Currently there are two ways digital hearing aids help people seeking the Holy Graille of hearing speech better in noisy environments — the directional microphones integrated into the hearing aid, and algorithms within the hearing aid’s digital signal processor that attempt to suppress background noise while boosting frequencies in the normal hearing range. Recent research has been demonstrating the relative importance of directional microphones in the mix when it comes to keeping up with the conversation at a cocktail party or a noisy restaurant. By placing more microphones significantly closer to the speaker, Varibel claims an 8.2 db boost in hearing frequencies, more than double the 4 db amplification normal hearing aids with directional mics are said to provide. The glasses were invented by researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and Varibel developed them into a consumer product in partnership with Philips, Frame Holland, the design agencies MMID and Verhoeven and others.
I’ve got a few questions I’ll have to answer in a future post: How much will the glasses cost? How long will the batteries last, driving eight microphones? (The picture in the news release shows a pretty sizable re-charger, but the technical specs aren’t to be found). How will the hearing-aids be fitted? What about the earmolds and tubes? Who will sell them, your audiologist or your optomotrist? (Maybe when my kids go to college they should go for dual majors in optometry and audiology). Even so, the hearing-aid glasses are pretty cool.