Engineering:Personalised sound

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In sound technology, personalised sound refers to a range of technologies that customise an audio device's sound output to match the listener's hearing sensitivities or their environment.[1]

Personalised sound technology is used in headphones, smart speakers, mobile apps and other consumer electronics.[2]

Types of personalised sound technologies   

Different personalised sound technologies use different scientific principles to customise sound[3] and can be categorised according to two main parameters:

  • subjective measurement vs. objective measurement
  • accounting for a subset of the listener's hearing or their environment vs. accounting for the listener's full hearing system.

Subjective tests, which are a part and parcel of every clinical Audiometry procedure specifically used to determine a person's hearing, require the listener to give feedback based on what they perceive. A common type of subjective hearing test requires the user to push a button if they can hear a tone that is played at a particular frequency and amplitude.[4]

On the other hand, objective measurements automatically measure one or more feedback signals and do not require any input from the user.[4]

Some personalised sound technologies measure a subset of the user's hearing, such as the acoustics of the user's outer ear (primarily the ear canal),[5] whereas other technologies offer a full hearing measurement (measuring hearing through the outer, middle and inner ear).[3][6]   

Several reviewers have noted that these different technologies vary in accuracy and usability.[7][8][9]   

Subjective, full hearing measurement

Historically, hearing aids were used to enable people with hearing loss to understand speech better by measuring their hearing and adjusting devices based on an Audiogram.[4] However, recent developments in the field are enabling listeners with mild to moderate hearing loss, who do not necessarily need hearing aids, to substantially improve their enjoyment of music and sound, in addition to better speech recognition. The establishment of a new class of hearing aids in the U.S. marketed directly to consumers and regulated by the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 reflects these developments.

New devices for personalising music listening have been introduced that employ subjective, full hearing tests.[10][11][12] The user responds on the mobile application interface if they perceive tones. Oftentimes, the assessment tests each ear separately.

These devices provide subjective hearing tests that take between 90 seconds and 15 minutes to complete.[13] The Aumeo Headphone Personaliser dongle can be connected to most media players and provides a two-minute subjective hearing test.[14] The Mimi[1] mobile app allows the user to undergo a six-minute subjective hearing test and the app then adjusts the mobile device's audio output based on the test results. Mimi technology is built into the apps of a number of audio brands, such as: Beyerdynamic, Bragi, X by Kygo and Loewe.[15]

Unlike the Mimi technology, Skullcandy's Crusher ANC headphones use a subjective, full hearing measurement and then adapts audio output through the user's headphones, not their mobile device.[16] Skullcandy's hearing measurement takes under 3 minutes to complete on a mobile application and was developed by Swedish software company Audiodo.

Jacoti Hearing Center and Center Pro from Jacoti BV are mobile apps for iOS that are FDA-registered and CE-certified hearing tests.[17] Once the user finishes the test, the results are used by Jacoti ListenApp to generate an audiologically-valid hearing fitting. Jacoti ListenApp is also FDA-registered and CE-certified as a hearing aid.[18] Jacoti’s hearing technology can also run on the 51xxx [19] of SoCs (System on a Chip) manufactured by Qualcomm [20] enabling the development of true wireless earbuds with audiologically valid self-testing and Hearing aid functionality.

Objective, full hearing measurement  

Personalised sound technologies with objective, full hearing measurement[21] claim to analyse the user's full hearing without the user manually responding to testing tones.[22]  

The Nuraphone by Nura and are the only available consumer product that performs an objective measurement of the listener's full hearing system in order to enhance the music listening experience, primarily targeting listeners with normal hearing.[23][24] The Nuraphone's proprietary technology automatically monitors otoacoustic emissions to measure the user's hearing in 1–2 minutes.[25] The Nuraphone adapts its frequency response based on the user's hearing, allowing the user to hear more detail when listening to music.[26]

Objective, subset hearing measurement

There are several products that provide personalised sound by measuring some acoustic properties of the user's environment without actually measuring their hearing.[5][27]

As an example, the AKG N90Q headphones measure the acoustics of the user's outer ear. The headphones then adjust their EQ based on the measurements.[28]

