New Atlas

Good Thinking Audio available

Device may allow the deaf to "hear through their fingertips"

Ben Coxworth June 4, 2019

Amongst the challenges faced by the deaf is what's known as the "cocktail party effect," in which they have difficulty discerning one speaker's voice from others in crowded, noisy environments. A new device could help, however – by buzzing two of their fingers.

A diagram of the Vibrating Auditory Stimulator, which required no training to use

Health & Wellbeing

Mobile app can "hear" ear infections with just a phone and a paper cone

Matt Kennedy May 17, 2019

Ear infections are common, but conditions can be difficult to diagnose. Researchers from the University of Washington have stepped up with a mobile app that can detect fluid behind the eardrum using just a cone of paper and your phone.

Dr. Randall Bly, an assistant professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the UW School of ...

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Regrowing hair cells to reverse hearing loss sounds good to us

Michael Irving October 16, 2018

Once we lose the sensory hair cells in the cochlea, they’re gone for good. But now researchers have found a way to regrow them in mice, potentially paving the way for more effective hearing loss treatments in humans.

Researchers have found a way to regrow sensory hair cells in the ear to potentially reverse ...

Biology

Discovery of new neurons in the ear could lead to treatments for tinnitus

Michael Irving September 12, 2018

A team of Swedish researchers have discovered three new types of neurons, which help carry auditory signals from the ear to the brain and may hold the secrets to treating hearing disorders like tinnitus.

New types of neurons have been found in the auditory system

Music Review

Review: Knops hearing protection lets you step down the volume

Loz Blain July 2, 2018

"A volume control for your ears." That's what Dutch company Knops promises with its eponymous unpowered noise control ear plugs, which give you the ability to choose between four levels of noise filtering. We put them through the uncompromising test of an aggressively loud children's show.

Knops look like a new-age piercing, act like a volume control for the outside world

Medical

Scientists developing a possible treatment for hearing loss

Ben Coxworth April 4, 2018

There may be new hope for people who are losing their hearing, thanks to research being conducted by scientists from the University of Southern California and Harvard University. They've developed a solution intended to stay put in the inner ear, where it will help repair cells.

Animal trials are planned to take place next, with a possible application to humans in the ...

Wearables

Audiologist-grade IQBuds Boost: Intelligent hearing aid tech in Bluetooth earbuds

Loz Blain March 8, 2018

A small Australian company is hoping to blow multi-thousand-dollar prescription hearing aids out of the water. This US$449 pair of over-the-counter, Bluetooth hearing augmentation earbuds can test and adjust to your hearing, connect to your phone, and separate voices from background noise.

Nuheara IQbuds Boost bring hearing aid technology into Bluetooth hearing augmentation earbuds

Wearables Review

Review: Hearing augmentation IQbuds turn background noise down and conversations up

Loz Blain February 12, 2018

They’re not just Bluetooth earbuds. With mics in each ear and an adjustable intelligent noise control feature, IQbuds let you experience the world around you with a kind of bionic hearing. In noisy environments, they let you separate voices out of the background noise to make conversations easier.

Nuheara's IQbuds: Wireless Bluetooth earbuds with intelligent hearing augmentation technology to reduce background noise and boost ...

Medical

Tinnitus reduced or even eliminated by device that resets brain activity

Loz Blain January 7, 2018

This device could be what millions of people worldwide have been waiting for – an effective treatment for tinnitus. Human trials have shown precisely timed sounds and weak electrical pulses delivered by the device can reduce or even eliminate that ringing in your ears.

Chris Chang tests the tinnitus treatment device

3D Printing

Hearing loss could be treated with 3D-printed implants

Ben Coxworth December 4, 2017

Inside everyone's middle ear are three tiny linked bones known as ossicles. When these bones are damaged, a condition called ossicular conductive hearing loss results. A more effective treatment for it may now be on its way, thanks to 3D printing technology.

One of the 3D-printed prostheses, placed on a penny for scale