For decades people have strived to make hearing aids smaller and smaller. Now folks walk around with these big gizmos on their ears but it is ok because they are Bluetooths. I propose that hearing aids be fitted into Bluetooth shells as disguise. The hearing aid stigma will vanish beneath the tech-savvy hipness. Also, with the added space, a major technological improvement on hearing aids will be possible.

A problem with hearing aids is that they amplify all noise. Anyone who has used one will talk of distracting shuffling, scraping, distant mumbles, and other extraneous sounds intruding on the conversation.

In the Bluetooth disguised aid, the projecting part, instead of being a local microphone to pick up the wearer's voice, will be a directional distance microphone to pick up distant sounds. It will amplify the voice of the person you are looking at. A conventional additional microphone in the aid will pick up other sounds and amplify them, but less.
-- bungston, Mar 03 2005

Bluetooth Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
"Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs)" [contracts, Mar 03 2005]

(?) Not only is this a good idea, it's an idea that has been implemented http://www.babble.nl/listeningdevice.htm
Listening device Babble is designed for people who do not need a classical hearing aid, but do have trouble understanding others in noisy surroundings. It looks like a bluetooth headset, and uses directional microphones to pick up distant sounds. [babble, Mar 17 2005]

//Now folks walk around with these big gizmos on their ears but it is ok because they are Bluetooths// [link]
-- contracts, Mar 03 2005


Strip out all of the other stuff, and leave the directional hearing aid part of this, and you're on to something major here. Just that bit alone - I think - is a truly excellent idea.

It's useful and functional, and likely cheap since it doesn't have to be micro-engineered (which makes aids overly 'spensive). Or make it dual purpose, so that it could function as a bluetooth cellphone earpiece AND a hearing aid.

Big bungco bucks in the future for this one.
-- waugsqueke, Mar 03 2005


Alternately, a Bluetooth headset (and appropriate iPod/cellphone linkages) in the form factor of a hearing aid. You could even give it happy fun stuff like actual hearing boosts, noise level damping (digital earplugs) and the like. You'd be halfway to an augmented reality system.
-- Chrontius, Mar 03 2005


A collegue of mine has a bluetooth hearing aid. Links to his phone and pc and there's also a mic that he uses for meetings.
-- oneoffdave, Mar 04 2005


// For decades people have strived to make hearing aids smaller and smaller. //

It's because of the ugly color, I know it. If they had been shiny and iridescent from the start, they would never have had to get smaller.
-- phundug, Mar 04 2005


When I was a kid the hearing aids that I had came with a jack input for hooking up television audio directly to the aids. It also worked well for walkmans. I used to tell the teacher that the wire trailing from my ears was for the battery pack. Now they have special rf recievers built into them for the same purpose.

/A problem with hearing aids is that they amplify all noise./ Not really true- digital aids are programed to exactly match the hearing loss of the owner- not perfect but pretty damn good. I'm still waiting with baited breath for the little ball bearing hearing aid that the bionic woman got...sigh..
-- NotTheSharpestSpoon, Mar 21 2006


+1. Just thought of this as well. I think the microphone could also be in the mobile telephone, and that could be pointed to wherever it is needed.
-- Ling, May 15 2009


I saw an ad for this in Parade Magazine today. I feel so proud!

It is also apparent to me that in 2005 I thought those little ear hearing aid things were called Blueteeth. Now I know that lots of things might have blue teeth, and maybe those cell phone ear things dont.
-- bungston, Jun 08 2009



random, halfbakery