Hearing AI-ds

AKA Do you hear what I hear? OR Do I hear what you hear? Likely not

Our son, Cameron turned 35 a couple of days ago. His partner Emm invited us to a surprise party last night which we dutifully and enthusiastically attended. Such fun! It seems everyone loves him as much as we do—but that’s a story for another time.

There we were, in a sea of young adults, bright, talented, and energetic, complete with a growing number of infant members of the next generation. It was a lively and happy crowd of community and comfort, celebrating with gusto in a lovely new home. It was a happy time, but wow, not the most fun for me and my hearing aids.

This was not the fault of the hosts or any of the participants. Hearing is my own special and growing challenge, especially in social settings of more than a handful of people. Possibly this is inter-generational revenge, as my mother suffered from hearing loss most of her adult life. I was not always sympathetic, and I suspect I hoped it would never happen to me. Well it has and combined with my partial sight hearing loss affects me every single day.

I know that the hearing aids I currently use are much more effective than any equipment my mother had available to her. Mine help me stay connected to conversations and to the people with whom I speak. There are limits however to what they can accomplish especially in larger and lively settings.

Last night I noticed how quickly I tired; I would step outside for brief breaks from the noise my devices picked up, but also to free myself from a social obligation to converse. I would then re-enter the fray searching for a quiet location as close to other guests as possible.

Just this morning, an article from The Vancouver Sun  appeared in my Facebook feed. The lead: “Leave background noise behind: A new generation of hearing technology is here” promised much and delivered some encouragement. I have heard about AI application for hearing aids but have not investigated further until today. I have just purchased a new set of hearing aids so the time for upgrading is a few years off. Users report user lives of approximately five years.

That said, it’s good to know about “The Audéo Sphere, the world’s first hearing aid with a dedicated AI chip . . . The new Audéo Sphere hearing aids have two chips. The second chip — which works with Phonak’s latest ERA chip — has been named DEEPSONIC by Phonak. It’s the first hearing aid chip using artificial intelligence and is an absolute game changer.

Phonak’s new DEEPSONIC chip completes over 7.7 billion operations per second and contains fifty-three times the processing power to current industry chip technology separating unwanted noise from speech. This means that when you wear the new Sphere hearing aids, you’re hearing aids are instantly adjusting to ensure a comfortable listening experience.”

Admittedly given the “7.7 billion operations per second” I am both exhausted at the energy output and the battery technology to support such critical listening–all this, in a miniature electronic package. Of course I am still trying to figure out how the ballpoint pen and LP record work, so please bear with me.

I also wonder how wearing these devices would work in situ. Would I stroll past other patrons in a busy shopping mall for instance and look one way to hear about a child’s day at school and looking another way to hear a drug deal going down. It reminds me of Maxwell Smart and the chief trying to get the cone of silence to work properly.

Still, the promise is alluring, and in all likelihood quite possible in time, as technology meets market demand and accessible pricing becomes the norm.

CAVEAT EMPTOR The Sun article was provided by Connect Hearing for commercial purposes. The assessments provided are not scientific and are not in any way peer reviewed. I suspect this technology is in its infancy. That said I remain curious. So watch this space. Do you hear me?