New Hearing Aid Uses Your Tooth To Transmit Sound

kkleiner writes to share a new device from Sonitus Medical that transmits sound to the inner ear via the teeth and jawbone. Dubbed "SoundBite," the device captures sound using a microphone in the ear and transmits to an in-the-mouth device that in turn sends the sounds through the jaw. "There are other hearing aid devices that utilize bone conduction. Most, however, use a titanium pin drilled into the jaw bone (or skull) to transmit sound to the cochlea. SoundBite seems to be the first non-surgical, non-invasive, easily removable device. While they are likely years from retail production, Sonitus Medical plans on having SoundBite ITMs fitted to each individual's upper back teeth and fabricated fairly quickly (1 to 2 weeks). A complete system is planned to include two ITMs, 1 BTE, and a charger. In the wider world of cochlear implants, SoundBite may only be fit for relatively specialized use. Still, the ability to easily upgrade or replace individual components makes the device competitive. A similar device could be adapted to provide audio for a personalized augmented reality system. Perhaps the Bluetooth headset of the future will involve actual teeth."

Comments

Poor deaf people

[K. S. Kyosuke]

This will only make hearing the occasional biting criticism of one's peers harder for them.

Nothing New To See Hear (pun intended)

[a-zarkon!]

The government has had this technology for years. They use these dental implants to send auditory signals to the populace while people are asleep. It's all part of the one-world government conspiracy. Many of the so-called paranoid schizophrenics are really just people who don't tolerate the subconscious aural programming very well. Take a look outside your window for the black helicopter before you mod me down. I'm the guy leaning out the back with the parabolic microphone, waving at you.

Dentures?

[jayemcee]

Quite a lot of boomers who were way too close to the stacks at concerts may be happy about this in a few years, but here's hoping that it doesn't require real teeth since dentures may be a big part of the demographic.

Re:Dentures?

[mcgrew]

I saw an item the other day that the warnings about listening to loud rock and roll were bogus; our (boomers') hearing is better than geezers who came before us. The reason is that loud rock music isn't nearly as loud as industrial machinery and firearms; our generation was the first to use hearing protection in the factory and shooting range.

I lost 10% of the hearing in my left ear in the USAF, when I found that out I realized why they had the rule that you always kept the aircraft to the left of the vehicle. It was so you'd only go deaf in one ear.

Some sounds are too loud even for hearing protection. Try sitting next to an MD3 (or was it a dash sixty? The one with an F-15 engine in it) while you wait for the guy to come out and change it. LOUD!

And stop playing with yourself

[suso]

Kent! This is God!

Re:Ouch!

[mcspoo]

As a deaf person, I can tell you that the sound of a drill in my tooth is one of the few sounds I can hear exactly as well as you can, so this is probably a pretty decent idea.