Innovative hearing aids can now interact online

Hearing aid manufacturer Oticon introduces the first hearing aid that connects to and interacts with door bells, smoke detectors and baby alarms using the internet.

It is now possible to program hearing aids to talk directly with door bells, smoke detectors and baby alarms. Hearing aid manufacturer Oticon introduces the first hearing aid that connects to and interacts with the internet.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been around since 1999, and a growing number of devices are now connected and able to interact with each other. The most popular IoT devices today include “mood lighting” systems, home thermostats and smoke detectors, and wearable devices offering consumer-grade fitness-tracking and health-monitoring.

Oticon wants to see this first phase of the Internet of Things give way to a more meaningful phase – an Internet of Things that matter – where devices and services people depend on for their health and safety join today’s more entertainment and convenience-oriented offerings.

That’s why the company is launching project ON, a new technology that makes the company’s latest-generation hearing aids Oticon Opn™ part of the Internet of Things through the online service IfThisThenThat.

“Why does an IoT hearing aid matter more than, say, a garage door that opens automatically when you approach home in your car?,” asks Michael Porsbo, Project Manager, Project ON. “For example, children with a hearing loss depend on their hearing aid. A dead battery is much more than an inconvenience. An IoT hearing aid can address this issue by sending a text message to a parent when the battery is running low. A mother with a hearing loss hears can also benefit with an alert to her hearing aids from the baby alarm when her baby is crying.”

Project ON also provides the convenience people love about the Internet of Things. A gentle ping in your hearing aid when the doorbell rings, or having your hearing aid know to automatically turn off the lights and turn down the heat when you leave the house can make life easier and safer for people with hearing aids.

Beyond the practical advantages, Oticon sees IoT-enablement as helping to redefine hearing aids as more broadly functional wearables - a perception that can help chip away at the stigma still attached to hearing aids. “We don’t expect to see people wearing hearing aids just to get these extra functions,” says Porsbo. “But with IoT functionality, the difference between an IoT hearing aid and a connected wireless headset isn’t very great.”

By allowing hearing aid users to choose and even create their own services, project ON gives people the freedom and excitement they expect from the Internet of Things. “Who are we to decide what services people can access, or to stop people from inventing their own combinations of trigger events and responses?” says Porsbo. “The IoT model enables us to give people possibilities – and let them decide where to go with them.”

With the launch of rechargeable hearing aids later this year also, it is exciting times for the hearing aid industry.

To find out more about Oticon Opn watch our video by clicking here.

Christmas Appeal: Supporting Deaf Children in Rwanda

As part of my company's community and charity work, we are involved with a project in Rwanda, supporting very under priveledged deaf children.

As you prepare for the celebration of Christmas, buying presents and baking the cakes and mince pies, please spare a thought for those less fortunate than we are. 

This is Israel. He is 11 yrs old, and until May this year, he had never been to school.  He was born profoundly deaf, into a very poor rural family in Rwanda.  His mother has since died, and he was discovered by ‘Chance for Childhood’ workers in Rwanda when they were visiting remote villages in the Nyabihu District. His father is very poor. Israel had no decent clothes, the ones he is wearing are made at the School for him.  His shoes are far too big, but he has shoes!

When he arrived at the school, he knew no sign language, could not read or write, and communicated by gesture.  There are no hearing aids available to him either.  But he has proved to be a quick learner!  He has learnt the alphabet, signs for many practical things and basic numbers and arithmetic.  He enjoys school and has made friends with whom he can communicate.

Israel will get no presents this Christmas.  However, Chance for Childhood and Nyabihu Demonstration Centre for the Deaf, are giving him the best present they can – a language, the chance of an education,  vocational training when he is older, friends just like him, three meals a day, access to health care and much more. They are giving him a chance to move out of abject poverty, - a future where he could earn a living and provide for his family.

There are 109 children just like him at the Centre.  However, the Centre is in a rented building, which is in very poor condition, and part of it is due for demolition next year to make room for a new road.  But they have acquired land to build a new purpose built Centre. The plans for the building are now being drawn up and the next stage will be to start building.  Just £5 will buy 100 bricks, and we need a lot of bricks!

Please donate what you can so that children like Israel can have a more secure future.  

Thank you. 

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/NNS

Experts warn that one in five Brits will suffer from hearing loss by 2035

Despite a growing problem, medical research spending on hearing loss has dropped in last decade, according to Action on Hearing Loss.

The number of people in the UK suffering from hearing loss will top 15 million by 2035, experts warn.

One in five of us will face deafness, tinnitus or hearing loss due to our rapidly ageing population, according to Action on Hearing Loss.

But despite the growing problem, medical research spending on hearing loss is the only area which has seen a drop in the last decade, a report by the charity found.

There are now 11 million people - one in six adults - in the UK living with hearing loss.

This figure is set to rise to 15.6 million by 2035, and will affect one in five adults.

There is plenty of research which shows that early intervention prevents hearing loss becoming worse over time, and this the decision hits the people who are least able to afford to pay for privately prescribed hearing aids.

I've campaigned for some years though my company's “Love your Hearing” campaign, to raise awareness about hearing loss, and I urge everyone to have regular hearing tests.  Ultimately untreated hearing loss can lead to social isolation and has been linked to ill health and depression. 

What is even more worrying is that clinical commissioning groups across the UK are withdrawing free NHS hearing aids to new patients with mild hearing loss it will save £150,000 a year. This will only exacerbate the problem.

Let's hope the something changes and fast!