A bio-inspired optical directional microphone with cavity-coupled diaphragms

This study explored the use patterns and benefits of directional microphone technology in real world situations experienced by patients who had been fitted with switchable omnidirectional/directional hearing aids. Telephone interviews and paper-and-pencil questionnaires were used to assess perceived performance with each microphone type in a variety of listening situations. Patients who used their hearing aids regularly and switched between the two microphone configurations reported using the directional mode, on average, about one-quarter of the time. From brief descriptions, patients could identify listening situations in which each microphone mode should provide superior performance. Further, they reported encountering listening situations in which an omnidirectional microphone should provide better performance more frequently than listening situations in which the directional microphones should be superior. Despite using the omnidirectional mode more often and encountering situations in which an omnidirectional microphone should provide superior performance more frequently, participants reported the same level of satisfaction with each microphone type.

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Design of a Biomimetic Directional Microphone Diaphragm

10.1115/imece2000-1603 ◽

2000 ◽

Author(s):

C. Gibbons ◽

R. N. Miles

Keyword(s):

Sound Pressure ◽

Capacitive Sensor ◽

Sound Level ◽

Pressure Level ◽

The Self ◽

Mode Shapes ◽

Directional Hearing ◽

The Finite Element Method ◽

Mechanical Coupling ◽

Directional Microphone

Abstract A miniature silicon condenser microphone diaphragm has been designed that exhibits good predicted directionality, sensitivity, and reliability. The design was based on the structure of a fly’s ear (Ormia ochracea) that has highly directional hearing through mechanical coupling of the eardrums. The diaphragm that is 1mm × 2mm × 20 microns is intended to be fabricated out of polysilicon through microelectromechanical micromachining. It was designed through the finite-element method in ANSYS in order to build the necessary mode shapes and frequencies into the mechanical behavior of the design. Through postprocessing of the ANSYS data, the diaphragm’s response to an arbitrary sound source, sensitivity, robustness, and Articulation Index - Directivity Index (AI-DI) were predicted. The design should yield a sensitivity as high as 100 mV/Pa, an AI-DI of 4.764 with Directivity Index as high as 6 between 1.5 and 5 kHz. The diaphragm structure was predicted be able to withstand a sound pressure level of 151.74 dB. The sound level that would result in collapse of the capacitive sensor is 129.9 dB.. The equivalent sound level due to the self-noise of the microphone is predicted to be 30.8 dBA.

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Bio-Inspired Rectangular Shaped Piezoelectric MEMS Directional Microphone

IEEE Sensors Journal ◽

10.1109/jsen.2018.2873781 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 88-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ashiqur Rahaman ◽

Asif Ishfaque ◽

Haeil Jung ◽

Byungki Kim

Keyword(s):

Directional Microphone ◽

Piezoelectric Mems

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Directional microphone

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.387381 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 71 (2) ◽

pp. 529-529

Author(s):

Alfred Zlevor

Keyword(s):

Directional Microphone

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A digital feedback damping scheme for a micromachined directional microphone

Proceedings of the 2004 American Control Conference ◽

10.23919/acc.2004.1384420 ◽

2004 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N.E. Wu ◽

R.N. Miles ◽

O.A. Aydin

Keyword(s):

Directional Microphone

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Directional Microphone in Hearing Aids: Effects on Speech Discrimination in Noise

Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery ◽

10.1001/archotol.1975.00780340048010 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 101 (5) ◽

pp. 316-319 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

G. S. Sung ◽

R. J. Sung ◽

R. M. Angelelli

Keyword(s):

Hearing Aids ◽

Speech Discrimination ◽

Directional Microphone

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Effectiveness of Directional Microphones and Noise Reduction Schemes in Hearing Aids: A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Journal of the American Academy of Audiology ◽

10.3766/jaaa.16.7.7 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 16 (07) ◽

pp. 473-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 91

Author(s):

Ruth A. Bentler

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Noise Reduction ◽

Hearing Aids ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Careful Consideration ◽

Small Sample ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Directional Microphones ◽

Directional Microphone

A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to find evidence of real-world effectiveness of directional microphone and digital noise reduction features in current hearing aids. The evidence was drawn from randomized controlled trials, nonrandomized intervention studies, and descriptive studies. The quality of each study was evaluated for factors such as blinding, power of statistical analyses, and use of psychometrically strong outcome measures. Weaknesses in the identified studies included small sample size, resultant poor power to detect potentially worthwhile differences, and overlapping experimental conditions. Nine studies were identified for directional microphones, and the evidence (albeit weak) supports effectiveness. Two studies were identified for the noise reduction feature, and the evidence was equivocal. For the researcher, such a systematic review should encourage the careful consideration of appropriate methodologies for assessing feature effectiveness. For the clinician, the outcomes reported herein should encourage use of such a systematic review to drive clinical practice.

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