Varibel's "Hearing Glasses" to Help People with Hearing Problems
Published: Jun 25, 2007
Varibel has developed a hearing aid in the form of a pair of glasses, dubbed, "hearing-glasses." The glasses, also named Varibel, come fitted with miniature signal processing speakers on the arms of the frames to relay sound to the ears’ microphones.
The hearing-glasses were originally developed at the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, and later made available to consumers by Varibel. They will reportedly be on sale at Beter Horen audio shops in the Netherlands, starting mid-April.
Hearing aids are used by many people age 60 and above to cope with hearing loss. However, as most hearing aids intensify all surrounding sounds, it becomes almost impossible for people to hear other individuals in the clutter of noises. Attempts to solve this problem include using multi-microphone systems with tunable directionality, with in-ear digital hearing aids. This provided the hearing aid with a preferred direction of sensitivity, usually forward facing, thereby increasing the sound of a conversation happening before the user and reducing background noises.
Another approach has been to use multiple microphones in the arms of the Varibel hearing-glasses. The Varibel system has generated positive feedback from experts and users.
Dr.C.H.M.Stengs, ear, nose and throat specialist at the Rinjnstate Hospital, says that theoretical claims about the glasses helping to improve the understanding of speech have been proven by practical experiences.
The device is battery operated, rechargeable and the glasses can be stored in a charging cradle when not in use.
Source: Varibel
