George O'Quinn Hirvela

Automatically configuring hearing assistive device

An adjustable hearing assistive device that automatically configures to the hearing needs of a user. The adjustable hearing assistive device can be in the form of a hearing aid that includes a presence activated sensor adapted to receive setting data, hearing processing circuitry adapted to receive sound and manipulate an audio signal, and a controller adapted to configure the processing circuitry in response to the setting data so that sound output to a user is in accordance with the hearing needs of the user. The setting data can include settings for a default mode of operation or temporary settings for use when the user is in a particular environment. Setting data can be provided by a hearing profile tag in the form of an RFID tag and the presence activated sensor can be an RFID reader.