Stacked with the same bone conduction technology we've been seeing in Bluetooth headsets for some time now, along with wired and wireless device connectivity, a new class of hearing aids in making its way into patients' ears—or more accurately, their skulls. Bone conduction makes a big difference to hearing aids' core functionality, eliminating all manner of noise issues, but the heart of these new plugs is a powerful processing platform, with a gadgety twist:
[T]he newer processors, costing about $6000 (AUD) 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
This makes a lot of sense—wearing earbuds or a Bluetooth headset on top of hearing aids would feel a little redundant, no? Anyway, as they are, the systems, made by Australian company Cochlear, aren't as cyborgian as you might imagine. The processor, with its headphone jack and wireless radio, isn't actually drilled into your head—that's just the cochlear implant—but instead worn around your ear, headset-style. The company's even got a range of 'Freedom Accessories' which, let's be clear here, are consumer tech accessories meant to indirectly plug into your bone. It's a great time to be an old.
UPDATE: Commenter Brutek gives us some background on how these work, and what they actually are. TL;DR version? Cochlear implants aren't technically hearing aids, and the procedure you need to be able to use tech like this is actually quite invasive and expensive on its own:
BTW, the processors are AUD$6000 but total cost of the rest of the equipment plus surgery for cochlear implants can go up to US$250,000 although the cost has been coming down.
The bone conduction technology, which requires a fixed, passive implant into the bone is for a smaller market than cochlear implants.
My son was one of the first to have the FM receiver add-on which is coupled to a Bluetooth transceiver. Bluetooth currently consumes too much power, but the FM receiver still allows a full day of batteries.
And FYI, people with cochlear implants are cyborgs by definition (total audio mediation) and are an under represented minority. There are many issues that need to be taught because of the lack of education people have about what these devices provide and don't provide.
There is also a big culture backlash from the deaf community, but the deaf community doesn't understand that not all cochlear implant users were not born deaf and may have lost their hearing later in life and want to continue to hear (like my son).
Anyway, my 3 cents.(Via Gizmodo.)
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