Hearing aid detection

摘要

A hearing aid compatible portable electronic audio device is configured to automatically determine whether or not the device is being used by a hearing impaired user who is wearing a hearing aid, and select a mode of operation based on this determination. The device includes a proximity sensor and a magnetic field sensor. The proximity sensor is used to detect a change in distance of the device to the user's ear. The magnetic field sensor is used to detect a change in magnetic field caused by the device moving relative to the hearing aid. The device selects between a normal audio mode of operation and a hearing aid compatible mode of operation based on both the change in detected distance and the change in detected magnetic field. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

主权项

1. A portable audio device suitable for use by a user wearing a hearing aid, comprising:
a proximity sensor to detect a measure of distance of the device to an external object; a magnetic field sensor to detect a measure of external magnetic field; data processing circuitry coupled to the proximity sensor and the magnetic field sensor to compute a change in the distance of the external object and a change in the external magnetic field, and select between a normal audio mode of operation and a hearing aid compatible mode of operation, based on the computed changes in distance and magnetic field; audio processing circuitry having storage in which a plurality of audio application programs including a telephony application and a media file player application are stored, and a processor to execute any one of the audio application programs so as to generate an audio output signal being one of a downlink communications signal for a call, a streaming audio signal from a remote server, or locally stored digital audio being played back, wherein the audio processing circuitry is to process the audio output signal according to the selected mode of operation, and wherein the data processing circuitry is to detect 1) a decrease in distance of the device to the external object, and 2) an increase in the external magnetic field, over the same time interval, and then select the hearing aid compatible mode in response to both the detected decrease in distance and the detected increase in magnetic field occurring over the same time interval; and a speaker coupled to receive the processed audio output signal.