(February 3, 2014) Microsystems are at the heart of portable hearing aids and
implants. Now researchers are developing a miniature, low-power wireless
microsystem to make these medical aids smaller, more comfortable and more
efficient.
People with impaired hearing struggle with things we take
for granted, whether it is listening to birds warbling in the garden or
chatting with friends and acquaintances. They experience particular problems
with hearing at higher frequencies and by following-up conversations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hearing loss is one of
the six most common illnesses in the industrialized world. In Germany, around
one in five of those over the age of 14 have to be treated for hearing
difficulties. Often a simple hearing aid can restore the lost frequencies and
makes it possible for the patient lead a normal life again. The device is most
often worn behind the ear, although some variants can even be inserted directly
into the ear. In the EU WiserBAN project, Fraunhofer researchers are developing
a new microsystem designed to make hearing aids so small, so that they can be
concealed out of sight within the ear. The technology is also suitable for
implants, pacemakers and insulin pumps. This all means that the system uses only
a fraction of the energy required by conventional devices, keeping cumbersome
battery changes to a minimum. “Ideally, patients should not even be feeling of
wearing the hearing aid over long periods of time,” says Dr. Dionysios Manessis
from Fraunhofer Institute of Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin.