~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2013
Apple Inc filed a patent application (United
States Patent Application 20130034234) on February 7 for a system that
would automatically detect a hearing aid via the use of a proximity and a
magnetic field sensor, then select the appropriate hearing aid mode based
on the detection system. Specifically theproposed concept is summarized
as:
"A hearing aid compatible portable electronic
audio device is configured to automatically determine whether or not the
device is being used by a hearing impaired user who is wearing a hearing
aid, and select a mode of operation based on this determination. The
device includes a proximity sensor and a magnetic field sensor. The
proximity sensor is used to detect a change in distance of the device to
the user's ear. The magnetic field sensor is used to detect a change in
magnetic field caused by the device moving relative to the hearing aid.
The device selects between a normal audio mode of operation and a hearing
aid compatible mode of operation based on both the change in detected
distance and the change in detected magnetic field. Other embodiments are
also described and claimed."
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sept 2012
IF YOU can hear, you probably take sound for
granted. Without thinking, we swing our attention in the direction of a
loud or unexpected sound - the honk of a car horn, say. Because deaf
people lack access to such potentially life-saving cues, a group of
researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
in Daejeon built a pair of glasses which allows the wearer to "see" when a
loud sound is made, and gives an indication of where it came from. An
array of seven microphones, mounted on the frame of the glasses, pinpoints
the location of such sounds and relays that directional information to the
wearer through a set of LEDs embedded inside the frame. The glasses will
only flash alerts on sounds louder than a threshold level, which is
defined by the wearer. Previous attempts at devices which could alert deaf
users to surrounding noises have been ungainly. For example, research in
2003 at the University of California, Berkeley, used a computer monitor to
provide users with a visual aid to pinpoint the location of a sound. The
Korean team have not beaten this problem quite yet - the prototype
requires a user to carry a laptop around in a backpack to process the
signal. But lead researcher Yang-Hann Kim stresses that the device is a
first iteration that will be miniaturised over the next few years.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 2012
Google is bulking up on patents to protect its new
augmented reality glasses project from legal attack, with at least nine
new patents issued in the past week to cover various aspects of the
futuristic devices. The patents provide a glimpse into what a heads-up
display from Google could provide to real-life users beyond what we
learned when Google unveiled Project Glass last month. Perhaps most
interestingly, one patent shows Google is working on a system to help
hard-of-hearing and deaf users detect and interpret nearby sounds. The
glasses' heads-up display would show arrows and flashing lights to
indicate the direction and intensity level of the sound, and even display
the words nearby people are speaking. The patent, #8,183,997, was issued
to Google today and is titled "Displaying sound indications on a wearable
computing system." The system would integrate a speech-to-text feature
that determines the text of speech and displays it for the wearer of the
glasses.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2012
Here's a pretty interesting collection of "techy"
devices for people with hearing loss. Unlike so many of these types of
articles, some of these devices look like they might be of value to some
people. And some of them are rather unique!
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 2011
Apps are downloadable programs on mobile devices
that provide individuals with a service, whether it's a game to pass the
time, a recipe creator, or a convenient flashlight. These apps have become
one of the most popular features of Apple and Android mobile devices, and
now the hearing impaired have access to apps extending from hearing tests
to actual hearing aids. The uncomplicated accessibility of these apps has
increased usage among patients and has sparked the curiosity of
practitioners. "I think this is really exciting," said Brian Fligor, ScD,
Director of Diagnostic Audiology at Children's Hospital Boston. "It's
exciting that any apps have been developed because it shows that people
care about hearing. People care about sound and people's perception of
sound. It's showing that the appropriate attention is being given to this
topic." Josef Shargorodsky, MD, an otolaryngologist at the Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary, who wrote an article on hearing apps with Fligor
(Hearing Health Magazine, April 13, 2011), agreed that the increased
attention on hearing loss, particularly among adoslescents, has assisted
in making apps more popular.
