hearing

Wasabi smoke alarm raises a stink in Japan

The Japanese are getting teary-eyed over a smoke alarm for deaf people that emits a strong odor of wasabi, according to a recent Nikkei Net article.

Instead of an ear-piercing wail, the device unleashes the chemical compound allyl isothiocyanate, which gives horseradish, mustard, and wasabi their bite. A red LED on the alarm also starts flashing when smoke is detected.

In tests on sleeping people with normal or no hearing, the device woke nearly all subjects up within two and a half minutes after the stench hit their nostrils. Further tests determined the ideal intensity of airborne wasabi to wake … Read more

Apple wins appeal in earbud hearing-loss lawsuit

Just because something can benefit from some improvement doesn't mean that it's necessarily bad for you. That's basically what a San Francisco appeals court said when it upheld a previous ruling that Apple iPod earbuds cannot be held responsible for hearing loss, according to a Reuters report.

In the ruling, a judge wrote that the plaintiffs didn't offer evidence to show that iPod earbuds were dangerous, only that they believed they could be made safer. The judge wrote:

The plaintiffs do not allege the iPods failed to do anything they were designed to do nor do … Read more

E-tailers snagged in marketing 'scam' blame customers

First, the good news for consumers: the U.S. government's investigation into how dozens of well-known online stores worked with controversial marketers to "deceive" customers out of $1.4 billion has prompted some retailers, including Continental Airlines, to sever ties with the marketers.

Now, the bad news: the marketers--Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty--are still in business and judging from the responses of many of the retailers involved, such as Priceline, Classmates.com, FTD, Shutterfly, and Orbitz, it will be business as usual. They see nothing wrong with the marketing practices that millions of angry online shoppers and members … Read more

Test your hearing on your iPhone

UHear is a free, self-administered hearing test, along with tips and resources for preventing hearing loss. The app includes a multiple-choice questionnaire (your "Performance Profile"), a rigorous "Hearing Sensitivity" test for both ears, and a short "Speech in Noise" test.

The app's simple touch interface guides you through each step. For example, in the 6-minute Hearing Sensitivity test, you tap a large button every time you hear a tone, while a progress bar on the bottom tracks your progress. After each test, you get your results along with helpful context and recommendations--and for … Read more

Gadgettes Podcast 157: The Recessionista Episode

We've heard that the recession is waning. But our gut tells us something different. Today we examine gadgets that appeal to our recession-warped minds.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 157

Downturn doll sleeps in a car - but costs $95

Dell banks its brand on artists, baseball and nail polish

Netbooks rise, notebooks fall

Sony’s new Vaio X: thinnest laptop ever, $1,300 and up

SanDisk on Sansa: Value is our top priority

Gilt on the Go iPhone app… Read more

Are married white men in convertibles doomed to deafness?

Researchers this week revealed the results of some demographics studies of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), something they say had yet to be studied to this extent. If you're a married white male driving a convertible, listen up while you still can.

The studies were presented at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation's 2009 annual meeting in San Diego this week. One study, which analyzed the audiometric testing data from 5,290 people ages 20 to 69, finds that more than 13 percent suffer from some level of NIHL, which means some 24 million Americans might … Read more

App helps hearing-impaired sort through aural clutter

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

SoundAMP turns an iPhone into a hearing aid

An iPhone can take the place of all kinds of gear--an air mouse, a metronome, a golfer's GPS, and so on. Now, thanks to SoundAMP, it can fill in for a hearing aid as well.

The $9.99 app turns an iPhone or second-gen iPod Touch into an "interactive hearing device"--a fancy way of saying it amplifies the sound around you.

All you do is fire up SoundAMP and plug in a pair of earphones. (iPod Touch users will need one with an inline microphone.) Then just raise or lower the oversize slider until you get … Read more

On-demand site Fizy offers huge rock selection

Just days after the news broke that EMI is suing Grooveshark, another contestant popped into my in-box. Today, it's Fizy, which offers essentially the same features as Grooveshark, Meuzer, and JustHearIt: search for a song name, and Fizy will compile audio and video results from public sources around the Web. Today, Fizy relaunched with a handful of new features such as the ability to save playlists and the ability to post all played songs to your Friendfeed account. (Friendfeed? Where's the Facebook app?).

The new features are nothing special, but in a quick test, I did find that … Read more

AT&T and Verizon deny price-fixing accusations

Executives from the nation's largest phone companies went to Capitol Hill Tuesday to defend themselves against allegations that they've been fixing prices on text messaging.

Executives from AT&T and Verizon Communications testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, saying their companies have not been involved in a conspiracy to hike text messaging rates. And they argued that competition is alive and well in the wireless market.

The hearing was called in response to a letter sent in September from Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) to the four major U.S. operators--Verizon, AT&… Read more