Houston Chronicle Sunday

HEARING AID NEWS: the eyes have it

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udibel Hearing Technology of Eden

Prairie, IL holds a stable of 35 engineers in its research and developmen­t department, probably the largest in the world. Its current project may surprise you.

“We are working on various ways to make hearing aids more intelligen­t,” explains Dean Myer, software engineer.

“Audibel hearing aids are nanocomput­ers. Our work in directiona­l microphone­s has revolution­ized the listener’s experience. We are currently working on technology that aims the focus of hearing aid microphone­s using a contact lens.”

To engineer types, this is known as the Internet of things...putting sensors on objects and then connecting to the Internet or to a device like a smartphone app that you connect to the Internet. Once connected to the Internet various technologi­es like cloud-computing and machine learning processing can be done.

“Our team designs learning algorithms into hearing aids so our hearing aids can learn a listener’s preference­s and behaviors in various environmen­ts and then automatica­lly update the algorithm and improve the listener’s experience over time”, says Myer.

Audibel’s directiona­l microphone technology is now available in its newest hearing aid, the A4, — yet the lens-focus technology is still about four years out. The A4 is now available through NewSound Hearing Clinics in Houston. 1-888-796-4976.

 ??  ?? Remarkable technologi­es are unveiled each year at the HEARING INNOVATION EXPO in Las Vegas, attended by hearing clinicians from around the world.
Remarkable technologi­es are unveiled each year at the HEARING INNOVATION EXPO in Las Vegas, attended by hearing clinicians from around the world.

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