How would you like your hearing aid?

One of the worst aspects of wearing a hearing aid is having traffic or wind noise amplified. This was one of the key facts given by hearing aid users who visited recently to learn about developments on the COG-MHEAR research programme.

Taking part in conversations both in person and online becomes much trickier as soon as there is background noise, or the speaker you would like to hear is neither close by nor facing you, for example when talking to staff in a restaurant. Add a novel accent and a beard to up the difficulty to the realms of impossible.

Mandar Gogate showed his online demonstration of background noise in a cafeteria being cut to silence. You can see the demonstration and try it out for yourself at link. Accessing online demonstrations requires the correct technology, which varies from person to person. The COG-MHEAR range of equipment now includes an impressive virtual reality headset that will be used to demonstrate new hearing technology. We quickly got into the nitty gritty of wearing different types of hardware such as headsets, headphones and ear buds. Preferences vary, and an individual’s hearing, hearing aids and preferences for different types of technology need to be taken into account when testing new devices.

The workshop generated questions about the developing technology and curiosity to see more as the research progresses. If you would like to find out more then please get in touch.