‘BIONIC’ HEARING AID ON ITS WAY New device ‘cures’ deafness
NEW “bionic” implants could cure deafness in hundreds of thousands of people.
Scientists are developing the “high-definition” aids to help those who are severely hard of hearing.
They hope the technology will be an upgrade on existing cochlear implants.
People with these devices are often unable to pick out complex sounds or hear clearly over background noise.
But researchers at The Bionics Institute in Melbourne, Australia, are developing implants which stimulate the nerves using light instead of electrical impulses.
Charity Action on Hearing Loss is backing the research and launching a campaign to fund work on the new technology.
Research Programme Officer Dr Carly Anderson said: “This could go a long way to solving the current limitations with cochlear implants, revolutionising how we can restore hearing to deaf people and how they hear speech and music.
“This could enable people to communicate more effectively, which could greatly improve their quality of life.”
Cochlear implants, developed 40 years ago, and used by 12,000 people in the UK, provide hearing to those who are severely to profoundly deaf.
Results can vary dramatically depending on the health of the inner ear and how an individuals’s brain responds to the device.
But now researchers are using gene therapy to enable the hearing nerve to become responsive to light instead of electrical signals.
Around 650 adults and 500 children receive a cochlear implant each year but only about 5% of those eligible actually get one.
More than 900,000 people in the UK are thought to be sufficiently deaf to qualify for an implant but experts believe many people aren’t aware they could benefit from the surgery.
In total around 11 million – one in six of the British population – have some form of hearing loss.
AHL marketing manager Ed Rex, 32, had a cochlear implant fitted six years ago, which he said “completely changed my life”.
But he still struggles to hear people in bars and restaurants if there is background noise.
Ed, from Wood Green, north London, added: “It is hard to understand people among a maelstrom of noise.
“The possibility of this new technology is fantastic.
“I would no longer feel the need to stress myself out when I go out.”
TO donate to Action on Hearing Loss, visit actionhearingloss.org.uk or call 033 3320 6995. You can also text GIFT to 70099 to make a £3 donation.