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SamsungGranted patentHealth & bodyInterest 6/10

Samsung patents phone feature that filters out tinnitus sounds

This patent describes a system where a phone works with headphones to help manage tinnitus, a condition involving ringing or buzzing in the ears. The device plays specific test tones to identify the exact frequency of the user's tinnitus and then modifies music or other audio to remove that specific sound.

Why it mattersIt offers a practical software-based approach to reducing the annoyance of tinnitus by actively filtering out the problematic frequency from daily audio content.

In the filing’s own words

An electronic device according to various embodiments comprises: a communication circuit configured to communicate with an external electronic device; a memory in which one or more sound sources and one or more test sounds for tinnitus frequency testing are stored; and at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, wherein the memory can store instructions that when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: transmit a first control message to the external electronic device so that the one or more test sounds are output through the external electronic device corresponding to an ear with tinnitus identified from among the left ear and the right ear on the basis of a first input; determine a tinnitus frequency corresponding to a test sound selected from among the one or more test sounds on the basis of a second input; and transmit a second control message to the external electronic device so that a second sound source obtained by removing a portion corresponding to the tinnitus frequency from a first sound source from among the one or more sound sources is output through the external electronic device.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device, comprising: a communication circuit configured to communicate with at least one external electronic device; a memory storing at least one sound source and at least one test sound for a tinnitus frequency test; and at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, electrically connected with the communication circuit and the memory, wherein the memory stores instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify an ear with tinnitus symptoms between a left ear and a right ear based on a first input selecting a direction of the ear with the tinnitus symptoms; transmit a first control message configured to control the at least one test sound to be output through an external electronic device corresponding to the identified ear to the external electronic device through the communication circuit; determine a frequency corresponding to a selected test sound as a tinnitus frequency based on a second input selecting the one test sound among the at least one test sound output through the external electronic device; generate a second sound source in which a portion corresponding to the tinnitus frequency is removed from a first sound source among the at least one sound source; transmit a second control message configured to control the second sound source to be output through the external electronic device to the external electronic device through the communication circuit; and based on determining that ambient noise has a specified level or more based on ambient noise information, control the external electronic device to remove at least part of the ambient noise during output of the at least one test sound through the external electronic device.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
Electronic device for tinnitus management, and operating method therefor
Patent number
US12732764B2
Application number
18665955
Filed
May 16, 2024
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Inventors
6
Claims
20

Classified under

H04R 25/75 Electricity & electronicsA61B 5/128 Human necessitiesA61B 5/742 Human necessitiesA61B 5/7475 Human necessitiesG16H 10/20 Physics & computingH04R 1/1041 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.