Abstract: Apparatus (20) for hearing assistance includes a spectacle frame (22), including a front piece (30) and temples (32), with one or more microphones (23) mounted at respective first locations on the front piece and configured to output electrical signals in response to first acoustic waves (64) that are incident on the microphones. A speaker (28) is mounted at a second location on one of the temples outputs second acoustic waves (66). Processing circuitry (26) generates a drive signal for the speaker by processing the electrical signals output by the microphones so as to cause the speaker to reproduce selected sounds occurring in the first acoustic waves with a delay that is equal within 20% to a transit time of the first acoustic waves from the first location to the second location, thereby engendering constructive interference between the first and second acoustic waves.

Abstract: Apparatus (20) for hearing assistance includes a spectacle frame (22), including a front piece (30) and temples (32), with one or more microphones (23) mounted at respective first locations on the front piece and configured to output electrical signals in response to first acoustic waves (64) that are incident on the microphones. A speaker (28) is mounted at a second location on one of the temples outputs second acoustic waves (66). Processing circuitry (26) generates a drive signal for the speaker by processing the electrical signals output by the microphones so as to cause the speaker to reproduce selected sounds occurring in the first acoustic waves with a delay that is equal within 20% to a transit time of the first acoustic waves from the first location to the second location, thereby engendering constructive interference between the first and second acoustic waves.

Abstract: A system (20) includes a plurality of microphones (22), configured to generate different respective signals in response to acoustic waves (36) arriving at the microphones, and a processor (34). The processor is configured to receive the signals, to combine the signals into multiple channels, which correspond to different respective directions relative to the microphones by virtue of each channel representing any portion of the acoustic waves arriving from the corresponding direction with greater weight, relative to others of the directions, to calculate respective energy measures of the channels, to select one of the directions, in response to the energy measure for the channel corresponding to the selected direction passing one or more energy thresholds, and to output a combined signal representing the selected direction with greater weight, relative to others of the directions. Other embodiments are also described.

Abstract: A system (20) includes a plurality of microphones (22), configured to generate different respective signals in response to acoustic waves (36) arriving at the microphones, and a processor (34). The processor is configured to receive the signals, to combine the signals into multiple channels, which correspond to different respective directions relative to the microphones by virtue of each channel representing any portion of the acoustic waves arriving from the corresponding direction with greater weight, relative to others of the directions, to calculate respective energy measures of the channels, to select one of the directions, in response to the energy measure for the channel corresponding to the selected direction passing one or more energy thresholds, and to output a combined signal representing the selected direction with greater weight, relative to others of the directions. Other embodiments are also described.