A CMOS amplifier with digital gain control for the hearing impaired

Author

Leach, Donald P.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Santa Clara Univ., CA, USA

fYear

1988

fDate

4-7 Nov. 1988

Firstpage

1549

Abstract

This CMOS transadmittance amplifier is designed for use in either an in-the-ear (ITE) or a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid. It will be driven by a pressure-to-voltage transducer (microphone), and it will provide an output current to drive either a current-to-pressure transducer (speaker) or a current-to-magnetic field transducer (coil). It can be used to transduce an input sound pressure level (SPL) into an amplified SPL or into a proportional magnetic field. Amplified sound signals can thus be applied to the middle ear by either acoustic or magnetic coupling. A unique gain control activated by means of a pressure-sensitive capacitance switch provides an advantage over existing rotary gain controls.<>

Keywords

audio-frequency amplifiers; biomedical electronics; hearing aids; CMOS transadmittance amplifier; behind-the-ear hearing aid; current-to-magnetic field transducer; current-to-pressure transducer; digital gain control; hearing impaired; in-the-ear hearing aid; pressure-sensitive capacitance switch; pressure-to-voltage transducer; proportional magnetic field; rotary gain control; sound pressure level;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1988. Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE

Conference_Location

New Orleans, LA, USA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-0785-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.1988.94684

Filename

94684