News and Developments: archives

Rumour ... Hidden Hearing taken over ...

February 2000

by the group that owns Oticon and Bernafon. So far, there has been no announcement on the subject.

Click here to go to the Hidden Hearing website or here to go to the Oticon website.

Implex Implanted Hearing Aid - the TICA

Sunday 30th January 2000

The Implex TICA - totally implanted hearing aid is a new type of hearing aid. The whole hearing aid is implanted - so there is nothing visible.

The hearing aid consists of the main body of the aid (which is surgically implanted into the mastoid cavity), a sound pickup (which is implanted under the skin of the ear canal near the eardrum) and a direct connector to the ossicles in the middle ear. Sound is picked up at the eardrum, and then amplified and passed directly onto the ossicles - the bones in the middle ear. the built-in battery is recharged by electromechanical induction, using what look very much like a pair of headphones.

The manufacturers claim that this produces a more natural sound (as it uses the normal acoustics of the ear to collect sound - no microphones to cause distortion, or pick up unwanted sounds). It also means that the hearing aid can work 24 hours a day - even at night. Other advantages are that you can do sports such as swimming (without having to remove the aid), reduction in infections, irritation etc..

The Implex implanted hearing aid is not cheap ... and is only just coming on to the market.

A copy of the press release about the launch of the TICA can be seen here

However, for more information go to: http://www.implex.de/english/e_start.html

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Digital Hearing Aids on the NHS?

Sunday 23rd January 2000

Much as appeared recently about the possibility of digital hearing aids on the NHS, however the picture is not quite as rosy as some people would hope.

Here is a copy of a recent government press release on the subject.

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Artifical Hearing Chip

Sunday 23rd January 2000

Scientists in the UK have developed an artifical hearing chip that can be implanted in to the brain. The chip uses a tiny electronic device to pick up sounds and then transmit them to the brain by stimulating the nerves in the cochlear via an electrode array. The chip has special layers of silicon that allow it to fuse with the nerves.

The chip was developed by a team at Imperial College, led by Professor Chris Toumazou. It will be made by a Canadian company - Epic Biosonics.

A suitable power source has now to be found. The first human implants of the chip are expected at the end of 2001.

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