Hearing aid devices, in particular hearing aid devices which can be worn in the ear (ITE) are exposed to contamination with ear wax (cerumen). With ITEs, the cerumen frequently penetrates the sound outlet opening of the hearing aid device and blocks the sound channel between the hearing aid device loudspeaker, also known as the receiver, and the sound outlet opening. This causes a number of problems, ranging from acoustic impairments to the total failure of the affected hearing aid device.
There are currently many approaches to preventing the penetration of cerumen into ITEs. Protection apparatuses in the form of a cap or bracket are generally used, which can either be embodied as part of the hearing aid device housing (see DE 38 02 250 C1 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,500) or as an insert or attachment into the sound channel and/or onto the hearing aid device (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,500 or EP 0 312 517 A2). Cerumen protection facilities which narrow the sound channel are also known, in some instances having lattice or cavity-type barriers and being intended for insertion into the sound channel or for attachment to a grommet (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,972,488; 5,970,157; WO 00/03561 A1 or DE 36 16 648 A1).
Cleaning of such cerumen protection facilities represents a significant problem. In many instances the cerumen protection facility has to be replaced from time to time, which means that elderly hearing aid device wearers have to visit the acoustician, which is often problematic. Cerumen protection facilities have thus been repeatedly proposed, which have a porous or non-porous (gas-tight) membrane (see EP 310 866 A1; DE 196 40 796 A1 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,409) and cover the sound outlet opening. The penetration of cerumen is largely prevented as a result. Membranes of this type are also easier to clean than other cerumen protection facilities. But they also have to be exchanged as easily as possible in the event of damage. Fixed installation is thus prohibited.
Attachable cerumen protection facilities have ultimately not been successful because of the additional space requirement. The insertable cerumen protection facilities used to date are in most cases disadvantageous in that they reduce the acoustically active cross-section of the sound channel and may as a result lead to acoustic disadvantages.
Gas-tight membranes basically offer the greatest protection, but nevertheless require the use of modified receivers in order to ensure the barometric pressure equalization. The associated outlet on the device exterior (faceplate) likewise involves a corresponding additional space requirement. It must also be ensured that the cerumen protection facility is securely connected to the sound channel and forms a tight seal therewith. Until now this has generally been achieved in the case of a cerumen protection facility which can be inserted into the sound channel, by a thickening close to the sound channel, said thickening being embodied as a flange or barb or having other elements such as studs, knobs etc.
US 2005/0074138 A1 discloses a receiver support, in which a sound tube is located between a sound outlet opening of the receiver and a holder in the hearing aid device housing.
A hearing aid device with a receiver and a gas-tight cerumen protection facility is known from the patent application DE 10 2006 008 044 B3, in which a pressure equalization channel opens into the sound channel between the receiver and the cerumen protection facility. The special arrangement of the pressure equalization channel generally prevents a blockage of the same. However in the rare instances when the pressure equalization channel is blocked, cleaning is difficult.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds