HEARING COUPLER SHELLS OF SOFT PLIABLE THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL

摘要

A device to be insertion in an auditory canal of the ear of a human user to assist the delivery of an auditory stimulus to the middle ear near the eardrum has a shell with a generally cone-shaped exterior defined by a larger end for positioning toward the external end of the auditory canal and a smaller end for positioning toward the internal end of the auditory canal. At least one internal passage communicates the larger end with the smaller end. The shell is formed from a material selected from the group consisting of soft thermoplastics (STP), thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), thermoplastic rubber (TPR) and any combination of the foregoing, so that it has a Shore A hardness of less than about 80 and the exterior of the shell compresses to be frictionally retained in the auditory canal of the user. In another embdiment of the device, a sof t pliable shell is provided to enclose a rigid case of a hearing assistance device whi ch is worn behind the pinna of the ear of a human user.