“Off-center” hybrid hearing aid

Hearing Aids
1

I’ve long had this fantasy of a decentralized hearing aid with the “smart” part in the wearable (e.g., a smartwatch) and the “passive” acoustic part in the ear (perhaps an ITC or even IIC), but a web search seems to suggest this technology has been under development for several years (here’s an example: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/8/7/811) and could be commercialized soon.

I have no electronics expertise, so I’d like to ask someone more knowledgeable than me if this technology is feasible.

In particular, considering that the passive part would only have a microphone and a receiver, while everything else (signal processing software, amplifier, etc.) would be in the wearable, can it all work wirelessly?

I’ve discussed this with someone, and they say a wireless amplifier/receiver connection is impossible.

Furthermore, would there be a real improvement in audio quality (better speech discrimination, dialogue in noise, etc.) considering the greater computing power of a wearable compared to classic HAs?

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There was something like that at one point.
Search Whisper on this site.
You may notice some of the discussions got a little heated.

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I can see at least three reasons why that might not be a winning proposition:

  1. The added processing delay caused by the wireless link.
  2. Constantly sending and receiving wirelessly is probably a bigger drain on the battery vs having the processor at the ear.
  3. Wireless links are prone to interference
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My father had a wearable 65 years ago … nothing new … he hated it !
I sure would not like to have to wear a box on my chest like he did .

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5

You’re right, I’d completely forgotten about Whisper. But I was thinking of a smartwatch as a wearable, which is much more practical.

Speaking of Whisper, was the amplifier in the brain or in the HA?

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From what I remember you did not always need the brain.
I think it was for noisy or tough situations.
If you used a smart watch to act as the brain i’d imagine it would have to be larger than a normal watch. Eventually the electronics may be small enough.
Plus you may also have to contend with heat.

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Perhaps a big help for both size and heat could be provided by the xmems technology.

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You would find the delay irritating and unacceptable. I read lips, and i get so irritated when i am reading one thing from a person’s lips and hearing something different. It happens eay to offend with TV shows. It would be even worse with the setup you are suggesting even eith real live conversions. As a communications electronic technician I know how the delays are and that they cannot fully be overcome.

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And would a latency of less than 10 ms solve the problem?

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When you are talking reading lips and also hearing the sound it is long ento be irritating to me. The claimed delay of my TV streamer is less than 2mil seconds and I can detact it. But that delay is added to the delay of the aids. The aids of the aids isn’t enough that I can detect it.

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I’d be worried about the watch being lost or stolen - so much so that I wouldn’t enjoy the technology.

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