Full Story~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2011
9to5Mac reports that speech to text capabilities
are built into the iOS 5 keyboard in this release. This indicates Apple
may actually be using technology from Nuance, a voice recognition software
company, as earlier rumors suggested. In June, Macstories reported an
internal iOS 5 screenshots leak showing "Nuance Diction" controls. A
hearing aid functionality was also discovered by YouTuber NatesTechUpdate
(video below), which can be toggled on or off from the accessibility page,
found in settings. The feature will improve use with hearing aids, but may
reduce 2G cellular coverage, according to the feature description.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2011
A group of hearing health professionals, including
ear, nose and throat doctors, audiologists and sound engineers, have
teamed up to tackle the wide and underserved market of people who have
some hearing loss, but not necessarily enough to require a hearing aid. .
. . Prof. Van Hasselt is one of the principal developers of ACEHearing, a
"firmware"-software embedded in hardware. They say ACEHearing essentially
turns everyday consumer electronics into hearing-enhancement devices. The
innovation is a finalist in this year's Asian Innovation Awards. . . . The
first application of the technology will be on smartphones, either as a
downloadable app or firmware that will be installed in phones before
purchase.Users will be able to assess their own hearing in a quiet room by
performing a hearing test that takes about five minutes. The device will
capture and assess the individual's hearing profile, and then calibrate
the smartphone to adjust and enhance its sound output by filling in gaps
in the part of the sound spectrum where hearing is less than ideal. It
doesn't just make everything louder.
Full Story~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 2011
For those who work in the hearing health care
field, these apps have become tools for hearing tests. While
self-administered hearing tests are nothing new (think Bksy audio metry),
apps arguably allow a greater level of accessibility to the technology.
Users should be aware that the accuracy of each of these tests is not yet
known, as literature has not yet been published to compare them to a
gold-standard hearing test. Perhaps at present most appropriate as a
screening measure, they should not replace a visit to a qualified hearing
health care professional. Users may feel more comfortable making an
appointment after trying them out. Here is a quick review of four apps for
the iPad as well as the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 2011
A friend of mine has recently started a new blog
that focuses on technology to help you hear. The first few entries cover
telecoils and induction loops in some depth; the recent entries move on to
additional topics of interest to folks with hearing loss. I'm betting
it'll be a pretty comprehensive site on hearing loss technology before
long! Point your browser to
www.heargear.wordpress.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 2010
Quietly over the last decade, phones that make
text messaging easy have changed life profoundly for millions of deaf
people. Gone are the days of a deaf person driving to someone's house just
to see if they are home. Wives text their deaf husbands in the basement,
just as a hearing wife might yell down the stairs. Deaf teens blend in
with the mall crowd since they're constantly texting, like everyone else
in high school. Visit the Alabama School for the Deaf, and it's impossible
to miss the signs of a revolution that many hearing people simply never
noticed. Most everyone at the school in Talladega has at least one
handheld texting device, and some have two. At lunch, deaf diners order
burgers and fries by text: Punch in the order and show it at the counter.
For the first time, a generation of deaf people can communicate with the
world on its terms, using cell phones, BlackBerrys or iPhones, of which
some 260 million are in use in the United States. Matt Kochie, who is
deaf, has been texting his entire adult life and has a hard time imagining
a day without it.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2010
A young researcher has developed conductive
bioplastics that will boost the performance of bionic devices such as the
cochlear ear and the proposed bionic eye. "Our plastics will lead to
smaller devices that use safer smaller currents and that encourage nerve
interaction," says biomedical engineer. Rylie Green of University of New
South Wales (UNSW). Her plastics are already being tested in prototype
bionic eyes and she hopes they will find application wherever researchers
are attempting to integrate electronics with the human body.
Full Story~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 2010
Medical professionals rely on auscultation to
routinely examine the status of the circulatory, respiratory, and/or
gastrointestinal systems. Auscultation is defined as listening to internal
sounds of the body and represents an essential component in the delivery
of health care services. The procedure is accomplished through the use of
a stethoscope, a medical device specifically designed to enable
physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals to detect and analyze
heart, lung, and/or bowel sounds for purposes of differential diagnosis.
