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Sounds Good is a hearing aid that looks like cool high-tech earrings! The hearing aid amplifies sound for the wearer, and tiny “decorative” screens give feedback on the incoming sound. The speaker can see by the color and wave amplitude whether they are speaking too loudly, too softly, or too quickly. The design by Peiqi Tang won the top 2011 Red Dot Design Concept Award. I need to know the minute this is on the market, and we will finally settle the argument of whether my kids mumble or if its all just my hearing loss. Link -via Laughing Squid
A company called Sonitus Medical recently acquired FDA approval for its new hearing aid system. It’s called SoundBite, and involves two machines: one that slips behind the user’s ear, and another that fits on the molars. Sound picked up by the earpiece is transmitted wirelessly to the mouthpiece, which vibrates the teeth. The vibrations can be understood by the inner ear as sound.
Link | Product Page | Photo: Sonitus Medical
A new generation of hearing aids will be able to block out background noise and let users directly jack into music:
On Friday Mr Hughes had tiny titanium screws drilled into bone behind each ear during a 90-minute operation under general anaesthetic. Once the wounds heal and the screws have fused with bone, abutments will be screwed into the implants, and the processors, about the size of a postage stamp, are clicked into place.
Older-style hearing aids amplify all sounds, making it almost impossible for wearers to hear conversations in noisy environments. They also interfere with frequencies used by mobile and fixed phones and often emit high-pitched whistling sounds. But the newer processors, costing about $6000 each, shut out background noise, giving users up to 25 per cent better hearing, and can be attached directly to MP3 music players or wireless headsets for talking on the phone, Cochlear’s territory manager, Katrina Martin, said.
Link via Popular Science
