hearing aids

I defy you not to be moved by this.

Yes, you might be a nerd who is only moved by machines and impossible superheroes.

But here is a small hero, 4-year-old Anthony Smith from Salem, N.H. Anthony wears a hearing aid. He was born with several chromosomal abnormalities. He doesn't have a right ear. He can only hear a little from his left, so he wears a hearing aid.

He calls the hearing aid Blue Ear. But he got fed up wearing it. Why? Because superheroes don't wear hearing aids. They might have been blind, like Daredevil, … Read more

Cochlear implants, which help 220,000 deaf people around the world hear, come with a few unfortunate side effects.

Because the implants also consist of external parts (the mic, a speech processor, and a radio transmitter coil) worn rather conspicuously behind the ear, users are often unable to swim or wear helmets comfortably, must fully rely on a microphone exposed to the elements, and have to deal with appearing at least somewhat handicapped.

So an electrical engineer at the University of Utah has developed a prototype that moves all these external parts into the middle ear, allowing cochlear implants to … Read more

Many of us know at least one person who has a hearing aid that sits on a shelf somewhere, collecting dust. The usual complaint: The thing just doesn't work right.

A professor at the University of Essex in the U.K. says these aren't just excuses, but legitimate complaints. "Today's hearing aids don't help to separate sounds--they just amplify them," said Ray Meddis, who has led work on a new kind of hearing aid. "They often make everything too noisy for the wearer, especially in social situations like parties, and some wearers still can't make out what people are saying to them. They find the whole experience so uncomfortable that they end up taking their hearing aids out," Meddis said in a statement released today.

Meddis and his team at Essex have been working on a new kind of aid they say could revolutionize what is now an antiquated approach to treating hearing impairments. The key, they say, is to use unique computer models (what they call "hearing dummies") that treat the root causes, not just the symptoms, of the user's unique condition.

"In the same way that a tailor's dummy is used to measure and fit a garment for a particular person, our software dummy is used to gauge a patient's hearing requirements so that their hearing aid can then be programmed to suit their needs," Meddis said.… Read more

Siemens is unveiling a suite of new products at the American Academy of Audiology 2011 conference in Chicago this week, including what it claims is the world's first fully waterproof (and dustproof, and shock-resistant) digital hearing aid.

Called Aquaris, the aid's housing is made of one solid piece, so the only opening is to the battery compartment, which is fitted with a membrane designed to let air in but keep water out.

Siemens lists a whole range of activities that have until now been difficult for those wearing hearing aids that can be ruined by not just water but sweat and dust: sailing, swimming, kayaking, golfing, gardening, cycling, and jogging.

Because the device can be fully submerged in water up to 3 feet deep for 30 minutes (rendering it more than merely water-resistant), shallow snorkeling should be added to the list. Whether we will ever be able to scuba dive with hearing aids remains to be seen.

Aquaris also features a non-slip, textured surface that holds the Aquaris behind the ear; a "sport clip" to further secure the device during intense activities; and a water-resistant Aquapac for added protection.

Siemens has yet to release pricing or availability details.… Read more

This week, Donald and Eric explore the idea of hearing with your mouth, seeing in 12 dimensions, and shooting lightening with a wave of your arm. Yes, it's wizard tech week, apparently. To that end, we show off an illuminated staff that can divine the strength of your Wi-Fi signal and a DIY project for all you pinball wizards out there.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video… Read more

Body device developer IntriCon is now selling its tiny new hearing aid, which manages to pack a few punches into a gadget that's smaller than a dime.

Called APT, the hearing aid can be reconfigured to fit the left or right ear quickly and easily (this feature is patent-pending) and comes with a wax guard system that is replaceable, so if you fall into a fountain while texting and damage the shell, you can just swap it out for a new one.

The hearing aid is small enough to not obstruct the ear canal (these are called "open-ear" hearing aids), so the user doesn't suffer through that blocked-up feeling so common in bulkier ones. It also includes what the company calls the AcousTAP Switch, which lets the user toggle between settings by patting the ear instead of the hearing aid.… Read more

Q: Recently I bought a used iPhone 3G from a friend. A month after I started using it, I realized that AT&T added a data plan to my service. I never use the data features so to get around the requirement, I accessed my customer profile on AT&T's Web site and changed my phone to an old Sony Ericsson W760i. I then called AT&T and asked them to take the data plan off and they reported seeing the W760i in my profile.

About an hour later, though, my profile said I have an iPhone again! Now I suspect that in another month they will tack on the data plan again. Is there a certain jailbreak that will stop AT&T from seeing that I have an iPhone? - Ryan

A: Unfortunately, each time you use your iPhone 3G, AT&T can tell which handset you're using. The company gets this information not from your customer profile, but from your phone itself. Here's how it works.

Each time you make a call, a couple of things are going on. First off, your SIM card identifies you as a subscriber to the carrier. If your account is in order, then you can make the call. Before that can happen, however, the network also accesses your phone's International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), which is a number that's unique to every GSM handset (CDMA devices use something similar called an Electronic Serial number, or ESN). The IMEI identifies the phone to your carrier and it checks that the handset is valid to use. If the phone is locked to another carrier or if it's lost or stolen--your carrier can use the IMEI to "blacklist" a device--you won't be able to make calls.

So it's the IMEI, and not your customer profile, that lets AT&T know that you're using an iPhone. You can switch to the W760i for a while, but once you go back to the iPhone AT&T will know. I'm not sure how how much time the carrier waits before tacking on the mandatory data plan, but it will happen eventually. I'm not in favor of mandatory data plans, and I really don't like it when they add new services to your contract without asking, but it happens all the time. Unfortunately, jailbreaking won't help since that process only removes the Apple-imposed restrictions that block you from downloading third-party apps.

You can find your phone's IMEI by looking behind the battery cover, on the box, or by typing *#06# on your keypad. … Read more

If you're one of the 17 percent of American adults who reportedly suffer from some type of hearing loss, listen up: hearing aids--and earphones--may be about to enter a new generation of superior fit and functionality, thanks to molds based on a 3D imaging technique instead of plaster.

Time was, getting fitted for a hearing aid took an hour in a chair with an audiologist, who would fill a patient's ear canals with a silicone substance that hardened into a mold from which the aid would be constructed. The molds are only so detailed, which means the fits … Read more

Hearing aids and cochlear implants work like complicated miniature microphones to help the deaf and hard-of-hearing pick up the noises around them. Unfortunately, the hum of background noise also tends to be amplified, often creating a confusing melee of sound.

Miriam Furst-Yust, a professor at Tel Aviv University's School of Electrical Engineering, has developed new software called Clearcall that can improve speech recognition by up to 50 percent in hearing aids and cochlear implants, according to a press release put out by the American Friends of Tel Aviv University.

Clearcall was initially developed for cell phones, but the Clearcall-filtered … Read more