Tool for assisting individuals experiencing auditory hallucinations to differentiate between hallucinations and ambient sounds

Abstract

A tool is described for supporting an individual suffering from a mental condition or disorder characterized by auditory hallucination. The tool assists in training the individual to distinguish between an acute auditory hallucinatory episode and ambient sounds. The tool monitors for a deliberate overt activation action by a user, where the activation action represents an indication that the user is hearing sounds. The activation action causes the tool to receive a perception indication from the user. The perception indication is either an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds, or an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination. A microphone monitors ambient sounds, which are tested against a threshold to determine and whether the perception indication was correct. A report on the correctness of the perception indications may be provided to the user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for supporting an individual suffering from a mental condition or disorder characterized by auditory hallucination in training the individual in distinguishing between an acute auditory hallucinatory episode and ambient sounds, the method comprising:
 monitoring, by at least one processor of a computing device, for a deliberate overt activation action by a user, wherein the activation action represents an indication that the user is hearing sounds;   wherein the activation action causes the at least one processor to:
 receive a perception indication from the user, wherein the perception indication is one of:
 an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds; and 
 an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination; and 
 
 use at least one microphone on the computing device to monitor ambient sounds; 
   the at least one processor testing the ambient sounds against a threshold;   the at least one processor recording the perception indication as correct where one of the following is true:
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds fail to satisfy the threshold; or 
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds satisfy the threshold; 
   the at least one processor recording the perception indication as incorrect where one of the following is true:
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds satisfy the threshold; or 
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds fail to satisfy the threshold. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor testing the ambient sounds against the threshold comprises testing the ambient sounds against the threshold locally on the computing device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor testing the ambient sounds against the threshold comprises testing the ambient sounds against the threshold remotely by transmitting the ambient sounds from the computing device to a remote computer system and receiving threshold testing results from the remote computer system at the computing device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further generates a report indicating correctness of a prior series of perception indications. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the report further comprises at least one of:
 (a) recommendations for improving discrimination between auditory hallucinations and ambient sounds; and   (b) accuracy trends for the perception indications to monitor progress of the user over time.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the perception indication is subsumed within the activation action. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the threshold is a minimum confidence level associated with voice activity detection of the ambient sounds. 
     
     
         8 . A computing device, comprising:
 at least one processor;   at least one microphone coupled to the at least one processor;   at least one input device coupled to the at least one processor;   at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory containing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to implement a method for supporting an individual suffering from a mental condition or disorder characterized by auditory hallucination in training the individual in distinguishing between an acute auditory hallucinatory episode and ambient sounds, the method comprising:   monitoring, by the at least one processor, for a deliberate overt activation action by a user, wherein the activation action represents an indication that the user is hearing sounds;   wherein the activation action causes the at least one processor to:
 receive a perception indication from the user, wherein the perception indication is one of:
 an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds; and 
 an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination; and 
 
 use at least one microphone on the computing device to monitor ambient sounds; 
   the at least one processor testing the ambient sounds against a threshold;   the at least one processor recording the perception indication as correct where one of the following is true:
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds fail to satisfy the threshold; or 
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds satisfy the threshold; 
   the at least one processor recording the perception indication as incorrect where one of the following is true:
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds satisfy the threshold; or 
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds fail to satisfy the threshold. 
   
     
     
         9 . The computing device of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor testing the ambient sounds against the threshold comprises testing the ambient sounds against the threshold locally on the computing device. 
     
     
         10 . The computing device of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor testing the ambient sounds against the threshold comprises testing the ambient sounds against the threshold remotely by transmitting the ambient sounds from the computing device to a remote computer system and receiving threshold testing results from the remote computer system at the computing device. 
     
     
         11 . The computing device of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor further generates a report indicating correctness of a prior series of perception indications. 
     
     
         12 . The computing device of  claim 11 , wherein the report further comprises at least one of:
 (a) recommendations for improving discrimination between auditory hallucinations and ambient sounds; and   (b) accuracy trends for the perception indications to monitor progress of the user over time.   
     
     
         13 . The computing device of  claim 8 , wherein the perception indication is subsumed within the activation action. 
     
     
         14 . The computing device of  claim 8 , wherein the threshold is a minimum confidence level associated with voice activity detection of the ambient sounds. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-usable instructions for execution by at least one processor of a computing device, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to implement a method for method supporting an individual suffering from a mental condition or disorder characterized by auditory hallucination in training the individual in distinguishing between an acute auditory hallucinatory episode and ambient sounds, the method comprising:
 monitoring, by the at least one processor, for a deliberate overt activation action by a user, wherein the activation action represents an indication that the user is hearing sounds;   wherein the activation action causes the at least one processor to:
 receive a perception indication from the user, wherein the perception indication is one of:
 an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds; and 
 an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination; and 
 
 use at least one microphone on the computing device to monitor ambient sounds; 
   the at least one processor testing the ambient sounds against a threshold;   the at least one processor recording the perception indication as correct where one of the following is true:
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds fail to satisfy the threshold; or 
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds satisfy the threshold; 
   the at least one processor recording the perception indication as incorrect where one of the following is true:
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are experiencing an auditory hallucination and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds satisfy the threshold; or 
 the perception indication is an indication that the user perceives that they are hearing actual sounds and the at least one processor determines that the ambient sounds fail to satisfy the threshold. 
   
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to test the ambient sounds against the threshold by testing the ambient sounds against the threshold locally on the computing device. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to test the ambient sounds against the threshold by testing the ambient sounds against the threshold remotely by transmitting the ambient sounds from the computing device to a remote computer system and receiving threshold testing results from the remote computer system at the computing device. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to further generate a report indicating correctness of a prior series of perception indications. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the report further comprises at least one of:
 (a) recommendations for improving discrimination between auditory hallucinations and ambient sounds; and   (b) accuracy trends for the perception indications to monitor progress of the user over time.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the perception indication is subsumed within the activation action. 
     
     
         21 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the threshold is a minimum confidence level associated with voice activity detection of the ambient sounds.