The hearing aids available on the market are expensive. In the United States, a pair of hearing aids costs around $4,700 on average. Considering that the lowest salary in the US is around $1,250 a month, a person under that bracket would have to work for four months in order to buy a pair of hearing aids. But that doesn’t have to be the case.
Researchers led by M. Saad Bhamla, have developed a proof-of-concept device which could lead to affordable hearing aids in the future.
The ultra-low-cost proof-of-concept device known as LoCHAid is designed to be easily manufactured and repaired in locations where conventional hearing aids are priced beyond the reach of most citizens. The minimalist device is expected to meet most of the World Health Organization's targets for hearing aids aimed at mild-to-moderate age-related hearing loss. The prototypes built so far look like wearable music players instead of a traditional behind-the-ear hearing aids.
"The challenge we set for ourselves was to build a minimalist hearing aid, determine how good it would be and ask how useful it would be to the millions of people who could use it," said M. Saad Bhamla, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "The need is obvious because conventional hearing aids cost a lot and only a fraction of those who need them have access."
[...]
"We have shown that it is possible to build a hearing aid for less than the price of a cup of coffee," he said. "This is a first step, a platform technology, and we've shown that low cost doesn't have to mean low quality."
Of course, this affordable device offers fewer features than the expensive ones available, but Bhamla compares this issue to buying a basic and a luxury car.
Learn more details about this over at MedicalXpress.
What are your thoughts about this one?
(Image Credit Craig Bromley/ MedicalXpress)