Hearing assist device with external operational support

Abstract

Hearing assist devices and devices and services that are capable of providing external operational support thereto are described. In accordance with various embodiments, the performance of one or more functions by a hearing assist device is assisted or improved in some manner by utilizing resources of an external device and/or service to which the hearing assist device may be communicatively connected. Such performance assistance or improvement may be achieved, for example and without limitation, by utilizing power resources, processing resources, storage resources, sensor resources, and/or user interface resources of an external device or service to which the hearing assist device may be communicatively connected.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing external operational support to a hearing assist device worn by a user, comprising:
 establishing a communication pathway to the hearing assist device;   receiving first signals obtained by the hearing assist device via the communication pathway;   processing the first signals; and   sending a first response to the hearing assist device via the communication pathway.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the establishing, receiving, processing and sending are performed by one of:
 a second hearing assist device worn by the user;   a portable electronic device carried by or otherwise accessible to the user; or   a device or service that is capable of communicating with the hearing assist device via a portable electronic device carried by or otherwise accessible to the user.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein establishing the communication pathway to the hearing assist device comprises establishing a communication link with the hearing assist device using one of near field communication (NFC), BLUETOOTH® low energy (BLE) technology, wireless power transfer (WPT) technology, telecoil, or skin-based communication technology. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving the first signals comprising receiving an audio signal. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein processing the first signals comprises processing the audio signal to generate an enhanced audio signal having a desired frequency response associated with the user; and
 wherein sending the first response to the hearing assist device via the communication pathway comprises sending the enhanced audio signal to the hearing assist device via the communication pathway for playback thereby.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein processing the first signals comprises processing the audio signal to generate an enhanced audio signal having a desired spatial signaling characteristic associated with the user; and
 wherein sending the first response comprises sending the enhanced audio signal to the hearing assist device via the communication pathway for playback thereby.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein processing the first signals comprises applying noise suppression to the audio signal to generate a noise-suppressed audio signal; and
 wherein sending the first response to the hearing assist device via the communication pathway comprises sending the noise-suppressed audio signal to the hearing assist device via the communication pathway for playback thereby.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein applying noise suppression to the audio signal comprises processing the audio signal and at least one additional audio signal obtained by a portable electronic device carried by or otherwise accessible to the user. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein processing the first signals comprises applying speech recognition to the audio signal to identify one or more recognized words. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving the first signals comprises receiving sensor data. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein sending the first response to the hearing assist device via the communication pathway comprises performing at least one of:
 sending a command to be executed by the hearing assist device; and   sending audio content for playback to the user.   
     
     
         12 . A device that provides external operational support to a hearing assist device, comprising:
 a communication interface; and   processing circuitry that is operable to receive first signals from the hearing assist device via the communication interface, process the first signals, and send a first response to the hearing assist device via the communication interface.   
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the communication interface comprises one of a near field communication (NFC) interface, a BLUETOOTH® Low Energy interface, a wireless power transfer (WPT) interface, a skin-based communication interface, or a telecoil. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the first signals comprise an audio signal. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the first signals comprise sensor data. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the first response comprises at least one of a command to be executed by the hearing assist device and audio content to be played back to a wearer of the hearing assist device. 
     
     
         17 . A method for providing audio playback functionality for a hearing assist device, comprising:
 receiving an audio signal obtained via at least one microphone of the hearing assist device;   storing a copy of the received audio signal in an audio playback queue; and   retrieving the copy of the received audio signal from the audio playback queue for playback to a wearer of the hearing assist device.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the receiving, storing, and retrieving steps are performed by the hearing assist device. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the receiving, storing, and retrieving steps are performed by a device or service that is external to the hearing assist device and communicatively connected thereto via a communication pathway. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising playing back the copy of the received audio signal to the wearer of the hearing assist device via at least one speaker of the hearing assist device or via at least one speaker of a portable electronic device that is carried by or otherwise accessible to the wearer of the hearing assist device.