Antennas for hearing aids

摘要

An antenna configured in a hybrid circuit provides a compact design for a hearing aid to communicate wirelessly with a system external to the hearing aid. In an embodiment, an antenna includes metallic traces in a hybrid circuit that is configured for use in a hearing aid. The antenna includes contacts in the hybrid circuit to couple the metallic traces to electronic devices in the hybrid circuit. In an embodiment, the metallic traces form a planar coil design having a number of turns of the coil in a substrate in the hybrid circuit. In another embodiment, the metallic traces are included in a flex circuit on a substrate in the hybrid circuit. An antenna configured in a hybrid circuit allows for use in a completely-in-the-canal hearing aid.

主权项

1. A hearing aid, comprising:
a microphone; a signal processing unit configured to process sound received by the microphone to compensate for hearing impairment of a wearer of the hearing aid; a memory configured to store instructions for the signal processing unit; a hybrid circuit including at least a portion of the signal processing unit or the memory; a first substrate on a first side of the hybrid circuit; a second substrate on a second side of the hybrid circuit, the second side opposite the first side; and an antenna including a first number of turns of metallic trace on the first substrate and a second number of turns of metallic trace on the second substrate.