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.
An ear with a cochlear implant.
(Credit: NIH, Medical Arts & Photography Branch)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 voices are distorted, and therefore distracting to those without hearing impairment. So Furst-Yust adapted the technology to instead be used as a software add-on for existing hearing aid devices.
Clearcall is patented and is available for licensing through Tel Aviv University's commercialization company, Ramot. It could hit the market in a matter of months, according to the press release.
Meanwhile, Furst-Yust will keep working on her algorithm for other possible applications, including a device that filters out the sounds those without hearing impairment don't want to hear--particularly music, which she says is easier to target than voices because our brains listen to music differently.
Elizabeth Armstrong Moore is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Ore. She has contributed to Wired magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and public radio. Her semi-obscure hobbies include unicycling, slacklining, hula-hooping, scuba diving, billiards, Sudoku, Magic the Gathering, and classical piano. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
The hearing aid for these is called a processor and it is indeed a computer. The audiologist programs it to fit the person's hearing and there are different programs for different situations. Sitting at a dinner table my wife can use a program to enhance close sound while suppressing distant ones. Or in a meeting room she can do the opposite. See http://www.cochlearamericas.com
The Cochlear processors do not yet have BlueTooth, but use standard hearing aid "T-Coil" technology. However, she does have a BlueTooth device that passes the sound onto on a T-Coil so she can use her iPhone handsfree. http://www.tecear.com/Artone-Bluetooth-Loopset.htm
In addition she has some T-Coil gadgets that have a standard 3.5mm plug so that they can be used with an iPod, or whatever. http://www.tecear.com/Neck_loop_ear_hook_guide.htm
Anyway Elizabeth thanks for the article, I will pass it on to her.
Nice article, I'll have something to monitor related to this now.
Regards,
Jason
She had hearing loss at age 5 due to a high fever when she had the measles, this was in 1955. She had some hearing most of her life, but at about age 40 it suddenly dropped way down. We considered a cochlear implant then, but opted to continue with hearing aids and see what the future would bring. After the latest cochlear implant technology was out of testing her audiologist recommended she consider the implant. She is 59 now, back in college getting another degree, and enjoying sounds she has missed most of her life. She also complains about my TV, or music being too loud.
This is nothing new, please make sure of the facts before placing a banner headline.
BTW the effect you are describing is called the cocktail party effect and the distortion you talk about is called musical noise. If the processing is done well and in a manner that matches the human ear you can reduce the distortion to an unnoticeable level.
I do not believe deafness is a culture I believe it is a disease and it needs a cure.
When you have both nerve and conductive deafness you look for stories that are labeled cures at least this story was labeled correctly.
Frankly becoming a cyborg to be programmed to hear ticks me off.
Stim cell research is where a potential cure may be but cost in terms of lives is too.
If this software were installed how would the wearer control what they want to hear.
Nice idea if i could use a digital hearing aid or have implants but for me it is useless.
I am too deaf to use digital hearing aides and too poor for implants.
D~W
- by cjs-8 August 8, 2009 3:45 PM PDT
- Why not have fun in the deaf culture until a real cure is found? Even some of my friends have cochlear implants, but that doesn't separate me from them.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(8 Comments)At least you'll have friends in similar shoes as you. Isn't that what friends are really about? If you don't like using the word culture for that, why not use the word friendship/support?
Until then, its awkward being pulled from potential friends, having people pushing you to be normal and being lost in a myriad of voices when there isn't much you can do about it.
If you're one of those hearing impaired people that grew being told other deaf/hearing impaired people are less intelligent. Let go of that thought. There are others probably thinking the same about you.
My wife was diagnosed as mentally retarded by her elementary school teachers. But she's smarter than the average person and graduates from an accredited university. If only those teacher actually knew sign language enough to even communicate.