The art of auscultation not only requires a level of clinical skill, but
also assumes the presence of optimal listening conditions that would
enable the practitioner to hear what needs to be heard. For medical
professionals with hearing loss, the routine use of traditional
stethoscopes inherently creates several challenges. Physicians or nurses
with hearing loss may experience difficulty hearing certain internal body
sounds since the presence of a hearing loss may prohibit the ability to
actually hear necessary heart, lung, and/or bowel sounds for differential
diagnosis. While amplified stethoscopes designed to compensate for hearing
loss are commercially available, medical professionals who are current
users of amplification are faced with additional challenges that may
preclude the successful use of amplified stethoscopes in conjunction with
hearing instrumentation. The goal of this article is to provide
audiologists with an overview of viable stethoscope options while also
addressing associated limitations for purposes of facilitating realistic
expectations.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 2009
Capetonians with visual and hearing disabilities
could find navigating the city's roads somewhat safer in future, following
the city's announcement that it will equip all new road intersections with
vibrating audio-signal buttons to ensure safe crossing. Mayco member for
transport Elizabeth Thompson yesterday demonstrated the device at the
crossing outside the Cape Town Society for the Blind in Salt River. As
part of the public participation process around the Integrated Rapid
Transit plan, the city received several calls for these devices from
organisations representing disabled people.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2009
The DeafBlind Communicator changes all that. It
features a laptop-sized device that has either a regular or Braille
keyboard. Beneath that keyboard is a second, smaller keyboard with Braille
keys. There is also a second, smaller device that resembles a personal
digital assistant, or PDA, in size and appearance. When a deaf-blind
person wishes to communicate with a non-signing person, he or she simply
hands over the smaller device and sends the following message, which is
both displayed on the text screen and electronically spoken through
speakers: "Hi, I am deaf-blind (I can't hear or see). To communicate with
me, type a message and press" the return arrow. The return message is
converted into Braille, which the deaf-blind person is able to read by
touch on the smaller set of keys on the keyboard device.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2009
A chair that allows the hearing-impaired to
experience music in a new way will be featured at a concert in Toronto
designed for deaf people. The Emoti-Chair is a three-year venture
developed at Ryerson University's centre for learning technologies in
conjunction with the science of music, auditory research and technology
(SMART) lab. The idea is to treat the skin as a hearing membrane, said
Carmen Branje, one of the Ryerson researchers. Branje, 26, who has a
bachelor's degree in computing science and a master's in management
science, also plays drums in the Toronto punk rock band Hollywood Swank,
one of the groups that will be performing at the concert on Thursday.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 2008
Current
state-of-the-art technology for an artificial cochlea operates in a
similar fashion except that, unlike the tightly curled cochlea, the MEMS (microelectromechanical-system)-based
cochlea stretches out in a linear structure. The 3-cm-long device
comprises an acoustic input port at the narrow end of a tapered strip.
Where the strip is narrow, the sense material is stiff and vibrates in
response to high-frequency compression waves in the fluid that the strip
is immersed in. Additionally, as the strip widens, the material is more
compliant, vibrates more easily, and absorbs the energy of lower-frequency
waves
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 2008
For Ellen Hibbard music has never really meant
very much. Deaf from birth, she would only be able to experience a tune by
placing her hands on a flat wooden surface near the stereo or radio, or
directly on the amplifier. But now that's all changed. And for the first
time she has an understanding of why people love music - be it rock and
roll, jazz or classical. Hibbard has tested an experimental "emoti-chair,"
which with the help of a computer translates music into a series of
tactile sensations, including rocking and vibrating. Think of it as a kind
of full-body vibrator triggered by the frequency of individual notes in a
musical composition or even random sounds.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2008
Jorden, son of Olympic gold medalist Vonetta
Flowers and Johnny Flowers, was born without auditory nerves and ear
canals. His twin brother, Jaden, was born healthy, despite the pair being
born at 30 weeks. "We didn't even know [Jorden] was alive after the
doctors came in," Johnny Flowers said. "They started talking about the
complications with premature births. They painted a really dark picture of
his future." But the 2-pound, 9-ounce Jorden pulled through. That was the
first sign of the determination that has become synonymous with the
youngster's character. Many other signs would follow, as Jorden became
what doctors say is the first American child to undergo an auditory
brainstem implant that allows him to hear. The family began researching
Jorden's condition and treatments for his disability. Vonetta Flowers said
they immediately started to learn sign language so they could teach Jorden
to communicate. "His first sign was 'milk,'" Vonetta said. "It was funny
because he'd do the sign in the middle of the night like he expected you
to be watching."
