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Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

theguardian.com

21–30 of 31 posts

Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

#21
post #6

Hearing enhancement for everyone is easy with current tech. But people won't do it because it looks like you're disabled. But once enough people do it, it'll no longer look that way and be cool like sunglasses. But they are not. So we don't. Strange world.

Disagree, my family has a history of bad hearing, and both my grandfather and my father wear them in both ears (I'm waiting for the day I need them). A few years ago I thought my father stopped wearing them but it turns out they make them so small these days, they are only visible if you're looking for it. My grandfather got the newer model which comes with a small remote he keeps in his pocket. He turns off all sound when his wife is talking too much :)

Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

#22
Making it work as a selective sound cancellation device would be amazing in open office environments.

I have a few people in my office whose voices I would love to tune out on a regular basis -- Screambo Braydonkey, the Exuberant Yellboy and the Tedious Lizard are some examples.

This tech works by amplifying what the wearer's mind focuses on -- could the opposite work (canceling out what the listener is focused on), or would that create a peculiar feedback loop, forcing the listener's attention to switch between different voices as they're tuned out in turn?

Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree and I think the original article severely underestimated top-end hearing aid technology. Newer hearing aids from top manufacturers like GN, Oticon and Phonak do a very good job of isolating a particular voice in noise - sure its still far from perfect but it light-years ahead of "making all things louder". I have no doubt the suggested brain-powered hearing aids will be much better but models like Otico…

> I hear no voice even when someone is directly in front of me and no background noise. With them I can hold a conversation in a fairly noisy pub, its hard work to listen in noise but they do an amazing job for me. What you describe doesn't sound anything like what the person you were responding to was describing. It sounds like you're saying > I can't hear anything, but the hearing aid makes it so I can hear things…

Its similar, the difference being someone who can hear well in quiet environments but has trouble in noise probably has an early-stage minor hearing loss whereas mine has been degrading from a minor loss for many years and so now I can't hear anything below about 70dB unaided. I have a sensorinerual loss, which is the most common, and is also very likely the cause of most people's noise problems - solvable with the same hearing aids doing the same job but with different setups. Someone with a minor loss still uses a lot of their natural hearing ability and only receives help in certain frequencies (usually high go first) and will wear an "open fit" type of ear piece whereas I need amplification across the board.

My point really was a general one, that i felt the article was underplaying the capabilities of today's hearing aid technology.

Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

#25

Making it work as a selective sound cancellation device would be amazing in open office environments. I have a few people in my office whose voices I would love to tune out on a regular basis -- Screambo Braydonkey, the Exuberant Yellboy and the Tedious Lizard are some examples. This tech works by amplifying what the wearer's mind focuses on -- could the opposite work (canceling out what the listener is focused on),…

Making it work as a selective sound cancellation device would be amazing in open office environments.

Then again - this would be a perfect of example of bleeding edge technology being used to "fix" a certain situation -- namely (1) toxic "open plan" office environments created by managers who (2) either have no clue or basically don't give a fuck -- whose root causes are far more mundane, and (in principle) can be treated at the source.

That is - by simply getting enough co-workers to get together and letting management know that you simply won't be having any of it.

Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

#26
>“One of the reasons people struggle is that they often wait a long time before getting a hearing aid and in that time the brain forgets how to filter out the noise and focus on the speech,” she said. “This is really interesting research and I’d love to see the real world impacts of it.”As a hearing-aid dispenser for over 10 years that was my biggest hurdle to get my clients to overcome.

Yu must work hard at hearing better, it is not enough to just hear more. Most people were shocked that the (expensive) device would not allow them to hear only what/who they wanted. {How could the device even what you wanted?}

Those that kept going to noisy places and kept exercising there hearing system were successful. Most gave up when faced with the reality that they needed to work harder.

Technology like is discussed in the OP would be revolutionary.

Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

#27

I always wonder if hearing aid has military applications, or for non-hearing-disabled people. Is it possible to have an above average hearing with this?

Hearing aid technology is used in milatary and police aplpications, mostly as small discrete communication devices.

I warn against using devices to make it easier to hear - when you have no hearing loss - as it could make your hearing system "lazy".

Just like physiotherapists now advise against overuse of knee and neck braces. Better to strengthen the muscles needed to do the function rather than supplement with an aid.

Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

#29

I always wonder if hearing aid has military applications, or for non-hearing-disabled people. Is it possible to have an above average hearing with this?

I always wonder if hearing aid has military applications

One of the biggest advantages of German tanks in WWII, was the excellent communications system. It was engineered so that all members of the crew could clearly hear instructions in battlefield conditions.

Technology which can improve communication and perception and also protect hearing in battlefield conditions always has military applications.

Is it possible to have an above average hearing with this?

You can already buy consumer electronic hearing protection devices which can allow you to hear quieter sounds than otherwise, while protecting you from loud transients.

Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices

#30
I would like a device which can reliably only record my own voice. This would allow one to create a verbal record of what is happening in emergencies, which could be very useful if combined with a video record. Also, such a device could simply remain on all the time. Only recording one's own voice would allow continual use of the device in two party recording consent states.
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