The Sonos Play:5 smart speaker personalises sound based on the acoustics of the room where the speaker is placed. The Sonos Play:5 measures the room's acoustics by playing testing tones, while the user's phone detects how these tones sound, and the speaker's EQ is adjusted.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Klitzing, Tim von (2016-11-16). ""Earprint" or the introduction to personalized sound". https://medium.com/sounds-like-you/earprint-or-the-introduction-to-personalized-sound-e95c5a6088d6. 
  2. ↑ Klitzing, Tim von (2016-11-16). ""Earprint" or the introduction to personalized sound". https://medium.com/sounds-like-you/earprint-or-the-introduction-to-personalized-sound-e95c5a6088d6. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Haslam, Chris (2017-12-22). "These AI headphones create a custom sound profile for your ears". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/test-ai-headphones. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Services, Department of Health & Human. "Hearing tests" (in en). https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au:443/health/conditionsandtreatments/hearing-tests. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "N90Q | Reference class auto-calibrating noise cancelling headphones". https://www.akg.com/Headphones/Over-ear%20%26%20On-ear/N90+Q.html?cgid=Over-ear%20&dwvar_N90%20Q_color=Black-GLOBAL-Current. 
  6. ↑ "Nura: Headphones that learn and adapt to your unique hearing" (in en). https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nura/nura-headphones-that-learn-and-adapt-to-your-uniqu. 
  7. ↑ "These Headphones Offer Perfect Personalised Sound, But I'm Not Convinced" (in en). 2018-09-25. https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2018/09/audeara-a-01-headphone-review/. 
  8. ↑ Haslam, Chris (2017-12-22). "These AI headphones create a custom sound profile for your ears". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/test-ai-headphones. 
  9. ↑ "The Even headphones make you feel better about your poor hearing" (in en). https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/28/even-headphones/. 
  10. ↑ "Audeara". https://audeara.com/. 
  11. ↑ "EVEN | Glasses for your ears | NYC" (in en). https://www.weareeven.com/. 
  12. ↑ "AUMEO" (in en-US). https://aumeoaudio.com/. 
  13. ↑ Leger 2018-06-18T15:47:21.168ZHeadsets, Henry St; headphones. "Audeara A-01 review" (in en). https://www.techradar.com/reviews/audeara-a-01-review. 
  14. ↑ "Aumeo, Headphones Personalizer". https://shop.aumeoaudio.com/products/aumeo-headphones-personalizer. 
  15. ↑ "Mimi Partners". 2020-10-15. https://www.mimi.io/partners. 
  16. ↑ "Review: Skullcandy’s Crusher ANC Headphones Will Shake Up Your Listening Habits" (in en-US). https://www.insidehook.com/article/audio/skullcandy-anc-crusher-headphones-review. 
  17. ↑ "Jacoti Regulatory" (in en). https://www.jacoti.com/regulatory. 
  18. ↑ "Jacoti Regulatory" (in en). https://www.jacoti.com/regulatory. 
  19. ↑ "Jacoti-Qualcomm announcement" (in en). https://www.jacoti.com/news/qualcomm-and-jacoti-supporting-hearing-enhancement-technology.pdf. 
  20. ↑ "Qualcomm" (in en). https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2020/10/21/qualcomm-technologies-support-jacoti-hearing-technology-help-deliver. 
  21. ↑ Services, Department of Health & Human. "Hearing tests" (in en). https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au:443/health/conditionsandtreatments/hearing-tests. 
  22. ↑ Bailey, Abram (2016-07-04). "Nura Claims Its Headphones "Automatically Measure Your Hearing"" (in en-US). https://www.hearingtracker.com/blog/nura-claims-its-headphones-automatically-measure-your-hearing/. 
  23. ↑ Cohen, Simon. "Editor". Digital Trends. https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/beyerdynamic-lagoon-anc-ces-2019/. Retrieved 10 January 2019. 
  24. ↑ Bailey, Abram (2016-07-04). "Nura Claims Its Headphones "Automatically Measure Your Hearing"" (in en-US). https://www.hearingtracker.com/blog/nura-claims-its-headphones-automatically-measure-your-hearing/. 
  25. ↑ "Nuraphone review: Noise-cancelling headphones with a personal touch" (in en). 2018-07-17. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nuraphone-review-noise-cancelling-headphones-price-app-a8451661.html. 
  26. ↑ "Nuraphones’ custom profiles bring out new detail in familiar songs" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/19/nuraphones-custom-profiles-bring-out-new-detail-in-familiar-songs/. 
  27. ↑ Insider, Antonio Villas-Boas, Business. "These headphones measure your ears on the fly to create realistic surround sound — and the results are amazing" (in en). https://www.businessinsider.com/ossic-x-surround-sound-3d-headphones-2016-4. 
  28. ↑ "CES 2017: AKG N90Q Auto-Calibrating Noise Canceling Headphones" (in en). 2017-01-16. https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/ces-2017-akg-n90q-auto-calibrating-noise-canceling-headphones. 




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