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2008
You've almost certainly heard of the cochlear
implant, a device that stimulates the auditory nerve at the cochlea and
has restored "hearing" to tens of thousands of people worldwide. You may
have also heard of the auditory brainstem implant (ABI), which is used for
people whose auditory nerves aren't intact, particularly for people whose
auditory nerves have been severed during tumor removal. But you probably
haven't heard of auditory midbrain implants, which are implanted in the
midbrain, which is farther up the neurological chain than the brainstem.
This implant is being investigated as an improvement for folks who would
otherwise get the ABI. And initial results look promising!
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2008
Researchers in Spain have proven that
metamaterials, materials defined by their unusual man-made cellular
structure, can be designed to produce an acoustic cloak-a cloak that can
make objects impervious to sound waves, literally diverting sound waves
around an object. The research, "Acoustic cloaking in two dimensions: a
feasible approach", published June 13, 2008, in the New Journal of Physics
(NJP), builds on recent theoretical research which has sought ways to
produce materials that can hide objects from sound, sight, and x-rays.
Daniel Torrent and José Sánchez-Dehesa from the Wave Phenomena Group,
Department of Electronics Engineering at the Polytechnic University of
Valencia, cite theoretical work published early last year in NJP by
researchers from Duke University in North Carolina as the starting point
for their more practical approach.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2008
NAVARRA, Spain - A team of ear, nose, and throat (ENT)
specialists and neurosurgeons at the University Hospital of Navarra, led
by doctors Manuel Manrique Rodríguez, specialist in ENT surgery, and
Bartolomé Bejarano Herruzo, a specialist in paediatric neurosurgery, have
successfully operated on a 13-month-old girl from Murcia, who had been
born deaf due to the lack of auditory nerves. She is the youngest patient
in the world who has received an auditory implant in the brain stem. As a
result of the operation, the child has begun to hear and started language
development, according to reports. Previously, the medical center had
carried out, also successfully, a similar procedure on an 8-year-old girl.
Throughout the world there have only been 38 brain stem implants in
children under the age of 12. In this most recent case, the child was born
with a congenital illness characterized by the absence of the cochlear
(auditory) nerves, which have the task of transmitting to the brain the
sound stimuli received by the auditory passage from the exterior. It is
notable that the rate of this disorder in the overall population is very
low, estimated at 1 in every 100,000 newly born babies.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2008
Cochlear implants have helped many people with
severe to profound hearing loss to hear sounds and recognize speech. But
in the past if the electronic hearing devices failed, there were no
options. Now, doctors at UNC Hospitals are using an alternative way to
help those patients. Seven years ago, Watson Hale, 65, of Morehead City
had bacterial meningitis. "But that took my hearing. My body temperature
got up so high it burned my hair cells and that's when I became deaf,"
Hale said. He'd hoped a cochlear implant would help him, but that
depended on whether the snail shaped cochlea could still function. "His
cochlea was not fine. He received a cochlear implant and it didn't work
for him because of that," said Dr. Craig Buchman, an otolaryngology
surgeon at UNC. Last summer, Buchman made Hale the first in a clinical
trial to try a different implant that bypasses the cochlea, going straight
to the hearing nucleus of the brain stem. During the procedure the
electrodes are placed directly on the nucleus to stimulate it, Buchman
said.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 2008
By interpreting closed captioning data, Samsung's
technology can automatically pull up Web content relevant to a TV show
without a mouse or keyboard. Now that TV and the Internet are finally
getting all cozy thanks to HTPCs, Web-enabled TVs, and streaming media
boxes, Samsung is trying to help consumers take the next step in combining
the two, by using TV programming to help round up relevant Web content.
The company's See'N'Search technology automatically scans TV programming
for keywords and generates links that are accessible just by jumping to a
different menu with the remote - no keyboard and mouse required. The
system harvests its information from channel guide information and
closed-captioning metadata, then uses natural language technologies to
sift the relevant words from the irrelevant ones and determine what a
program is about. Consumers can pull up the automatically generated links
on their TVs without any input of their own, and there are even options
for zapping the data to other Wi-Fi connected devices rather than browsing
it on the big screen.
Full Story
