograms that exceed a specified fitting range for the hearing aid device. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the second computing device determines a mean hearing threshold at each measured frequency of each audiogram within the plurality of audiograms. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein the second computing device creates prototype audiograms from the mean hearing threshold. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the second computing device associates each prototype audiogram with a set of audiograms. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein the second computing device places an audiogram in the set of audiograms if the audiogram is similar to the prototype audiogram associated with the set. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein creating a representative audiogram for each set of audiograms further comprises calculating a mean of each audiogram in a set of audiograms. 
     
     
         10 . A computing device configured to obtain hearing enhancement fittings for a hearing aid device, the computing device comprising:
 a processor;   memory in electronic communication with the processor;   a collection module configured to receive and collect a plurality of audiograms from other computing devices via a communications network, an audiogram being a collection of hearing thresholds;   an organization module configured to divide the plurality of audiograms into one or more sets of audiograms;   a representative generation module configured to create a representative audiogram for each set of audiograms; and   a fitting generation module configured to compute a hearing enhancement fitting from each representative audiogram, wherein   said computing device communicates hearing enhancement fittings to other computing devices via said communications network to program a hearing aid device with one or more hearing enhancement fittings computed from each representative audiogram.   
     
     
         11 . The computing device of  claim 10 , wherein the organization module is further configured to subdivide the one or more sets of audiograms into one or more subsets until a termination condition is satisfied. 
     
     
         12 . The computing device of  claim 10 , further comprising a filter configured to filter one or more audiograms from the plurality of audiograms. 
     
     
         13 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the filter is further configured to filter one or more audiograms from the plurality of audiograms that exceed a specified fitting range for the hearing aid device. 
     
     
         14 . The computing device of  claim 10 , wherein the organization module is further configured to determine a mean hearing threshold at each measured frequency of each audiogram within the plurality of audiograms. 
     
     
         15 . The computing device of  claim 14 , wherein the organization module is further configured to create prototype audiograms from the mean hearing threshold. 
     
     
         16 . The computing device of  claim 15 , wherein the organization module is further configured to associate each prototype audiogram with a set of audiograms. 
     
     
         17 . The computing device of  claim 16 , wherein the organization module is further configured to place an audiogram in the set of audiograms if the audiogram is similar to the prototype audiogram associated with the set. 
     
     
         18 . The computing device of  claim 10 , wherein the representative generation module is further configured to calculate a mean of each audiogram in a set of audiograms in order to create a representative audiogram for each set of audiograms. 
     
     
         19 . A computer-readable non-transitory recording medium encoded with instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed on a computing devise cause the computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:
 receiving and collecting a plurality of audiograms from other computing devices via a communications network, an audiogram being a collection of hearing thresholds;   dividing the plurality of audiograms into one or more sets of audiograms;   e creating a representative audiogram for each set of audiograms;   computing a hearing enhancement fitting from each representative audiogram; and   communicating hearing enhancement fitters to other computing devices via said communications network to program a hearing aid device with one or more hearing enhancement fittings computed from each representative audiogram.   
     
     
         20 . A computer-implemented method for obtaining hearing enhancement fittings for a hearing aid device, the computer-implemented method comprising:
 receiving and collecting a plurality of audiograms from other computing devices via a communications network, an audiogram being a collection of hearing thresholds;   computing a hearing enhancement fitting from each audiogram of the plurality of audiograms;   dividing the hearing enhancement fittings into one or more sets of fittings;   creating a representative fitting for each set of fittings; and   communicating hearing enhancement fittings to other computing devices via said communications network to program a hearing aid device with one or more representative hearing enhancement fittings.   
     
     
         21 . A computing device configured to program a hearing aid device with a hearing enhancement fitting, the computing device comprising:
 an audiogram generation module that generates an audiogram, an audiogram being a collection of hearing thresholds;   a network connection for communicating the generated audiogram to a second computing device via a communications network, said second computing device being configured to: receive and collect a plurality of audiograms via the communications network; divide the plurality of audiograms into one or more sets of audiograms; create a representative audiogram for each set of audiograms; and compute a hearing enhancement fitting from each representative audiogram;   wherein said computing device receives, from the second computing device via the communications network, a hearing enhancement fitting computed from a representative audiogram and programs the hearing aid device with the received hearing enhancement fitting computed from the representative audiogram.   
     
     
         22 . A computing device configured to program a hearing aid device with a hearing enhancement fitting, the computing device comprising:
 an audiogram generation module that generates an audiogram, an audiogram being a collection of hearing thresholds;   a network connection for communicating the generated audiogram to a second computing device via a communications network, said second computing device being configured to: receive and collect a plurality of audiograms via the communications network; compute a hearing enhancement fitting from each audiogram of the plurality of audiograms; divide the plurality of fittings into one or more sets of fittings; and create a representative hearing enhancement fitting for each set of fittings;   wherein said computing device receives, from the second computing device via the communications network, a representative hearing enhancement fitting and programs the hearing aid device with the received representative hearing enhancement fitting.