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.
Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices
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Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices
#22I 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
#23Earlier 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…
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
#24"The current version of the hearing aid, which involved direct implants into the brain, would be unsuitable for mainstream use"
Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices
#25Making 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),…
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
#26Yu 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
#27I 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 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
#28Re: Mind-controlled hearing aid allows the wearer to focus on particular voices
#29I 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?
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.