Hearing aid configured to be operating in a communication system

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication system comprising a hearing aid, a communication unit, a relay server, a rule processing server, and at least one external device, wherein the rule processing server comprises a data communication interface to communicate with said relay server and with a plurality of external devices over a plurality of data communication channels, a rule processor, and a rule base comprising a set of rules, each rule defining an action to be triggered in response to a trigger event. Said rule processor is configured to generate an action request signal in response to an event signal representing a trigger event. Said action request signal is configured to cause an action of at least one of the hearing aid, the communication unit, the relay server or the external device, and wherein said action request signal carries information that designates at least one of said devices and at least one action to be performed of said at least one device. Said communication system further comprises an event detector that is configured to detect a trigger event and to generate the event signal in response to a detection of the trigger event.

1 . A hearing aid configured to communicate wirelessly with an external communication device, which comprises a microphone, a sound signal processor, an output transducer, and a signal interface, wherein
 said microphone, said output transducer and said signal interface being operatively connected to said sound signal processor, and   said sound signal processor being configured to process signals received via said signal interface,   and wherein the hearing aid further comprises an event detector that is configured to detect a predefined trigger event and to generate an event signal in response to a detection of such a predefined trigger event, wherein the event detector is further configured to transmit the event signal via the signal interface of the hearing aid.   
     
     
         2 . The hearing aid according to  claim 1 , wherein the event detector is configured to detect a predefined change from a first spatial position of the hearing aid into a second spatial position of the hearing aid as a trigger event. 
     
     
         3 . The hearing aid according to  claim 2 , wherein the predefined change from a first spatial position of the hearing aid into a second spatial position of the hearing aid might be detected by an accelerometer arranged within the hearing aid and connected with the event detector. 
     
     
         4 . The hearing aid according to  claim 1 , wherein the event detector is configured to detect a change of a power level of the hearing aid under or above a predefined power level as a trigger event. 
     
     
         5 . The hearing aid according to  claim 1 , wherein the event detector is configured to detect a change of a feedback level determined by the hearing aid under or above a predefined feedback level as a trigger event. 
     
     
         6 . The hearing aid according to  claim 1 , wherein the event detector is configured to detect a malfunction of a component of the hearing aid as a trigger event. 
     
     
         7 . The hearing aid according to  claim 1 , wherein the event detector is configured to detect a current operation of a manual user input interface of the hearing aid as a trigger event. 
     
     
         8 . The hearing aid according to  claim 1 , wherein the event detector is configured to detect a reception of signals from the communication unit as a trigger event. 
     
     
         9 . The hearing aid according to  claim 1 , wherein the event detector is configured to detect the end of a measuring period of a biosensor arranged within the hearing aid and functionally connected with the sound signal processor as a trigger event. 
     
     
         10 . The hearing aid according to  claim 1 , comprising a biosensor functionally connected with the sound signal processor and configured to enable the user of the hearing aid to control and interact with external communication devices. 
     
     
         11 . The hearing aid according to  claim 10 , wherein the event detector is configured to detect the end of a measuring period of the biosensor as a trigger event. 
     
     
         12 . A method for operating a communication system that comprises a hearing aid and at least one external communication device, wherein the hearing aid comprises a microphone, a sound signal processor, an output transducer and a signal interface,
 wherein the method comprises the steps of:
 detecting a trigger event, 
 generating an event signal upon detection of said trigger event, said event signal being indicative of a detected trigger event, 
 generating an action request signal in response to an event signal based on a set of rules that define which action request signal is to be generated in response to a particular trigger event signal, 
 dispatching the action request signal to an external communication device or the hearing aid, and 
 performing an action as specified by the action request signal by the external communication device or the hearing aid, respectively. 
   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein detecting a trigger event and generating an event signal is performed by the hearing aid and the event signal is dispatched to the external communication device. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the action request signal is dispatched to the hearing aid and the hearing aid puts out an audio signal upon reception of the action request signal.