US 12,015,899 B2
Light sensor in hearing instrument
Peter Flanagan, St. Louis Park, MN (US); Kyle Olson, St. Louis Park, MN (US); Michael Karl Sacha, Chanhassen, MN (US); Andy S. Lin, Chanhassen, MN (US); and Fa Wang, Bloomington, MN (US)
Assigned to Starkey Laboratories, Inc., Eden Prairie, MN (US)
Filed by Starkey Laboratories, Inc., Eden Prairie, MN (US)
Filed on Jul. 11, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/811,759.
Application 17/811,759 is a continuation of application No. PCT/US2021/012956, filed on Jan. 11, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/961,021, filed on Jan. 14, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0345835 A1, Oct. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. H04R 25/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/024 (2006.01); G01J 1/42 (2006.01); G01J 3/28 (2006.01)
CPC H04R 25/505 (2013.01) [A61B 5/02416 (2013.01); A61B 5/6817 (2013.01); G01J 1/4204 (2013.01); G01J 1/429 (2013.01); G01J 3/28 (2013.01); G01J 2001/4266 (2013.01); H04R 2225/41 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for operating a hearing instrument, the method comprising the following steps:
measuring, with one or more sensors of the hearing instrument, an ambient light level at the hearing instrument;
determining a delta ambient light level that indicates a change in the detected ambient light level detected by the one or more sensors of the hearing instrument at different times;
recording the delta ambient light level;
determining whether an absolute value of the delta ambient light level exceeds a predetermined threshold;
determining, based on the absolute value of the delta ambient light level exceeding the predetermined threshold and the delta ambient light level being positive, a user has moved to an outdoor environment; and
setting a signal processing parameter of the hearing instrument as a function of the determination the user is in the outdoor environment or an indoor environment.